The Showtime series Dexter did not stick to plans to shoot in Miami, according to Graham Winick of the city of Miami Beach. Photo courtesy of city of Miami Beach Tourism and Cultural Development Department

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed an updated film, TV and digital media incentive package into law that would make $25 million available for cash reimbursements up to 15 percent of the total Florida budget of a filmed television show or movie.

“Florida is competing with other states that are offering increased incentives that are actively luring this high-wage, high-value industry elsewhere,” Crist was quoted as saying in a recent press release related to his May 3 action.

Jeff Peel, director of the Miami-Dade Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment, told the SunPost that recent discussions he had in Los Angeles with “decision-makers” like producers and film executives confirmed the importance of these incentive funds in keeping Florida competitive. Sixty percent of the state’s TV and film production takes place in Miami-Dade County, with Spanish-language programming accounting for a large part of that, Peel said.

California was once home to nearly 100 percent of domestic film production, but in recent years several states and foreign governments have instituted aggressive subsidy systems to lure filmmakers. Peel said Louisiana has a particularly generous program. A feature film, Déjà Vu, starring Denzel Washington, had its production schedule “pushed back several months” because of Katrina’s impact there. “They looked seriously at filming here after Hurricane Katrina,” Peel said, but Louisiana’s strong cash incentives kept them in that state.

Graham Winick, film and event production manager for the city of Miami Beach, said many major productions have been encouraged to come to South Florida in response to Florida’s incentives. In 2004, when only $2.5 million was available from Tallahassee, the producers of the movie Transporter 2 decided to shoot in Miami, even though the first film in the series was set in France. The following year the fund was raised to $10 million, which prompted several other projects to come to the state, including the canceled UPN television series South Beach. Winick said last year’s legislative package was up to $20 million.

Florida’s recent history with hurricanes has made many producers reluctant to shoot here. Winick said the producers of Dexter, a series running on Showtime network, planned to film their entire show here, but an increase in insurance after 2005 and general concern about weather caused them to go elsewhere. To address this problem, new legislation will include a 5 percent bonus for filming done during the storm season, June to November.

One important change in the new legislation is the state allowing unused funds to roll over into next year’s budget, which will let productions qualify for money in both fiscal years. Winick said that with Florida’s fiscal year ending on June 30 and television production schedules often overlapping that date, many producers have had difficulties qualifying for money.

“For TV series, funding is very important this time of year because they are heavily into production for the fall season,” he said. Winick cited as example the science fiction series Invasion, which was loosely based on the old movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The story was set in Homestead, but the production team decided to relocate to Los Angeles in part because they couldn’t qualify for state funds.

The Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment Web site lists many other changes in this year’s package, including lowering the qualifying expenditure threshold from $850,000 to $625,000, thereby allowing smaller-budgeted productions to qualify. Florida’s independent filmmakers will also have a financial incentive, needing only a $100,000 budget to qualify for state funds.

The new law provides the digital media industry with similar encouragement. Winick said the Orlando area has a “very well-developed” computer gaming industry, including one of the world's biggest videogame makers, Electronic Arts.

The previous version of the incentive package did not allow the two highest Florida salaries to be included as expenditures. Winick explained that this money, intended to help local businesses, often went to enormous star salaries, since an actor could easily qualify as a Floridian by merely having a residence in the state. The new law allows up to $400,000 for individual salaries. Florida Senate and House members added their own language to create a 2 percent bonus for family-friendly films; they also added “pornographic productions” to the nonqualified list.

Winick acknowledged that lately Florida has been “losing productions left and right,” but on a positive note added that South Florida has a “good crew and talent base,” generally great weather and other entertainment-type draws. In terms of promoting tourism, Winick said the marketing value from television or film is “tremendous.” CBS’s CSI: Miami is currently one of the highest-rated series on American television, and is considered the most-watched U.S. series internationally. Tourists often ask where certain scenes were filmed, Winick said. CSI: Miami films in South Florida three or four times a year and is set to return in July.

Perhaps another sign is the reformation this year of the Miami-Dade Film & Entertainment Advisory Board, which had been inactive for the past five years. The 17-member board composed of industry professionals is intended to advise the mayor, County Commission and Office of Film & Entertainment on policies and issues as they relate to the economic survival of the film and local entertainment industry. According to a recent press release, the board is currently looking at issues of “incentive legislation, hurricane insurance, access to financing and community building.”
On the community building front, Peel, from the county’s Office of Film and Entertainment, also noted the growing prestige of the nearly 25-year-old Miami International Film Festival. It “helps shine a spotlight” on South Florida, bringing movie-industry people down here on a regular basis, he said. “The whole idea of energizing a film culture is good for us.”

The new $25 million incentive package takes effect July 1.

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