NORTH CARROLLTON — The fall season that is approaching brings many festivities, including the Carrollton Pilgrimage. Last year, festivities concluded with a Saturday showing of the 1968 movie “The Reivers,” which was filmed in Carroll County. It was a picture-perfect evening watching a movie from Carroll County’s past with a fall night on the banks of the Big Sand Creek at the Tabernacle in North Carrollton.
A picture being filmed in a community has a lasting effect, providing memories throughout the years. During the time of production there is much excitement for the residents and visitors alike.
There is a bright future on the horizon for historic places throughout this state to be great opportunities for future movies.
In April, Gov. Phil Bryant signed Senate Bill 2603, known as the Motion Picture Incentives Bill. The new law allows for a 25 percent rebate on payroll paid to cast and crew members who are not Mississippi residents. It allows Mississippi-based motion picture production companies to receive up to $5 million for payroll and fringe benefits paid to out-of-state, non-resident employees.
Senate Bill 2603 will give this state an advantage in movies being filmed here. The production of a movie brings excitement and people, which in turn is an economic boost for the community.
The law went into effect immediately, and there doesn’t include a repealer, which means there’s no expiration date on the incentives.
Last year, “The Winston Flyer,” which was the vehicle used in “The Reivers,” was back on display for the Pilgrimage. Some five decades later, there are significant aspects from the movie production that live on. The new legislation will be an asset to these endeavors that mean so much to an area.
Senate Bill 2603 stipulates that out-of-state production companies have to at least affiliate with Mississippi-based companies. It requires that a state-certified production company have roots in the state to qualify for the incentives.
Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, who is that chamber’s Tourism Committee chair, said, “The movie incentives bill will allow Mississippi to be more competitive with our neighboring states for the film industry.”
Filmed more recently in our area than “The Reivers” were “The Help” and two James Franco films based on novels by William Faulkner.
The Mississippi Film Office works closely with production companies to help them choose sites for new films.
Chassaniol said, “Nina Parikh, MDA’s film office head, has been in contact with producers to show them updated photos of possible sites in our area.”
The new law is directed toward giving this state an additional economic impact that the filming of a movie brings to an area. That in itself has sentimental value, which lives on for generations — just like the excitement “The Reivers” has to this day, and brought to the last Pilgrimage some 50 years later.
• Ken Strachan serves as the mayor of North Carrollton.
