One item in the Wisconsin state budget passed last week came as a bit of a surprise to those that had been advocating for it.
Wisconsin will be getting a state film office and will start offering tax credits to filmmakers.
“We were all really stunned and surprised. Just like, a movie,” Nathan Deming said with a laugh. Deming is a filmmaker based between Eau Claire and Los Angeles.
WXPR spoke with him and Rhinelander filmmaker Nate Sheppard last month as they advocated for a bill that would create tax credits for filmmakers and create a state film office.
They were just two of many filmmakers across the state pushing for the change that would make Wisconsin more attractive to filmmakers.
Governor Evers had included the film office and film and TV incentives in his version of the budget, it was removed by Republicans, then some lawmakers introduced a bill for it, only for it to be added back into the budget that passed last week.
“Without these production incentives, which I know, I think can be a little esoteric to people outside of the film industry, but it's hard to understate how important these are becoming, because they're still win-win for both communities where filming takes place and for the productions that they just kind of spread everywhere,” said Deming.
Deming has high hopes for the future film industry in Wisconsin.
He believes it will help boost local economies with both the money filming brings in through things like hotels stays and restaurant visits, but also by creating more jobs and keeping filmmakers in the state.
In Deming’s vision of a successful version of this program, more Wisconsinites will get to tell their own story in their own state rather than having to leave or tell someone else’s story.
“A lot of the most famous Wisconsin movies and TV shows for the past 20 years, like Bridesmaids, or That 70s Show, or the Dahmer Netflix series, none of them were filmed in Wisconsin. They were all filmed in Los Angeles,” said Deming. “There's the richness of details that gets lost, and there's an authenticity that gets lost. I'm just really excited for what can happen when Wisconsin filmmakers get to tell their own Wisconsin stories.”
The new state budget provides funding for the new film office and up to $5 million in film production and investment tax credits each year.
The credits can be use starting in 2026, in the meantime Deming hopes the word gets out to producers.
“Come film here. It's amazing here. We got a lot of locations. Nobody's made a big budget Hodag movie yet. We got a lot of horror films that should be made in northern Wisconsin. We got great crew, great talent, great location. Nothing stopping you now, so come film here,” said Deming.
