Missouri legislators hope to see film tax credit return

"Gone Girl," the highly anticipated David Fincher movie released Friday, spent millions of dollars when it filmed in Cape Girardeau last year. But Missouri may have trouble attracting big-budget film projects like it in the future.

The Missouri General Assembly allowed a $4.5 million film tax incentive program to expire in November 2013, a move that some film and tourism industry professionals say will discourage major studios from filming in Missouri. Thirty-nine states have some form of filming incentive in place.

"I'd say mission No. 1 is to get the film incentive back on the books in Missouri," said Joni Tackette, president of the Missouri Motion Media Association, a group for industry professionals and educators in the state. "We're just not in the game right now for any type of film production or television production that will have any type of economic impact."

The tax credit allowed film production companies spending sizable chunks of their budgets - at least $50,000 for a short film or $100,000 for a film longer than 30 minutes - in Missouri to receive a tax credit worth 35 percent of those expenditures. The credit carries over for five years and can also be sold or transferred.

Twentieth Century Fox's six weeks of filming "Gone Girl" in Cape Girardeau netted the studio a $2.3 million credit, according to state filings.

"Up in the Air," an Oscar-nominated 2009 film starring George Clooney, brought nearly $12 million to Missouri when it filmed in St. Louis, according to Department of Economic Development reports. Paramount Pictures received a $4.1 million tax credit for the project.

"Winter's Bone," an early vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence, was filmed in Branson on a $2 million budget. Although the independent film didn't have the economic impact of a major studio, the production employed 35 Missourians.

Tackette said, though she expects Missouri to continue to attract independent films, larger studios have passed over the state for recent projects. "The Good Lie," a Reese Witherspoon film premiering Friday, is set in Kansas City but was filmed in Atlanta.

"There will always be independent film that comes in," Tackette said. "But an independent film isn't necessarily the kind of film that has an economic impact."

Louisiana and Georgia are top film-producing states outside of California. Both states provide tax incentives.

About 85 percent of the 123 recent film projects in Missouri were filmed around St. Louis or Kansas City. Central Missouri attracted 22 projects. Columbia hosted production of short films and web series, and Jefferson City attracted several TV segments.

Amy Schneider, director of the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that though the bureau has worked with film scouts, film festivals like True/False Film Fest and Citizen Jane are bigger economic draws to the region than production.

"We see the importance (the festivals) have in the film community in the nation and internationally," Schneider said. "They bring people to Columbia who might not be in town for any other reason."

Many Mid-Missouri cities still hope to attract production. Representatives from the tourism departments in Columbia and Jefferson City recently attended a trade show in Los Angeles to meet and network with filmmakers, particularly those with Missouri ties.

"It all comes down to location, location, location," Schneider said. "Is what we have to offer here what will go with their film?"

Schneider said the loss of the tax credit was a blow, especially to a small city like Columbia that wouldn't have the finances to draw a major studio production on its own. But she said she still expects the industry's presence in mid-Missouri to grow.

"We are just lucky to have people who live in Columbia and are invested in the industry," Schneider said. "We have filmmakers that live in Columbia and festivals that come here, and I think it's just going to get bigger from here."