Entertainment Producers Encouraged to Come to Virginia

A new bill going through the Virginia General Assembly is poised to bring more entertainment projects to Virginia by offering state funds to help them pay for their projects.

The bill is Senate Bill 1421 and it states that anytime someone rents a movie in a hotel room, a 10% tax will be applied to the price of that movie rental.

Half of that tax goes to the Virginia general funds, half goes to the Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund. This fund is stated to “support the film and video industries in Virginia by providing the means for attracting production companies and producers who make their projects in the Commonwealth using Virginia employees, goods and services.” And “The types of projects eligible for consideration will be feature films, children’s programs, documentaries, television series or other television programs designed to fit a thirty-minute or longer format slot.” So the type of projects open to the funding is pretty broad.

Why would the state fund hollywood projects? Because when a huge movie crew comes to shoot a movie, they bring a large crew and cast. These people have to eat, lodge and basically live here for a few months. They will spend money, which helps out the economy far larger than the amount the state would be giving to the producer.