Be it actors, actresses and directors like George and Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Depp, Jennifer Lawrence, Ashley Judd and Gus Van Sant, or films like Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Elizabethtown, Goldfinger, Coal Miner’s Daughter or The Insider, Kentucky’s history with the movies has plenty of chapters worth reading.
Another such story started Wednesday afternoon in Madisonville Community College’s Glema Mahr Center for the Arts, when local, regional and state leaders took center stage to welcome the arrival of the West Kentucky Film Commission.
Spearheaded by Hopkins County and Madisonville leadership, and a pair of co-commissioners in producer-executive Kristi Kilday and native boxer-turned-lawyer Jeremy Winton, surrounding cities in Bowling Green, Oak Grove, Franklin, Paducah, Central City, Henderson and Owensboro are joining the cast — together hoping to champion the bipartisan pillars of the Kentucky Entertainment Incentive Program, while creating a vibrant filmstrip on which movies can unfold, driving economy to the region.
Re-drafted, re-funded and re-enacted under Governor Andy Beshear and the Kentucky General Assembly, the measure should attract film and entertainment productions to the state, foster industry growth, create local jobs and build state-of-the-art production infrastructure. Eligible productions can earn up to $10 million in tax credits if they choose to draft, create and shoot movies in the scenic Commonwealth, with a state cap at $75 million.
Citing Bloomberg, Beshear noted the movie business is “booming” in the Commonwealth, with Kentucky leading the nation for increased production spending: 800% more than the next state. He said more than $230 million has already been spent, and last year, he signed legislation forming the Kentucky Office for Film and Development.
Kevin Cotton, Madisonville’s magnanimous mayor, said a series of e-mail inquiries from Kilday, and later Winton, helped bring Wednesday’s moment into fruition — noting two movies, one in post-production and one in pre-production, have already made in-roads through the region.
Now, he added, more could be on the way.
Hopkins County Tourism & Convention Commission Executive Director Tricia Noel praised Beshear, along with Rep. Wade Williams and Sen. Robbie Mills, for their efforts in revitalizing film’s role in Kentucky’s tourism and economic impact model.
Winton noted the list of cities interested in this collective “grows each week,” while Kilday confirmed that she first planned to split her time between California and the Commonwealth, before fully committing on a relocation to Louisville.
Winton also confirmed that two initiatives will be introduced immediately out of the gate:
+ Representation for west Kentucky at the American Film Market, one of the largest trade shows in the industry
+ And the launching of the Real American Film Festival, which will rotate between member cities
Qualifying tax exemptions include set construction, equipment rentals and local accommodations, but must be made with Kentucky-based vendors.
FULL REVEAL:
BESHEAR POST COMMENTS:
