Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission has been nominated by the Location Managers Guild International as an Outstanding Film Commission. The New Jersey commission is one of only five to be nominated and the only United States film commission to be honored this year.
The commission, created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature in 1977, was formed in 1978, making it one of the oldest in the country. Since its inception, the NJMPTVC has attracted over 25,000 projects to the state, generating over $2.7 billion for the New Jersey economy.
Production has soared in the last two years, due in large part to the passage of the Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act, signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy in July of 2018. The law created a tax credit for production companies working in New Jersey, leveling the competitive field with neighboring states and other states throughout the country. Many studio and independent features have been filmed in the Garden State such as Joker, The Many Saints Of Newark, West Side Story, Army of the Dead and The Trial of the Chicago 7, and television series including NBC’s The Enemy Within and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector, ABC’s Emergence and CBS’ FBI: Most Wanted. HBO’s The Plot Against America and Apple TV+’s Little America, also filmed in the state, have been nominated for Outstanding Locations in a Limited Anthology Television Series.
“The tax credit program paved the way for a production renaissance in the state,” according to Michael Uslan, Chairman of the NJMPTVC, “but the dedicated work and tremendous cooperation of our commissioners and staff made it possible.”
Secretary of State Tahesha Way expressed sincere gratitude to the Location Managers Guild International for the honor, acknowledging that “the Commission’s work is an important part of the robust economic development efforts of the administration and the Department of State’s Business Action Center.”
The award, which honors productions in which the creative use of film locations set the tone, enrich the character, and inspire the narrative, specifically cited the excellent assistance and support given to HBO during the filming of The Plot Against America, a six-hour miniseries based on the novel by Philip Roth. “This was a very challenging production, requiring the use of many Newark area locations that had to be dressed to period and populated with antique cars and hundreds of extras,” according to Steven Gorelick, Executive Director of the Commission. “But the results were spectacular, and we were delighted to afford series creators David Simon and Ed Burns the opportunity to film on the very streets where Roth grew up and the story was set.”
Winners will be streamed live at the 7th Annual LMGI Awards on Saturday, October 24th at 5 p.m. EST.
About the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission
The NJMPTVC, which falls under the New Jersey Department of State’s Business Action Center, is staffed by industry professionals and serves as a resource for production companies. The Commission promotes film and television production in New Jersey.
