• Boosting Kaua‘i’s film industry Boosting Kaua‘i’s film industry While to show. Kaua‘i’s film industry has seen better days, and years, in luring Hollywood feature filmmakers, signs of a possible turnaround are beginning Gov. Linda Lingle is introducing a bill
• Boosting Kaua‘i’s film industry
Boosting Kaua‘i’s film industry
While to show. Kaua‘i’s film industry has seen better days, and years, in luring Hollywood feature filmmakers, signs of a possible turnaround are beginning
Gov. Linda Lingle is introducing a bill this session of the Legislature that would raise a 4 percent film production state tax credit to 20 percent for films made on Kaua‘i and other Neighbor Islands, and 15 percent for those shot on O‘ahu.
The amount of the credit would have a ceiling of $7 million per film project.
A similar bill died at the last moment during the 2004 session of the Legislature.
However, January 2005 is a different world for Hawai‘i’s economy compared to Spring 2004, with an abundance of state tax funds flowing in, and a perky economy that’s registering the lowest nonag unemployment rates in the nation.
While it’s debatable if Hawai‘i needs to add some honey to lure filmmakers to the most gorgeous tropical backdrops in the United States, showing support for our film industry is critical at this juncture, especially for Kaua‘i County.
Kaua‘i Film Commissioner Art Umezu is doing a good job as he moves forward in turning around Kaua‘i’s film fortunes. He is currently working on a film production being shot on Kaua‘i on land and sea. While the film isn’t a Hollywood “A” film, it is a movie with national distribution, and Hollywood dollars are being spent locally. Paychecks are going out, too, to local film production workers.
If past film history is a sign of the future, having a location film on Kaua‘i often generates new interest in filming here, and can be the seed needed to bring more, and bigger, film projects.
One drawback that Umezu is facing is the loss of some key Kaua‘i film locations that are now closed off due to environmental concerns, and due to some lands changing ownership, with the new owners reluctant to having their isolated locations publicized in films with global distribution.
Another is the increasingly sophisticated creation of computer graphics effects in Hollywood. With each passing year, the technology is improving, as are the skills of filmmakers like Oakland, Ca.based Pixar. For some productions, like Disney’s Lilo & Stich, all that’s needed are sketches, photos and some onisland time by a pair of writersdesigners. These computergenerated effects aren’t always the best when compared to actually filming on Kaua‘i, but for budgetconscious producers, adding financial incentives like Lingle’s tax credit plan might make a difference.
Lingle’s proposal to make the state tax filming credit a substantial one – and one’s that fivetimes what’s currently offered for filmmakers looking at Kaua‘i – should be given bipartisan support, we feel. This is one bill that has Kaua‘i written all over it, and could be the key to the arrival of a major feature film crew.
