12,000 NC JOBS: YOUR CALL TO ACTION.

This is statewide! Go gather up all the film supporters and job advocates in Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and everywhere in between. Please SHARE this with everyone!

The Senate still has not confirmed whether or not they will be in a full session to discuss some serious matters at hand. Have these 50 members forgotten why they ran for the opportunity to represent us? Meanwhile, while they continue to gavel in and gavel out with nothing on their calendar, over 25,000 people who live in North Carolina, are struggling with a decision to leave the state, layoff workers, file for unemployment, look for new ways to supplement their income or look for other employment which is already extremely difficult. These are the folks that are affected by the film industry and others who work for companies that are depending on money that is waiting to be voted on.

The Senate MUST come together with the House and finish what they started.

Sen. Bill Rabon stood on that stage in Wilmington during the 2014 NC Film Rally and pledged his devotion and loyalty to the NC Film Industry. More than a 1,000 of us witnessed it. We appreciate the safety net that he has given us, however, we all know it’s not a sustainable solution. Let me remind you that I have not posted a new production that is coming to NC in quite a while. We should have had at least one but more like 3 announcements by this time.

On the outskirts of the budget that has already been signed, waiting patiently inside S763, is Ted Davis’ Amendment, a lower Tier 1, one year extension of the film incentives. We all know we cannot do business with the Grant.

Without the Senate taking session, here’s what else is on the line.

Two proposed manufacturing plants and their 1,400 jobs that the Commerce Department is seeking will not come.
The EPA will close the plant in Canton laying off 1,200 workers.
The elimination of a major recruitment tool, JDIG. This will effectively take NC out of the job recruitment business for one year. If past performance is a guide, this will cost 6,000 jobs just in the recruits the Secretary is engaged with now.

8,600 jobs. Add film in the equation and you get a total of 12,000 that are at stake.

It is up to us, North Carolina, to ask our Senate leaders to go back to session and do what they promised to do when they got elected. Put People BEFORE Politics. Create and sustain jobs.

Please contact your Senators NOW!

Be nice! Be Polite! Do NOT give them any reason to say film supporters are crazy lunatics! And please use your own words. Here’s the gist of it:

“Please, get your team back into session. Jobs are on the line. The job creation legislation already approved by the House and Governor McCrory. We need 763, and my job will rely on Ted Davis’ amendment to extend the film incentives.”

Wilmington Area:

Bill Rabon is the co-chair of the finance committee. He has a seat at the big table, and he has the power to sway the Senate leadership to get back into session.

Bill Rabon.

BILL RABON
Phone: (919) 733-5963
Email: Bill.Rabon@ncleg.net

Asheville area:

Tom Apodaca. You guys have more than film on the line for you. Including 1,200 jobs at risk in Canton, NC alone.

TOM APODACA
(919) 733-5745
Email: Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net

Charlotte area:

JOEL FORD
(919) 733-5955
Email: Joel.Ford@ncleg.net

JEFF JACKSON
(919) 715-8331
Email: Jeff.Jackson@ncleg.net

BOB RUCHO
(919) 733-5655
Email: Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net

FLETCHER HARTSELL
(919) 733-7223
Email: Fletcher.Hartsell@ncleg.net

JEFF TART
(919) 715-3050
Email: Jeff.Tarte@ncleg.net

Raleigh area:
NEAL HUNT
(919) 733-5850
Email: Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net

JOSH STEIN
(919) 715-6400
Email: Josh.Stein@ncleg.net

DAN BLUE
(919) 733-5752
Email: Dan.Blue@ncleg.net

Greensboro area:

GLADYS ROBINSON
(919) 715-3042
Email: Gladys.Robinson@ncleg.net

Winston-Salem area:
JOYCE KRAWIEC
(919) 733-7850
Email: Joyce.Krawiec@ncleg.net

All of North Carolina:

PHIL BERGER
(919) 733-5708
Email: Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

Remind them why they ran for the opportunity to represent us. They speak for us.

All of North Carolina:

CONTACT YOUR NORTH CAROLINA SENATOR NOW!

PRESS RELEASE: 4,000 NC Film Jobs Threatened By Tillis’ Refusal to Support Tax Credit

4,000 NC Film Jobs Threatened By Tillis’ Refusal to Support Tax Credit

June 23, 2014
Contact: Ben Ray
(336) 615-1462
BenRay@ForwardNC.com

** For Immediate Release **

RALEIGH— As budget negotiations move forward this week House Speaker Thom Tillis’ opposition to the film tax credit and more than 4,000 jobs the film industry brings to North Carolina is going to be back on full display. Tillis has attempted to hide his opposition to the credit, but the truth is clear: by sending his staff to whip votes to kill the measure in committee, he put the political wishes of Charles and David Koch over middle class North Carolinians.

Tillis is aware of the political danger he’s in for putting the Kochs over North Carolina jobs. When called out on his opposition by Representative Susi Hamilton, Tillis lost his temper and accused her of making comments “born out of emotions.”

This weekend the Asheville Citizen-Times reported on major projects that are on hold pending the renewal of the film tax credit:

[Film liaison Tammy Hopkins] says she’s recently received calls from two film production leaders who want to bring their movies to North Carolina. But both are also waiting to find out the fate of the 25 percent refundable tax credit, set to expire at the end of this year.

“They are waiting to see what happens,” Hopkins, with Film Brevard, said, noting that one production is deciding between Virginia and North Carolina; the other between Georgia and North Carolina.

“We are the top choice, but they will go” elsewhere if the incentives disappear.

The film tax credit is a net positive for North Carolina’s budget, bringing nearly $25.3 million more into state coffers than the cost of the program while supporting a billion dollar industry and providing more than 4,200 jobs with an average wage of $66,000. If the credit was allowed to expire, North Carolina would lose 4,046 jobs and more than 1,000 North Carolina small businesses would lose a combined $164 million in revenue.

“More than 4,000 hard working North Carolinians could lose their jobs, but Thom Tillis is putting the Koch Brothers over North Carolina jobs,” said Ben Ray, a spokesman for Forward North Carolina. “North Carolina deserves leaders who put North Carolina first, not special interests.”

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Contact these folks today and tell them you are a voter and you support the current NC Film Incentives.:

Speaker Thom Tillis
PHONE: 919-733-3451
EMAIL: Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net
TWITTER: @ThomTillis

Gov. Pat McCrory
PHONE: 919-814-2000
EMAIL: Pat.McCrory@NC.gov
TWITTER: @PatMcCroryNC

HERE’S THE CONTACT LIST FOR ALL NC HOUSE MEMBERS, CONTACT THOSE IN YOUR DISTRICT: http://keepncfilm.org/contact-nc-representatives/

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NC Film Misnomer: “Production Crew Members Do Not Live in NC”

We keep hearing from misinformed public officials that the film industry creates jobs that are not permanent and that private contractors come in from other states and leave when the film or television productions are over. This is one of the most twisted ideas that is thrown out there all the time. Although some outside workers do come in, most of those are producers, actors, and some department heads. NC has a leg up after 30 years of making films and television shows. We have department heads that have made NC their permanent home.

The first thing people have to understand is that North Carolina has a crew base unlike many states since we have been making films since the 1980s. A huge number of NC film crew members also work on films in Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana which strengthens those states’ crew bases whenever there is no work due to political uncertainty in NC.

There are thousands of skilled workers across the state that have made NC their home for the past thirty years (welders, drivers, carpenters, electricians, etc….) that work full time in the film industry. There are many that are born and raised in NC that have entered the film industry when other industries slowed down due to unfair trade agreements, shipping jobs over seas, etc. Again, another example of legislators creating economic conditions that ruin industries.

When crew members worked on “Dawson’s Creek” for 6 years, quite a few rolled over to “One Tree Hill” for another 9 years. They would most certainly say that 15 years of steady work is not part time contracts. This is a just one example. Many crew members will end a show after 6 months on a Friday and start a new production that following Monday.

Let’s talk about how much a film industry worker puts in in labor hours. The average film crew member works 70-80 hrs a week, and for a select few that could be more.

Most film crews work in 6 months what it takes your average 32-40 hr a week worker a full year to do. These are dedicated hard working North Carolinians.

When the snowball effect of productions rolling in one after another is in full swing due to legislators creating the economic conditions, then most film crew workers will put in more hours than an average NC worker would have worked in two years in just 12 months. These are not part time jobs.

NC is now home to some of the highest rated TV shows airing on television. “Sleepy Hollow”, “Under the Dome”, “Homeland”, “Banshee.” If these networks had to fly in all 200 workers per show from other states, put them up in hotels, and give them per Diem for six to eight months at a time, then it would not make any economic sense to film in NC. This is yet another reason why we have so many television shows come here to do business.

But here is the clincher. They HAVE to hire locals across the state to make it a viable business plan. If they don’t hire locals, then they would not benefit from the incentive because the expenditures would offset anything that they would save from the incentive.

The fact is we have THOUSANDS of crew members that live in North Carolina. They owns houses, send their kids to NC schools, pay taxes. Thousands that call North Carolina their home, not their little vacation town. This only scratches the surface. Remember we also have major motion pictures rolling in our state as well. Just take “Iron Man 3” for example. They had over 300 crew members working 70-80 hrs a week for 10 months in NC.

FACT: WE HAVE FULL TIME PERMANENT WORKERS THAT LIVE IN NC.

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BREAKING: Sleepy Hollow Will Return to Wilmington, NC for Season 2

After all the rumors on the lot speculating about whether our beloved Sleepy Hollow would return to Wilmington or not for Season 2, my sources tell me we can now officially RELAX! The 20th Century Fox Television series will return to Wilmington in 2014 for Season 2. An official announcement will be made shortly. When I last spoke to the production office, I was told Sleepy Hollow employs up to 500 people. After all, they work around the clock like mad, having sometimes up to 3 units running in one day. That’s A LOT of jobs for one show! Thank you 20th Century Fox for keeping our incredible NC Film crew working! Plus, they spend an ungodly amount of money at our local businesses. Post your excitement and gratitude below!! Can I get a “Woop Woop!”

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