Incentives to Lure the Film Industry

In Hollywood, if a producer is wanting to save money on a film, there's one place on their mind lately: Louisiana.

The recent pull of Hollywood to the bayou state comes from the success of the fall hit Ray, a biography of the life of Ray Charles. Ray brought its $30 million budget to Louisiana and filmed in Baton Rouge, Hammond, Thibodaux, New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. As of this past weekend, Ray had grossed $39,641,775, making more than $20 million of it during its opening weekend.

Stephen Roberts, executive chairman of Louisiana Production Capital, says that the producers of the movie found Louisiana attractive because of the tax incentives offered to film investors. LPC is a broker for these tax incentives and sells them to investors.

Take note. Good idea of bad idea in your opinion?

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