The New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission is a

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

government entity that promotes and facilitates film and television production in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Its chair is ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' film producer

Michael Uslan Michael E. Uslan (; born June 2, 1951) is an American lawyer and film producer. Uslan has also dabbled in writing and teaching, he is known for being the first instructor to teach an accredited course on comic book folklore at any university. Ear ...

, who was appointed in 2016. As the birthplace of American cinema prior to Hollywood, New Jersey has long held an attraction for producers, both for its locations and the tax credits offered by the state, which are granted by the

New Jersey Economic Development Authority The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) is an independent government entity in the U.S. state of New Jersey dedicated to broadening and expanding the state's economic base. The EDA creates public-private partnerships to provide access ...

. The film commission's offices are located in the

Gibraltar Building Prudential Financial, based in Newark, New Jersey, has constructed a number of buildings to house its headquarters downtown in the Four Corners district. In addition to its own offices, the corporation has financed large projects in the city, in ...

on Halsey Street in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

History

The

film commission Film commissions are quasi-governmental, non-profit, public organizations that attract motion media production crews (including movies, television, and commercials) to shoot on location in their respective localities, and offer support so that p ...

was created in 1976 by

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

Brendan Byrne Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a privat ...

. Its first chairman was

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...

Christie administration

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in Ne ...

suspended the credits in 2010, but in 2011 the

New Jersey State Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the S ...

approved the restoration and expansion of the tax credit program. The program offered 20 percent tax credits statewide and 22% in urban enterprise zone, to television and film productions that met the standards for hiring and local spending. The tax credit was lower than that of other states offering similar incentives. A controversy arose in 2011, when the governor threatened to veto the payment of tax rebates to the production company of ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

'', a program he and others felt negatively portrayed New Jersey. Ultimately, Christie vetoed legislation for the program's renewal and it lapsed for several years.

New Jersey Film & Digital Media Tax Credit Program

When Governor

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat, and politician serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States ambassador to Germa ...

took office, he instated the New Jersey Film & Digital Media Tax Credit Program in 2018 and expanded it in 2020 and 2023. The initial benefits in 2018, prior to expansion, included a 30% tax credit on film projects and a 40% subsidy for studio developments.

South Jersey

Murphy signed legislation in January 2023 increasing the state's digital media content production tax credit to 35% of qualified expenses purchased through vendors in the southern part of the state (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Camden,

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay fro ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

and

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

counties). In 2023, two

South Jersey South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrative ...

counties, Gloucester and Camden, founded the South Jersey Film Office Cooperative to work with the commission to facilitate filming and the resultant economic activity in the area.

Diversity

New Jersey offers one of the few diversity credit programs among the states. The tax credit includes a 2% or 4% diversity bonus for productions that hire creatives and crew who are women and/or persons who identify as the following ethnicities: Black, Native American, Latino, of Spanish cultural origin regardless of race, or Asian. Choose NJ has marketed this feature to attract more

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

productions to the state.

Film Ready Program

In 2023, New Jersey launched its Film Ready Program, encouraging more municipalities to become "film ready." The program, overseen by the commission, is a five-step certification and marketing initiative that prepares towns to handle film and TV production more efficiently and safely as designated film-ready communities. The program aims to attract more production companies to the state, as filmmaking is said to have contributed significantly to the local economy in New Jersey, bringing in over $650 million in 2022 alone. By becoming a "film-ready"-certified community by the state, municipalities make it more likely to obtain increased local spend by visiting productions. The towns additionally are said to gain publicity for tourism and local businesses by appearing in movies and television shows.

Awards

In 2020, the commission was nominated for an LGMI award for Outstanding Film Commission by the

Location Managers Guild International The Locations Managers Guild International (LMGI) is a professional organization of location managers, Location scouting, location scouts, assistant location managers, and affiliated business members, such as film commissions, location services, v ...

References

{{reflist 1976 establishments in New Jersey Government agencies established in 1976 Organizations based in Newark, New Jersey State agencies of New Jersey Film organizations in the United States Film commissions in the United States Cinema of New Jersey