From "Without a Box," got this in my e-mail. I must say I'm rather stunned. I was thinking Ohio would be 3rd for some reason.

North Carolina is the third largest film-producing state in the USA, only behind California and New York...

Yeah, there's some big studios there.

There are studios in Wilmington and Ashville. NC was hot in the late 80s and early 90s. It cooled off when Louisana started offering better tax incentives. I think it's picking up again now.

Scott

Where do you go to get a list of prod co's and studios in a given state?

Film commissions.

I was talking to this guy today at the festival who said he did a lot of TV work in NC. He said there is a HUGE studio there. Wicked cool. I want to go there.

Ah but New Mexico has the BEST state film incentives OVERALL...

Up to $15 Million to invest in your film... Lot of requirements but the first one is the easiest... We're running 2 films through the system now...

Lionsgate is so happy with New Mexico's film investment program that they are building a studio in Albuquerque.

The city of Albuquerque has given them something like 25 acres to build their studio as they plan on hiring quite a few New Mexicans...

New Mexico's Film Incentives (http://www.nmfilm.com/filming/incentives/)

filmy

Suddenly, I want to take a two week vacation in New Mexico to check it out...

Since I live in North Carolina, pretty close to Wilmington, and I lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico for 7 months, I have a working knowledge of the landscape and climate in both states. I'd take New Mexico over North Carolina, unless my movie had to be shot on or near the ocean. The scenery and climate are much more friendly in New Mexico, in my opinion. North Carolina is humid, it rains often (and many times without much warning), and the landscape is just miles and miles of pine trees, with a couple of lazy rivers, and a rather uninteresting coastline (wide, flat, sandy beaches - mostly blocked by private property). The city of Wilmington may be a nice shooting location because it is a pretty little town, but I think Albuquerque would offer more range.

Of course, it may all come down to financial incentives. I'm not sure how those compare from NM to NC.

p.s. If you do come out to North Carolina, be sure to look me up!

If you like adobe. We make the trip out to Taos every winter. Santa Fe is on my top five list of places to live if/when I strike it rich. My wife's extended family is from Charlotte and she'd love to move back there but I've spent some time in Charlottesville VA and humid is something I avoid.

I've often wondered why west Michigan hasn't become a mini-Hollywood. Our beaches are wonderful, we have all four seasons, meadows, forests, dunes, everything. We even have the second most number of cloudy days.

Not that I'm recruiting filmmakers for New Mexico...

Lions Gate plans studio in New Mexico (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060913.LIONSGATE13/TPStory/Business)

filmy