OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma’s Film Enhancement Rebate Program was ‘really helpful’ in bringing new movie production to the Sooner State, film producer Jonathan King said Thursday.
Speaking at the state’s film and music conference, King told a crowd of about 250 that the rebate program helped sway producers in choosing Oklahoma, even though the cost of producing the film here was slightly higher than other areas of the country. “When push came to shove, it was slightly more expensive to be here, but you get so much more richness in the film,” he said.
King is producing Matt Damon’s latest film, “Stillwater.” Production crews spent the earlier part of this month filming in the small town of Coyle, in Logan County. The movie, directed by Tom McCarthy, tells the story of an oil field roustabout, portrayed by Damon, who travels from his home in Oklahoma to France to help his daughter.
King said filming in parts of the movie in Oklahoma helped make it more authentic. “The city and the state are big characters in the film,” he said. “You want make it authentic, to get it right.” Developed in 2001, the state’s film rebate program provides a cash rebate between 35% and 37% on qualifying film and television productions that are made in the state. This year the Oklahoma Legislature expanded the program, doubling the rebate from $4 million to $8 million.
Records show the rebate currently has an $8 million cap for each fiscal year and has been the rebate has been renewed through 2027. The rebate offers a base percentage of 35% on qualified Oklahoma expenditures. If a minimum of $20,000 is spent on music recorded in Oklahoma by an Oklahoman or on Oklahoma music production costs, an additional 2% is added to the total rebate.
Still, at times, the program has been controversial. In 2014 then-Representative David Dank, R-Oklahoma City, criticized the incentive, saying the rebate failed to generate enough revenue to cover its cost. At that time, Dank pointed to an economic impact study which said the film “August: Osage County” received $4.7 million in rebates but generated only about $415,000 in tax revenue.
Dank, who died in 2015, said the study showed the state lost money on the film. “That means we lost $4.2 million underwriting one movie,” Dank told the website eCapital. “Where I come from, that is bad business.” Last year, an official with the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs also criticized the incentive. “This is real money that could go to teachers; it could go to curriculum; it could go to public safety; it could fill potholes; and instead at best we are subsidizing millionaire filmmakers,” OCPA Executive Vice President Trent England said in an interview with an Oklahoma City television station. “And at worst we’re subsidizing hobby filmmakers on productions that never go anywhere.”
England said most jobs associated with individual films were temporary. He said the OCAP found little evidence that the incentive was helping to enhance the state’s image. “Let’s face it,” he said, “Film incentives are largely about politicians getting to hob knob with celebrities; getting to claim credit for bringing somebody important to the local town and all of that goes away and lingers in the egos of politicians.”
Tava Sofsky, director of the state’s film and music office, disagreed. She said she hopes to educate lawmakers and policy officials about the importance of the program. “I think one of the keys is educating,” she said. “If they don’t know, then why should they support something?” Sofsky said film office staff and industry officials have been working behind the scenes to educate lawmakers to ensure they know the real benefits – both financial and cultural – about the program.
“Working alongside the private sector, I think, is really important,” she said. “People who understand the value and can go to their legislature and say, ‘you should go to Georgia and look at these soundstages. You should go to LA and talk to the executives.’” Both Sofsky and King said Oklahoma’s goal should be to build a permanent film industry in the state. “Growing the crew base to a deep level so it can support more than one movie at a time, is important,” King said.
Sofsky said the state was creating an industry where more and more people could live in Oklahoma and work full time in the film and music industry.