Today's Washington Post takes a look at why the Nation's Capital misses out on many Hollywood film and television productions. The two biggest reasons are the lack of aggressive tax incentives and the bureaucratic maze location scouts and filmmakers must navigate to get permission to shoot in the shadow of the Capitol dome or other monumental locations.
The most disturbing part in the decline of TV and film shoots in The District is that storylines involving political intrigue and scandal are in demand. But Baltimore—Washington's blue-collar neighbor to the north—is increasingly used as a stand-in for D.C. because Maryland's film incentives are so much more competitive. The Old Line State offers a rebate of up to 25% in the form of a grant for productions spending a minimum of $500,000 in-state and shooting at least 50% in the state. And last year Maryland increased their film incentive budget from $1 million annually to $7.5 million.
The D.C. Film Office has recently lost out on two Washington-set HBO series because of a lack of film incentives. "All Talk" is a comedy pilot written by acclaimed novelist Jonathan Safran Foer and starring Ben Stiller, who will also direct and executive produce. "VEEP" is a political satire starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose local ties include a move to D.C. when she was eight-years-old and graduating from Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland.
Washington, D.C. is losing out big time on job creation and economic impact, and Baltimore and other areas of Maryland are happily reaping the rewards of offering better incentives. It really shouldn't be this way. You cannot replace the majestic Lincoln Memorial or Washington Monument on a sound stage in Burbank. But you can shoot almost every other scene somewhere else. By not offering more aggressive incentives and not streamlining the permitting process, the Nation's Capital is missing out on a monumental chance to lure Hollywood productions at a time when Tinseltown is more interested than ever in what is happening in Washington.
