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Ellis Defends Film Incentive ProgramBut the film program also has critics who say it attracts high-profile environmentalists who oppose resource development in Alaska, particularly in the Outer Continental Shelf.Related Content
Alaska has been ready for its close-up for quite a while. And the state is seeing major motion picture productions that used to go to British Columbia and other locations that stood in for the Last Frontier. But there's debate about the film incentive program that led to the boom. Filming continued in Anchorage today on a new television series based on the "Baby Geniuses" movies. That comes after the completion of "Everybody Loves Whales" with Drew Barrymore and Ted Danson, and "Ghost Vision" with Jon Voight. But now the chief sponsor of the film incentive program is facing some resistance to his plan to extend the tax credits for another 10 years. Senator Johnny Ellis says that Alaska needs to diversify its economy, which is now overwhelmingly based on oil and gas production. Ellis was successful in 2008 in winning passage of a program under which eligible film production companies can apply for tax credits that in turn are sold to firms with Alaska tax liabilities. He now wants to extend the five-year introductory period by 10 years. A recent think tank report says that states offering similar incentives dropped from an all-time high of 40 in 2010 to 37 this year, with a further drop of two states by next year. Ellis says Alaska's fiscal stability argues against terminating the program here. "These other states that are saying these film incentives aren't as necessary to their state budgets as Medicaid or education, they're prioritizing their budgets because they're in near-default and near bankruptcy. So the state of Alaska is in a good position to have the resources to try and diversify our economy." But the film program also has critics who say it attracts high-profile environmentalists who oppose resource development in Alaska, particularly in the Outer Continental Shelf. "It's a free country we live in. American's great and people can express their political views, whether they're left of center, right of center,” Ellis said. “So for every Ted Danson, I guess, out there who's left of center you've got somebody like Jon Voight, who's right of center, and they can express their political views. But first and foremost, it's about putting Alaskans to work and hiring Alaskan businesses and making money." Ellis' legislation to extend the program passed the Senate unanimously in this year's legislative session. He will push for House passage in 2012. "We can stop the incentives any time we want to. You don't have to pass a law that says 10 years and go for 10 years. We can pull the plug any time we decide it's not in the state's interest any longer. But it's the private sector that wants at least 10 years of certainty, so they can make the investments in sound stages, in buying lighting equipment and all kinds of capital equipment that they need to amortize over time." Ellis hopes the sequel to the incentive program will be a hit with Alaskans. A report early this year by the McDowell group, a Juneau-based research firm, concluded that about $15 million had been spent in Alaska on feature films, documentaries, television programs and commercials. And that does not include "Everybody Loves Whales" or other productions this year that have yet to submit spending data for the tax credits. One of the chief legislative critics of the program, Eagle River Representative Anna Fairclough, was out of state today and unavailable for comment, according to her staff.
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