A Wilmington Star-News article linked at Carolina Journal today reports the devastation and hardship faced by the state’s film industry:
Concern that North Carolina?s film and television industry will fade to black without government help was met Monday night with promises from state officials to create a new incentive program for the makers of movies, TV shows and commercials some time next year.
North Carolina, home to the third-largest concentration of film industry workers in the United States and the most significant studio space outside New York and Los Angeles, has seen the number and value of productions decline.
Yes, because we had a nice run of a couple of years of film production, that means there now is a permanent entitlement, funded by taxpayers, to keep the industry afloat here:
?The last four years, I?ve made most of my money out of state,? said John Sutton, a film set grip from Wilmington. ?But I want to work here.?
He said his personal income is less than a third what it was two years ago because of the dearth of productions locally.
Yes, dear taxpayer, “I want to work here” is the new human right, and it is up to you to make sure No Film Set Grip is Left Behind.
