Lights, camera, income.
The Baton Rouge Film Commission announced last week the film industry spent an estimated $196 million in Baton Rouge in 2010.
Katie Harvey, BRFC project manager, said 26 films used the city as a filming location last year.
Harvey said the figure for 2010 is a conservative estimate, and the actual number is likely closer to $200 million.
That’s about $100 million more than in past years, according to Amy Mitchell-Smith, BRFC executive director.
Mitchell-Smith said the industry spent $72 million in 2009 and $25 million in 2008 in Baton Rouge.
Paul Arrigo, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the numbers aren’t surprising because Baton Rouge has established itself as a popular location for the film industry in recent years.
He said the BRFC has essentially been in business since 2005, when crews were unable to use New Orleans as a location after Hurricane Katrina.
“After Katrina, a lot of films moved out of the hurricane zone,” Harvey said. “We started to see a lot of business from people moving here from New Orleans.”
Harvey said East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden was instrumental in attracting film and television shows to the area.
“He made sure to let everyone know Baton Rouge was dry and ready to work,” she said.
Harvey said big projects like the “Twilight” movies make Baton Rouge a more popular filming location and attract more business to the area.
“We absolutely expect the trend to continue,” Harvey said.
Arrigo said films also attract fans, which aids the city’s tourism.
“With something like ‘Twilight,’ the fans want to come here,” he said. “They want to be a part of it.”
Mitchell-Smith said the main reason studio heads choose Baton Rouge as a filming location is the Louisiana Motion Picture Tax Incentive Act of 2002 — which grants a 30-percent tax credit to any production company that spends more than $300,000 in the area.
“They’re definitely seeing more savings here than they would in Los Angeles or New York City,” she said.
Mitchell-Smith said the city may have initially become popular because of the tax credit, but it has maintained that popularity by positive word of mouth among studios.
“One project comes in, they have a good experience, and that makes us more attractive to studios,” she said.
Mitchell-Smith said she’s hopeful for the future of the film industry in Baton Rouge.
“We’ve got a lot of momentum right now,” she said.
 
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]