A piece of Hollywood in the Midwest

Some big-time tax incentives could draw big-time television and movie productions to Wisconsin, but the Badger State isn't going to become the Hollywood of the Midwest just yet.

The tax benefits don't kick in until January 2008, which is one of the reasons a private group called Film Wisconsin is trying to bridge the gap until then.

The nonprofit opened a downtown Milwaukee office in early May as part of its effort to help Wisconsin compete with 41 other states that already have film industry tax breaks in place.

What's at stake is a piece of a $60 billion industry, according to filmmaker Scott Robbe, who founded the group along with some other industry players after the state's film office was shut down two years ago in the wake of Department of Tourism budget cuts.

Robbe said a "good incentives program" can pump as much as $500 million to $600 million a year into a state's economy — something that has already happened in Louisiana and New Mexico. Louisiana's incentives created 13,000 new industry jobs in less than five years, he said.

$50 million the first year

Once the tax incentives take effect here, Robbe projects $50 million in the first year and as much as $200 million by the end of the second year for Wisconsin.

The competition for film and TV production among states and other countries like Canada and New Zealand has heated up. Last year, the average cost to make and market a motion picture topped $100 million, according to the Motion Picture Association of America, which means studios are looking for the best deal.

"Toronto and Vancouver have far harsher climates than Wisconsin and they have major productions contributing to their economies and have had for 20 years," Robbe said. "It is time for Wisconsin to catch up."

'Bridge Incentives' to fill gap

So while the Wisconsin Department of Commerce irons out rules governing the tax breaks before they take effect early next year, some "bridge incentives" have been created to try to attract some productions to Wisconsin in the meantime.

VISIT Milwaukee has created a $100,000 fund to help lure productions to the state's largest city in hopes of bringing more projects like a recently-produced Hyundai commercial, a production that spent more than $100,000 in just one week while filming at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

"We have the potential to do hundreds of commercials each year in addition to film and television projects," Robbe said. "To cities in Wisconsin facing high unemployment rates, this could be a great new industry."

Jenny Price is a Madison freelance reporter.