Las Vegas-filmed ‘Anora’ puts spotlight on growth of Nevada movie industry, job opportunities

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Oscars’ Best Picture winner Anora proudly features a “Nevada Film Office” logo in the credits, showcasing the interest and growth in moviemaking across the Las Vegas Valley — and how exactly movie studios hire a range of local businesses and workers to make productions happen.

The Nevada Film Office assists movie studios with acquiring the proper permits for production and helps connect filmmakers with local resources. Kim Spurgeon explains why each movie filmed in Nevada leads to an economic boost for many unrelated industries– whether they are major blockbusters, or even small productions like Anora.

“There’s so much that goes into making a film of any size, but all of them are going to need those crew members that are going to earn wages. Rentals: that money goes to the local businesses. They will eat at local restaurants; they’ll buy things from local stores. All of this impacts the economy when productions choose Nevada,” Spurgeon said.

Spurgeon referred FOX5 to a list of vendors and services utilized by any film, compiled by the Oklahoma Film and Music Office. Movie crews already hire a diverse range of production workers, writers, actors and set crews. Film crews rely on crucial local businesses like car rentals, apartment and home rentals, medical services from chiropractors to doctors, facilities maintenance from janitorial services to electricians, to office staff such as attorneys and accountants.

Despite the growing interest from film studios, according to UNLV Assistant Professor Andi Isaacs, the filming potential for the Las Vegas Valley and all of Nevada remains underutilized — as long as Nevada has limited tax credits for film productions.

“We have the mountains, we have snow, we have desert. There’s no question, it would be desirable to shoot here — if there was a tax incentive,” Isaacs said.

The former executive vice president for Summit Entertainment explains how she and other film executives opt for locations with tax credits — but the economic benefits for the location and local workforce are manyfold.

“Atlanta, New York — they all have 95% local crew,” Isaacs said, noting thousands of crew members needed for major productions.

Last week, hundreds of workers across trades unions and entertainment industries testified at an Assembly Revenue committee in support of Assembly Bill 238, now proposing a $120 million tax credit package over 15 years for productions at Summerlin Studios.

Other groups voiced concern over the budget impact, whether the state could afford tax credits amid looming federal cuts, and if the tax credits would take funding away from budget priorities like social services and education. The testimony for support and opposition can be seen, here: Support and Opposition for Assembly Bill 238.

A separate Senate Bill 220 supports the Manhattan Beach Studios and Birtcher Development movie campus project at the UNLV Harry Reid Research & Technology Park in the Southwest Valley.

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