Posted on: Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Bills would boost Hawai'i film industry

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Neighbor Island film commissioners are closely monitoring the progress of two legislative bills related to refundable production tax credits for qualified film, TV and other productions.

Maybe even 5 percent closer than anybody else.

Senate Bill 541 and House Bill 1590 have both survived their first crossovers. The Senate Media Arts and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on HB 1590 at 1:15 p.m. today.

Both bills call for an increase in the existing Act 221 refundable production tax credit from 4 percent to 15 percent, making Hawai'i more competitive with other Mainland and international filming destinations. Productions would be eligible for an additional 5 percent tax credit for shooting on the Neighbor Islands.

Maui film commissioner Benita Brazier said helping productions offset the extra cost of filming on the Neighbor Islands will help create more opportunities for the local film industry.

"It is so significant for us," Brazier said. "It's important to remember that this is a state film industry. For Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island to be as top-of-mind as O'ahu, we need to help level the playing field. It won't stop productions from coming to O'ahu, it will complement it."

Brazier said if the additional tax credit had been in place this year, there might not have been such a scramble for crews and other resources on O'ahu when three network shows ("Lost," "North Shore," and "Hawaii") arrived at the same time.

"We have to remember that this is a business," Brazier said. "As beautiful as we are, we have to be beautiful and economical."

Kaua'i film commissioner Art Umezu said the state's film commissioners are united in their support of the proposals, although he's concerned about how far Hawai'i should go in trying to keep pace with places like New Mexico and Louisiana, which offer generous incentives as part of an aggressive effort to build their film industries.

"We've got to have the 15 and 20 percent to keep up with the Jones'," Umezu said. "If not there will be some gloomy times ahead.

"But where does it go from there?" Umezu asked. "What if Louisiana decides to give a 35 percent credit?"

Umezu said Kaua'i, with its long history of major film productions, has an established reputation that continues to make it an attractive destination for filmmakers. Still, he says, it's one thing for the creative forces of a production to want to shoot on Kaua'i, and quite another for the corporate entities that finance the projects to sign off on it.

"There are a few guys who will come no matter what," Umezu said. "But for the rest, it's all about the bottom line."

Umezu, who was served as commissioner during Kaua'i filming heyday in the 1980s, said the island's industry has been surviving on a relatively steady diet of smaller independent films, national commercials, and an upswing in Japanese productions.

"We need the (increased) tax credit to keep us above water," Umezu said. "Otherwise we'll be bobbing." ...

Reach Michael Tsai at 535-2461 or tsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.