Sissy Spacek visits General Assembly

Academy Award-winning actress Sissy Spacek visited the General Assembly on Tuesday, joining Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling to speak in support of incentives to lure film productions to Virginia.

As part of his economic agenda, Gov. Bob McDonnell has proposed boosting the state's Motion Picture Opportunity Fund.

The governor also supports creating a tax-credit program for production companies shooting films in Virginia that would bring substantial revenue to the state.

"We need to send a message to the film industry that we want them in Virginia. Because right now, there are a lot of other states saying it much more strongly," Bolling said during a news conference Tuesday.

Virginia is one of 42 states that offer some type of incentive to film companies, though its current package isn't competitive with other states, Bolling said.

"This is not about giving money to Hollywood," Bolling said. "This is about providing incentives to businesses to do business in Virginia."

Spacek, who lives in the Charlottesville area, said her experience on films shot in various locales has exposed her to the positive economic impact movie productions make in communities.

It's time for Virginia to get a bigger piece of that action, she said in pushing for more incentives.

Among the film credit bills filed this year is one sponsored by Portsmouth Democratic Sen. Louise Lucas, an amended version of which has passed the state Senate.

Proposed budget amendments to put more money into the Motion Picture Opportunity Fund also have been submitted.

The film industry brings hundreds of millions to the state, said Virginia Film Office Vice President Rita McClenny, adding that incentives would give officials "the nimbleness" to successfully recruit more productions.

Not everyone is convinced that tax credits will bring a significant return on investment, however.

"There's a misconception that the credit will pay for itself through increases in economic activity," said Michael Cassidy, executive director of the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis.

"More than 40 states have jumped onto the growing film incentive bandwagon of competition for the limited films taking place," Cassidy said, and studies suggest that other states with rich incentive packages haven't received the "bang for the buck" they were hoping for.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com