A Decade After ‘Sleepers,’ Tax Credits Reawaken State Film Industry

AP — Ten years after actor Kevin Bacon came to Newtown’s Fairfield Hills Hospital to work on the Barry Levinson film Sleepers, a Connecticut tax credit program for filmmaking is beginning to transform the state into a vast movie set.

Bristol-based ESPN is re-creating the Yankees’ 1977 pennant run in eastern Connecticut for a miniseries. Later this fall, Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connolly will film Reservation Road in Fairfield County.

And Uma Thurman has been filming In Bloom in New Haven.

Connecticut is not unknown territory to movie makers. Scenes were shot for Cannonball Run II in 1984, Sleepers in 1996 and War of the Worlds in 2004.

But the three current projects are part of the state’s efforts to shed itself of bit parts. Connecticut wants to be the set for films to be made from start to finish, not just to shoot scenes of a New England town green or aging factory buildings.

Following the lead of other states, Connecticut on July 1 put in place tax credits for film, TV, commercials, video games, and music videos. Productions get a 30 percent tax credit for money spent in-state on goods, service, and labor.

If a company does not have Connecticut tax obligations, it can sell its credits to other businesses.

To draw a permanent film industry presence, the state is trying to attract all the components required, from union labor to precision camera companies. Industry officials say such mundane items will matter if Connecticut wants permanent jobs and staying power in film and television.

“If it really works out, you will have a tremendous advantage compared to other states,’’ said Mark Smith, former director of Louisiana’s film and television office.

The industry also will require local businesses to cater to the varied, and sometimes demanding, needs of film and television production.

Last week, municipal development officials and business owners — hotel managers, accountants, car rental agencies — gathered at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford to meet with state film officials to learn how to bring the industry to Connecticut.

Connecticut businesses are already getting some benefits from the tax credits. For example, the In Bloom production has been renting 4,000 nights at hotels in the Stamford area this summer.

The film office estimates the combined budgets for In Bloom, Reservation Road, and the ESPN series The Bronx Is Burning at $36 million. Officials believe most of the money will be spent in Connecticut.

Estimates are not available for job creation and overall spending, state officials say, making it impossible to know how much the tax credits will cost Connecticut taxpayers.

The credits come at a time when the state is searching for new ways to fuel its economy, which has had slow job growth in recent years.

Connecticut’s proximity to New York City — a hub in East Coast production — also is a boost. For example, ESPN is finding benefits from Connecticut’s location for The Bronx is Burning.

The miniseries drew New York City-based character actors who might not have been interested if shooting were in a distant location, said Ron Semiao, senior vice president for ESPN Original Entertainment.

“It has worked out great,’’ he said. “I think it will only get better if Connecticut brings in more TV and movie production.’’