5 key takeaways from our investigation:
1. Son of a nutcracker: The most recent production with local ties to get the tax credit was Elf the Musical, which played one show in Springfield and two in Akron in November. The stage play received $463,877 from the state in tax credits.
- Producers for the show say they brought about 90 cast and crew to Springfield for weeks, spending money in the community, and hired 65-75 local people to help put on the show.
2. Man of steel: “Superman” was a box office hit this year, with help from $11 million in Ohio tax credits. The Hall of Justice is unmistakably Cincinnati’s Union Terminal.
3. Wise guys?: Robert DeNiro’s gangster film “The Alto Knights” was also released this year. The $13.8 million it received from the state is more than the $10 million it reportedly made at the box office. Parts of the film were shot in the Dayton area — a portion of U.S. 35 in Xenia was temporarily closed in December 2022 for filming.
4. Critics say: The tax credit has the distinction of bipartisan opposition. Both the right-leaning Buckeye Institute and the left-leaning Policy Matters Ohio want to get rid of the program.
5. Small filmmakers: While high-dollar films get much of the attention (and money), local filmmakers like Greg Siewny and Lana Read in Middletown have shot several small films with help from the tax credit and say it helps support a local film industry while also putting Ohio in the spotlight.
- “The social part of this, not just straight business and dollars, the morale, the pride that we see ... there is a lot of excitement and just generally fun that you can’t put a dollar figure on,” said Siewny.
Director’s cut: Go here for the full story, including perspective on why Cleveland has more success luring these shows, more info on why think tanks say the program stinks and an attempt by state lawmakers to kill the program.
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