Florida Film Commissioner wanted for robbery (of our rebate)

"It is fantastic to be able to celebrate the premiere of Billy [Corben]'s film [Cocaine Cowboys 2] here at CineVegas. I truly hope that other Florida filmmakers and film alumni look to this film, which took advantage of Florida's Indie Film Incentive, and these filmmakers, who live and work in Florida, as an inspiration to make their Florida indie film projects happen."

President, Film Florida
June 20, 2008, Las Vegas, NV

Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out that way.

Nearly nine months after the premiere of Cocaine Cowboys 2 and five months after we submitted our audited CPA report to Lucia Fishburne, the Florida Film Commissioner, and Herb Miller, the Incentives Administrator, at the Florida Office of Film and Entertainment, they are trying to stiff us on our incentive.

Since October, we've been getting the runaround from Lucia and Herb about when we would be paid and why the check wasn't in the mail.  Maybe it's because the state of Florida is so broke it's looking for a way out of its contractual obligation here -- after all, the state has been considering a raid on the prepaid tuition piggy bank to cover its budget shortfall.  Or maybe there's something nefarious going on.  In 2007 the FBI busted the Louisiana film commissioner for taking bribes to qualify films for rebates.  Just sayin'.

For those unfamiliar with the rebate, in order to help convince filmmakers to make movies in Florida, the state created a program to rebate a portion (15-22%) of the money producers spend here hiring Floridians, paying for services, equipment, etc.

For example, Lucia and Herb sent a $1+ million check of our tax dollars to Fox for spending about $11 million in the state shooting Marley and Me.

So when we were approached about participating in the rebate program for Cocaine Cowboys 2, we got certified by the Florida Film Office, followed the rules, hired an accountant to audit our books and put the "Filmed in Florida" logo in the end credits as the rules require:

We also applied and were certified by the Florida Film Office for the incentive on The U (formerly Hurricane Season,) a documentary for ESPN on the championship history of the University of Miami football program. They haven't given us the money they owe us for that, either.

Even though we've done everything possible to comply, Lucia and Herb continually shift the goalposts, create new hurdles, invent new obstacles, and, most frustratingly, fail to return phone calls and emails.

If Lucia and Herb would pay us the money we’re owed, guess where it goes?  Right back into the Florida economy -- to pay our staff, our freelancers and to help us continue to develop and produce more films in Florida. Little of our annual expenditures ever leave the state.  Makes you wonder why Lucia and Herb were so willing to issue millions of taxpayer dollars to Fox, a California-based studio.

Some filmmakers make decisions about where to shoot their movies based solely upon where the most lucrative incentives exist. We don't do that. We're Florida filmmakers -- born, raised, educated and based in Florida. We make movies in Florida, about Florida and we've been doing it for over 15 years.

We made a deal last year with Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay, Warner Brothers TV and HBO to produce a dramatic series based on Cocaine Cowboys. With these heavyweights aboard, it will no doubt be a big budget production and a decision will have to be made on where to shoot the series. One of the factors in the decision will certainly be the rebate -- and whether those in charge of administering it can be trusted to do so fairly and transparently. Shooting the show in Florida is by no means a sure thing. After all, Jerry produces one of the world’s most successful TV series: CSI: Miami. Where is it shot? Where else -- California.

Bottom line:

1) if you're a Florida taxpayer, you need to know that the Florida Film Commissioner Lucia Fishburne and Incentives Administrator Herb Miller have created their own set of rules on an ad hoc basis in administering the rebate program and refuse to follow the statutes written by the Legislature

and

2) if you're a filmmaker who is planning to shoot in Florida, don't believe the hype about the rebate. Just because you do everything you're supposed to do to qualify for this money, you might not get it. So you might want to review your script and see if that Florida location can't be swapped out for, say, New Mexico?

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