TENNESSEE:

Incentive information
Film office
Production Guide

Incentives:
 

The State of Tennessee has developed TWO incentive plans to create economic and community development and to promote film and television production in the state.

With the combination of the two incentives, your production can receive a possible total of 32% of your qualified Tennessee Spend! Explore exciting and fresh location possibilities with our NEW Film and Television incentives!

To learn more about eligibility requirements and the application process simply click the links below.

Incentive 1 - 13/15/17% Film & Television Production
A. Requirements
B. Eligible TN Expenditures
C. 13/15/17% Procedure
D. Forms
     Form A: Registration for Certification of Conditional Eligibility
     Form B: Declaration of Residency Form
     Form C: Incentive Application

Incentive 2 - 15% Headquarters Refund
A. Requirements
B. Sample Letter Ruling

Statutes:
Chapter 916 created the Film & Television Production Incentive
Chapter 1019 created the Headquarters Refund (see Section 8 on pg. 6)

Download the ENTIRE Incentive package as one PDF

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P3 Update article 5/08: Americas-east-south-central-region  - May 2008
The East South Central Region ─ comprised of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi ─ extends all the way from Cincinnati in the north to Biloxi on the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, these four diverse states encompass the iconic cities of Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham, Mobile and Tupelo, and a landscape that ranges from the ultra-urban high-rises of bustling city centers to the steamy flats of the sleepy, rural south.  While the region offers film, commercial, and TV producers and directors a host of reasons to shoot, it faces stiff competition from neighboring states ─ such as Louisiana, Indiana, and the Carolinas ─ that are pushing big tax breaks and fighting for production. This month, P3 spotlights these four states, their incentive programs, and the current and future state of production in the region

TENNESSEE
The state of Tennessee has developed two incentive plans to create economic and communal development, and to promote film and television production in the state. With the combination of the two incentives, a production can receive a possible total of 32 percent of its qualified Tennessee spend. The first is the 13/15/17 percent Film & Television Production Incentive and the second is a 15 percent Headquarters Refund. Perry Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Film & Music Commission, stresses that these programs “are not tax incentives, but cash rebates. The Headquarters Refund is run by the Department of Revenue, and you need to be either a headquarters location or work through a company located in the state that’s a headquarters location.”

As an example, Gibson cites the new, untitled Hannah Montana feature Disney is shooting in the state. “They’re in preproduction and Disney is working through Lyric Street, the label they own, that’s headquartered in Nashville,” she notes. “That’s a very big deal for us and we were thrilled to get it.” Production starts in May and will be on location for six weeks, mainly filming in the Nashville area. 

Other recent production includes the feature Nothing But the Truth, directed by Rod Lurie, and starring Matt Dillon and Alan Alda. “It’s loosely based on the Valerie Plame CIA scandal,” says Gibson. “Originally they were looking at the Virginia and Washington D.C. area, but then they found that Memphis could double really well for D.C., so it was all shot in Memphis. We also had the Fox Reality TV show Nashville here last year.”

Gibson notes that, “As our tax programs didn’t take effect until last summer, it takes a while to kick in and now we’re seeing a lot more production come here, including the new feature Billy the Early Years ─ about Billy Graham ─ being done through Larry Mortorff Productions.”

The state has always offered filmmakers an impressive diversity of locations, adds Gibson. “When Disney shot their live-action The Jungle Book back in 1964, they did half of it here and half in India, as we could double for India so well. Basically, we have three very different looks. You start with Memphis and the Delta, and that’s where such films as Walk the Line and Hustle and Flow were shot; it’s a hugely film-friendly town. Then you come over to Nashville with all the rolling hills and horse country; we also have the Tennessee of the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge, and the largest cave system in America.” ...............read more

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Article From :  Production Update Magazine
 7021 Hayvenhurst Ave., Suite 205
 Van Nuys, CA 91406
 Phone: (818) 785-6362
 Fax : (818) 785-8092
 Or e-mail us:
James Thompson
 Editor / Publisher-in-Chief
jt@updatemag.tv
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Appalachian States - Tennessee

Film Coordinator Jennifer Alison Andrews, of the Nashville Mayor's Office of Film, touts
Nashville's great versatility of locations. "We can replicate Manhattan or a small town in the
1950s. Just minutes away from the Nashville city limits there are great mountainous
regions. Nashville has mild winters and hot summers, so most filming takes place in late
summer, early fall, and spring."
The availability of manpower is another plus, according to Andrews. "We have the capacity
to crew up three productions deep, and Nashville can provide the full range of production
support and services. If you go to www.filmnashville.com, and hit the 'production directory'
icon, you will find everything you need."
................................................................READ MORE

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ARTICLE FROM "COMMERCIALAPPEAL.COM" - MEMPHIS TENN.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/movies/article/0,1426,MCA_15400_3062236,00.html

Wandering crew borrowing our habitat, but they're very nice about it

Scene Stealers

By John Beifuss
Contact
July 25, 2004

Richard and Toni Baer have lived at 1576 Carr in Midtown for 10 years.

Last week, Johnny Cash was their neighbor for a day. Or, to be more accurate, the
newcomer was Joaquin Phoenix, who portrays the iconic singer in "Walk the Line," the 20th Century Fox movie biography shooting in Memphis.

The 1500 block of Carr was used for a sequence in which the young Cash tries his luck as a door-to-door salesman.  Director James Mangold filmed Phoenix on the front porches and inside the living rooms of several homes.

While the film crew worked with the busy professionalism of a small army, neighbors
gathered on porches outside camera range, turning the novelty of Hollywood-in-Midtown into an excuse for a sort of party.  Memphis-born actress Ginnifer Goodwin, who plays Cash's first wife, also was present, working on another scene on the street.

"We all kind of respectfully stayed away from them," Baer said. "But at the end of the
evening as Ginnifer and Joaquin were getting into an SUV, we waved goodbye and he called out to us, 'Thank you for letting us use your neighborhood.' It was really sweet."..............................READ MORE

Selected Southern States Incentives Compared in an Informative Chart