Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Oscar winning actress Sissy Spacek announced Tuesday their support for increased film production incentives including motion picture film production tax credits and increased funding for the Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund as part of the McDonnell/Bolling Jobs and Opportunity Agenda.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Bolling encouraged the General Assembly to pass SB257 (Lucas) / HB861 (Cline) which provides income tax credits to any motion picture production company with qualifying expenses of at least $250,000 with respect to film production in the Commonwealth for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2010. Total credits allowed for any biennium cannot exceed $5 million.

“A vital film industry can have a significant economic impact for Virginia. Unfortunately, Virginia cannot currently compete with incentive programs in neighboring states. Without competitive incentives, Virginia’s film industry will continue to decline and we cannot let that happen,” says Bolling.

“If we had a competitive incentive program it could put us in a position to dominate this industry on the East Coast. Films create jobs, films excite tourism, and films bring millions of dollars to the small businesses of the state,” says Spacek.

Bolling also encouraged support of a budget amendment introduced by Gov. Bob McDonnell to increase funding for the Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund by $2 million.

According to the Virginia Film Office, the economic impact of the film industry since 1980 is greater than $4 billion. The industry supports more than 4,000 workers and impacts numerous other industries such as hotels, rental companies, hardware stores and caterers, and for every dollar Virginia spends the film industry produces a 14:1 return on investment in terms of economic impact for the Commonwealth.

In 2007, the film industry produced $614 million in economic impact to Virginia, ranking 11th nationally. In 2008, production in Virginia declined by 43 percent to $377M and fell to 18th nationally.