By James Thompson

I just got a glimpse at a story slated for P3’s July issue. It’s about the best places to film in the U.S., and California isn’t even in the running. To qualify as a top production place, a state needs to offer producers incentives. In fact, this is the best way to attract producers from Hollywood. The states with the largest increase in productions are the ones offering the best incentives. So why then is the California government not doing all it can to dissuade producers from running to other locales?

With the high-profile press surrounding Ugly Betty’s recent decision to leave California for New York, I’ve been hearing press clips of Governor Schwarzenegger saying California must increase tax incentives as a way to keep producers from moving their productions out of state. In fact, just this morning on my way into work, I heard Schwarzenegger on KNX 1070 repeatedly saying it’s “stupid” for California not to have incentives. Well, talk is cheap. California’s administrators and lawmakers better get on the bandwagon or they’re going to continue to watch production leave the state.

For a look at some of the states that are reaping the benefits of high-profile production, stay tuned for the July issue of P3.

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