Lights, camera, action… in Montana

The economic impact from film production in Montana in 2003 was $5.7 million, with a similar figure posted last year. While those are impressive numbers, they’re substantially below some years in the 1990s, when movie companies and ad agencies spent anywhere from $10 million to $15 million a year here.

The reason for the decline? The folks at the Montana Promotion Division believe it’s because other states and countries began offering huge economic incentives for companies to film there. Suddenly, movies ostensibly taking place in Montana are filmed in Alberta, for instance.

Enter the Big Sky on the Big Screen Act – a bill sponored this session by Rep. Chris Harris, D-Bozeman, designed to lure production companies, and their checkbooks, to Montana.

By JOHN HARRINGTON – IR Business Editor

Full Story: http://www.helenair.com/articles/2005/02/13/business/e01021305_01.txt