Mississippi's recent productions range from mid to high-budget features.
Jeff Nichols's sci-fi throwback, Midnight Special had a budget of USD18 million while James Brown biopic, Get On Up boasted a budget of USD30 million.
Producers filming in Mississippi can access a base 25% filming incentive that’s capped at USD10 million per production, 30% on the payroll of Mississippi residents, and an extra 5% for any resident that is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. The programme has an annual fund of USD20 million, which restricts its appeal to low-budget shoots.
States with small film funds struggle to attract big-budget productions that need loftier guarantees of financial support. Maryland struggled to secure the third season of political drama House of Cards when the state sharply reduced its film fund for the year but the producers demanded their level of financial support stay the same.
While the programme has proven attractive to incoming production, the low minimum spend of USD50,000, the lowest in the country for a rebate, has been successful in supporting smaller productions and the projects of local producers.
Mississippi Film Commission
Mississippi’s climate is sub-tropical with all four seasons and is dominated by hot and humid summers, short winters and very pleasant springs and autumns. Summer temperatures average at about 28C on the Gulf Coast and slightly less further inland. The biggest differences come during the winter months, when the Gulf Coast is about 11C and temperatures further north drop to about 5C.
Historically, the state gets more rainfall in the south than in the north and most of its annual snowfall is concentrated in the northern regions. Hurricane season generally is more active in the late summer and autumn. Humidity is highest during the spring and summer months.
