Lexington wants more films and TV shows shot in the city. Here’s their plan.
Lexington’s tourism arm on Tuesday announced a plan aimed at capitalizing on Kentucky’s new tax incentives and attracting more filmmakers to shoot movies and TV shows in the city.
The program, called FilmLEX, will act as a concierge service for incoming filmmakers, connecting them with hotels, filming locations and local crews, plus streamlining the permitting process.
“Creativity is, in reality, big business. Last year the making of films, the making of videography, we saw $80 billion spent across the U.S.,” Jeff Noel, secretary for Kentucky’s Cabinet for Economic Development, said at a news conference in Lexington announcing the plan. “Big business creativity is real, and it affords opportunities to create that kind of life for so many in our state.”
The program is an effort to make use of Kentucky’s filmmaker tax credits, which took effect Jan. 1. The state offers a 30-35% credit on approved filmmaking expenses.
“The incentive is intended to create a critical mass of need, so that everyone who has a creative flavor, or just wants to work in this great industry, has that opportunity,” Noel said.
Mary Quinn Ramer, president of VisitLEX, the city’s tourism arm, said the program is aimed at boosting the local economy. She said it would create jobs for Kentuckians, and she noted that film crews support Lexington’s economy in the same way conventions do — people book hotels, try local restaurants, shop at local stores.
In the past eight months, she said, VisitLEX has brought nine projects to Lexington leading to the booking of 5,000 hotel rooms. Ramer said several more projects have expressed interest in filming in Lexington.
But you likely won’t see blockbuster films coming to the area. FilmLEX is specifically looking to bring in projects that have budgets between $1 million and $10 million. Ramer said movies in that range are usually TV movies — like holiday specials on the Hallmark channel.
FilmLEX has a budget of $225,000 for its first year of operation. That money comes out of the VisitLEX budget, which is funded by a combination of transient room tax — which is levied on lodging like hotel rooms and short-term rentals — and outside grant money.
VisitLEX’s total spending capacity sits at about $10.5 million for this fiscal year.