Written by on Apr 10, 2012. Posted in Incentive News

Pittsburgh studio head praises state support of location filming incentive

The head of Pittsburgh facility 31st Street Studios has praised the Governor of Pennsylvania for supporting the state location filming incentive through to 2013. Christopher Breakwell runs the studio facility, which offers nearly a dozen sound stages, the largest of which is nearly 62,000 square feet.

Tom Corbett, the Governor of Pennsylvania, has budgeted USD60 million to fund the state’s 25% location filming tax credit through 2013. Breakwell says the state has approved more than USD240 million in incentives payments with a return of some USD1.8 billion. Writing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he also addresses filming incentive naysayers.

While detractors often argue that films and television shows would come to Western Pennsylvania with or without the tax credit, the numbers indicate that this simply isn't true.

Christopher Breakwell, 31st Street Studios

Breakwell states: “While detractors often argue that films and television shows would come to Western Pennsylvania with or without the tax credit, the numbers indicate that this simply isn't true.

“For example, the industry's economic impact on the region from film and television production for the years 2007 through 2010 was greater than in the 15-year period of 1990-2005.”

It’s been a good year for 31st Street Studios, with the facility acting as a production base for The Dark Knight Rises, Warrior and The Next Three Days. Pennsylvania’s filming industries will be relieved that the incentive programme’s renewal has been smooth; uncertainties over its future after the last gubernatorial change resulted in zombie thriller World War Z choosing Glasgow instead of Philadelphia.