S.C. State Senator Yancey McGill (Democrat - District 32 - Florence, Georgetown, Horry, and Williamsburg Counties), chair of the Senate Film Subcommittee, had to delay debate over the Film Incentive Bill (#4815) scheduled for last Friday, Oct. 17. The state's revenue stream was found trickling at a reduced flow, and $488 million had to be taken out of the current budget.

At issue in the film debate is an annual maximum of $15.5 million to be spent on attracting feature film production into South Carolina. That total $15.5 million for the year's movie productions in S.C. can't fit into the same conversation as Louisiana's contribution for one movie, $27,117,737 for Brad Pitt's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." All told, the Pitt movie is under production in Louisiana with a $167 million budget.

Across the country, about 40 states are kicking in substantive subsidies competitive with what S.C. is debating. Michigan's cap on movie production subsidies is $50 million, more than three times S.C.'s.

The producers of the Pitt movie can collect their $27,117,737 by cashing or selling off valuable tax credits. In Louisiana, in 2006, the state granted $121 million in credits.

In S.C., the $15.5 million is paid out as rebates for salaries and expenses. From July 2006 until July 2007, whatever a person was paid in a film, as long as it was less than $1 million, S.C. would pay the production company 20%. After July 2007, a South Carolinian would still see the 20% paid to the production company, but if the movie worker were from out of state, only 10% could be paid, and even then up to no more than $3,500.

The most recent Film Incentive Bill, already passed by the S.C. House of Representatives, restores the full 20% for the out- of- state crowd but also increases the wage rebate for the in- state people to 30%.

As S.C. State Treasurer Converse Chellis put it last April, "As important, the Act also rewards film producers for spending money with our S.C. businesses or investing in S.C. businesses that support these industries. Finally, the Act created collaborative training opportunities with our institutes of higher education, creating S.C. graduates to participate in one of America's top three exports, the entertainment industry." In other words, goods and services bought in S.C. for movie production also qualify for similarly formulated rebates.

New Mexico pays a 25 percent production rebate across the board, and since 2003, the state has attracted more than $600 million in direct movie production instate spending.

The downside is the sight of real money going into unreal ventures. Some movies never make it to distribution, so the worldwide exposure the producers promise never happens. The best of all worlds is probably "The Big Chill," filmed in and near Beaufort. Beaufort hoteliers and restaurateurs still get reservations attributed to the movie's popularity and its images of S.C.