The Post New York Alliance (PNYA) expressed resounding approval for the recent agreement between New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature to extend The Empire State Film Production Credit and Post Production Credit through 2026. In including an extension of this essential credit program in the state’s new budget, lawmakers have recognized the vital importance of film and television production and postproduction to job creation, tax revenue and the state’s broader economy.
The PNYA has been a tireless advocate for the Film & Television Post Production Incentive, which provides a fully refundable tax credit of 25 percent on qualified postproduction costs incurred in New York State. This year, the PNYA successfully lobbied legislators to amend the law to include work conducted remotely. With COVID-19 causing many New York post professionals to work from home, this change will safeguard jobs and ensure that New York remains a magnet for high-profile, and highly-profitable film and television projects.
In testifying before the legislature’s Economic Development Budget Hearing, PNYA chair Yana Collins Lehman called the Post Production Credit “an unparalleled success.” She noted that it has attracted scores of editorial projects to New York and allowed New York postproduction and visual effects companies to compete with their counterparts in Canada, which has a 48 percent VFX labor credit, and the U.K., which offers a 30 percent credit. “We’ve succeeded in repatriating high-paying VFX jobs from China and India,” she added, “because producers prefer to work with talent in the same time zone.”
A recent economic impact study conducted on the state’s behalf by Camoin 101 concluded that the Production Credit and Post Production Credit have been boons to New York’s economy. From 2019 through 2020, the programs generated $9.9 billion in direct spending in the state, resulting in more than 100,000 jobs and $7.2 billion in earnings. They did so while more than paying for themselves, as tax collections exceeded payouts for both credits. The report also cited the credits’ indirect benefits in terms of boosting other industries, including tourism. It also noted that the credits have a “cluster effect,” in the form of “a self-reinforcing cycle where businesses, workers, and infrastructure serve to perpetuate the advantages of producing in New York.”
“The Empire State Film Post Production tax credit has supported the creation of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in wages and economic activity,” concluded Lehman. “In extending the program and clarifying the position of telecommuting workers, the State has ensured the continued growth, vibrancy, and vitality of the postproduction industry throughout the state.”
Local school staple “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” from 1939 hits the big screen nationwide
Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy lost for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state's tallest mountain. Now the rest of the U.S. is getting in on the story.
Opening in 650 movie theaters on Friday, "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" tells the harrowing tale of 12-year-old Donn Fendler, who spent nine days on Mount Katahdin and the surrounding wilderness before being rescued. The gripping story of survival commanded the nation's attention in the days before World War II and the boy's grit earned an award from the president.
For decades, Fendler and Joseph B. Egan's book, published the same year as the rescue, has been required reading in many Maine classrooms, like third-grade teacher Kimberly Nielsen's.
"I love that the overarching theme is that Donn never gave up. He just never quits. He goes and goes," said Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, who also read the book multiple times with her own kids.
Separated from his hiking group in bad weather atop Mount Katahdin, Fendler used techniques learned as a Boy Scout to survive. He made his way through the woods to the east branch of the Penobscot River, where he was found more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from where he started. Bruised and cut, starved and without pants or shoes, he survived nine days by eating berries and lost 15 pounds (7 kilograms).
The boy's peril sparked a massive search and was the focus of newspaper headlines and nightly radio broadcasts. Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the region to help.
The movie builds on the children's book, as told by Fendler to Egan, by drawing upon additional interviews and archival footage to reinforce the importance of family, faith and community during difficult times,... Read More