“Without (incentives), ‘Veep’ wouldn’t have filmed here,” Gerbes said.
According to data provided by the Maryland Film Office, 2006 was the biggest year on record for films made in Maryland, with an estimated $158 million pumped into the Maryland economy from films like “Step Up” and “The Visiting,” and season four of “The Wire,” choosing to shoot in-state.
That same year, “The Wire” received a $1.6 million grant to film in Maryland, and “Step Up” received $2 million in state funds. “Step Up 2” has been the biggest recipient of state grants, with $3.5 million given to the production in 2008.
Up to $7.5 million per year is up for grabs now as a result of Gov. Martin O’Malley signing the Maryland Film Production Act in 2011. Before that, there was no consistency in how much could be allocated to the film industry in any given year.
In 2010, $1 million went to films, down from $4 million in 2009 and 2008, and nearly $7 million in 2007.
Several high-profile productions used Baltimore as a backdrop in the past year, which Gerbes attributes partially to state incentives.
In addition to “Veep,” “Game Change,” an HBO movie about Sarah Palin’s vice presidential campaign, was filmed in Baltimore last year, and the upcoming political drama “House of Cards” will begin filming there next month. “Jamesy Boy” finished filming in the spring.
Debbie Donaldson Dorsey, director of the Baltimore Film Office, said state funding is recouped through production costs and employment of local technicians, actors and extras. In addition, production materials are usually bought in-state.
Gerbes said more than 1,000 local companies, including hotels, car-rental companies, dry cleaners and caterers, benefited from the extended stay of “Veep.”
“Every night, we had people from the show. It was terrific,” said Germano Fabiani, owner of Germano’s, an Italian restaurant in the Little Italy section of Baltimore. “I wish they’d make a show like that every month.”
More than 40 states currently offer some form of financial incentive for production companies, often in the form of tax breaks or rebates. Some states, like New Mexico and Louisiana, don’t have a yearly cap on how much money is offered to filmmakers.
“Without tax credits, the productions will go elsewhere. That’s just the name of the game now,” Dorsey said.
Starting in the late 1990s, production companies began leaving Los Angeles due to rising costs. Canada became a continental film hot spot because of cheaper Canadian dollars and tax rebates offered to big production companies.
But even before Maryland ramped up its tax credits program, the state was the backdrop for a number of movies, thanks to its geographical diversity and proximity to Washington.
“The Wire,” “Step Up,” “Wedding Crashers,” the “Blair Witch Project” and “Ladder 49” — which featured a cameo from then-Baltimore mayor and now Gov. Martin O’Malley — were all filmed in Maryland.
