2 TV productions, movie to get $10 million in grants from North Carolina
RALEIGH -- Two television productions and a movie will receive funds from the North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant, according to a news release Friday.
A grant of $5 million will go to the television production "Under The Dome," which will film its third season around Wilmington. An untitled Lionsgate television project to be shot in western North Carolina will get $4 million.
A movie called "Late in the Season" will receive a $1 million and plans to film at Davidson College and the Charlotte area. It follows a 31-year-old stockbroker who walks on to a small college basketball team.
"The grant recipients reflect a good mix of productions that will film on our coast, in our mountains and in a major metropolitan area," said state Commerce Secretary John Skvarla. "These productions will showcase our state's amazing diversity of resources."
Lawmakers in 2014 ended a program that provided tax rebates of up to $20 million for major motion pictures filmed in North Carolina. The tax credits for TV and film productions allowed producers to forego paying $61 million in state taxes in 2013.
The program was replaced by the grants totaling $10 million. Gov. Pat McCrory's proposed budget for the year beginning in July recommends replenishing the grant program with another $10 million.
Local officials including Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo have urged lawmakers to increase the amount of grant money available as Hollywood productions go elsewhere for more lucrative incentives. In recent months, TV series such as FOX's "Sleepy Hollow" have left.
