The pot of money used to lure film and television projects to the city is almost gone, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg is about to shoot a sequel.
The city is introducing legislation in Albany this week to extend the popular tax incentive program that began in 2005 to give a boost to an industry that pumps $5 billion a year into the local economy, officials told The Associated Press.
The initial 5 percent tax credit — on top of a state credit — was wildly successful in bringing millions of dollars worth of film and television business to the city, including the ABC comedy “Ugly Betty” and Jennifer Aniston’s upcoming movie, “The Baster.”
Many of those productions likely would have shot in Los Angeles or fled to other cities with tax incentive programs, faking New York City scenes on nondescript urban streets.
The city’s original tax incentive — $50 million for four years — was so attractive that the money dried up in about a year and had to be renewed in 2006.
Meanwhile, the state has also had to refill its fund and raised its 10 percent credit to 30 percent last year. The state just put another $350 million into its program last month.
The Bloomberg administration is proposing to extend the city’s program with some changes that will make the money last longer and work better for the industry, according to Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting.
“This an industry that chases tax incentive programs, and many other states across the country have adopted competing incentive programs,” Oliver said. “We feel to be competitive and keep the productions coming to New York, we need to revise and extend the program.”
Film and television productions are eligible for the credit if they do 75 percent of their work in the city and shoot for at least one day at a top production facility in it.
Under the new legislation, the city is proposing to offer a 4 percent credit, down from its original 5 percent. The state is still determining whether to renew its credit.
The city would provide $24 million per year through 2011 and would set a $250,000 cap for each film or episode of a TV series. Previously, there was no cap for the amount of money a production could get from the city.
Also, there is a limit to how long television shows can take advantage of the credit. A show can get the full 4 percent credit for three years, but in its fourth year that would go down to 3 percent, and down to 2 percent the following year.
The goal, Oliver said, is to tailor the credit to be more of an incentive to draw new productions to the city rather than a repeat source of funding for existing productions.
“When you just have a pool of money and no specifics about how to access that money, the pot runs out fairly quickly, and we’ve seen that happen several times,” she said. “It’s about bringing new business and retaining that business.”
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More