Wisconsin filmmakers who are promoting the value of reinstating state film incentives have actor Tony Shalhoub speaking out in their behalf.
“I believe in the incentives and I have a stake in it because I want to come back here and shoot more films,” said Green Bay native Shalhoub, who filmed a feature in 2008 in Door County.
Shalhoub and Susan Sarandon appear in PSAs to promote the economic advantage of film incentives when they attended the recently held Milwaukee Film Festival. The PSAs will run on social media and are expected to air on statewide TV stations.
“Feed the Fish” received about $40,000 in tax credits, which Shalhoub said was vital to making it financially feasible.
“I know there are problems with the incentives as the other side says we can’t afford to offer these. But this is a long-term play.
It may not work 100 percent effectively in the short run. But people have to think five or 10 years down the road and look at what the enormous potential is,” said Shalhoub, executive producer and star of “Feed the Fish.”
“We need to do something to get legislators to realize they are sending movies to other states,” said Nick Langhoff, producer of “Feed the Fish,” which opened last week throughout Wisconsin, in an interview with the Business Journal of Milwaukee.
