Louisiana's Motion Picture Industry in the Spotlight

As the saying goes, “there’s no business like show business,” and for Louisiana, this famous line rings truer than ever. The state’s motion picture industry has experienced a record-breaking year in 2007 with more than 50 projects choosing Louisiana as their location to film and produce.

Since 2002, Louisiana Economic Development (LED) has offered aggressive tax incentives and programs for production and infrastructure development. The incentives were designed to create a strong capital base and help facilitate a more independent and economically sustainable entertainment industry. As a result of these incentives, the state has experienced significant growth, including nearly $1.5 billion in production and over $3 billion in proposed infrastructure. This growth has inspired local communities to establish entertainment offices or designate liaisons across the state to accommodate and promote filming. Along with production growth, more motion picture jobs are available than ever in Louisiana; employment has grown by 23 percent – the highest in the country.

In a recent Economics Research Associates study on trends in film, music and digital media in Louisiana, the state’s motion picture spending rose to $344 million in 2005, up from $7.4 million in 2003. For every $1 invested in the motion picture industry, $1.85 is generated for the economy, placing it in the top quarter of all industries. The study also showed wages have increased more than 31 percent each year, with approximately 13,445 jobs created in 2005. This study underscores the significant advances the industry has made in Louisiana, and all indicators suggest these numbers have continued to increase into 2007.

In the past five years, Louisiana has hosted many big-name motion pictures, including Sony Pictures’ “All the King’s Men,” the Paramount feature film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons” and Disney’s “The Guardian.” Other projects such as movies-of-the-week and television programs have chosen Louisiana as a leading location to film, edit and produce.

“The entertainment industry offers so many opportunities for our citizens to remain in Louisiana, and in fact, is reversing the state’s brain drain,” said Chris Stelly, director of film and television for LED’s entertainment division. “Specifically, the motion picture industry is playing an important role in diversifying Louisiana’s economy, and at the same time, our state is now in the center of the global spotlight. We can be proud that industry professionals and key decision-makers in Los Angeles and New York City rank Louisiana at the top of their lists to shoot their productions. And many are returning again and again.”

But the success does not stop with the motion picture industry. The tax incentives available to motion pictures are similar to those offered for digital media and sound recording, and have propelled these emerging entertainment sectors into greater success as well. A recent study released by the Entertainment Software Association cites a 22 percent growth in Louisiana’s emerging video game development industry. Enhancements to the sound recording tax credit program prompted 14 new applications from projects (recording and infrastructure) wishing to take advantage of the program in 2007.

LED will continue to intensively promote Louisiana as a premier location and provide motivation for other motion picture projects to continue making show business a top business in Louisiana.

For more information, please visit LouisianaForward.com/entertainment.

For the full ERA report, please click here.