Why Not Film In South Carolina? Sen. Tim Scott Pushes Federal Incentive to Boost Hollywood In His State

Sen. Tim Scott was waxing poetic about the 2003 sports drama Radio.

The Republican lawmaker from South Carolina said the film, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as a Black man with an intellectual disability in the 1970s who becomes an assistant to the white coach of local football team, “will bring tears to your eyes” and “help you appreciate the importance of not bullying people” and “taking an extra beat so you appreciate everyone has dignity and value.” The movie, he continued, “does such a good job of distilling the importance of being as human as possible.”

At the end of this musing, he added, “All in South Carolina.”

Scott was making the case in front of a group of journalists for a federal film and television tax incentive, legislation he is co-sponsoring in the Senate with California Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff. As a Republican from a state that isn’t a production powerhouse — it’s known these days primarily for hosting the recently concluded series Outer Banks and The Righteous Gemstones — his involvement has raised some curiosity. In Tuesday’s press conference he sought to clarify why he’s so invested in reshoring movie and TV shoots. Hence him expounding on his love for Radio, which was filmed in Walterboro and Anderson, SC.

Scott portrayed his connection to the movie business as deeply personal. In high school and in college, he worked at a movie theater in North Charleston as it screened titles like Rocky III (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983) and An Officer and Gentleman (1982). It was there, on his breaks, that he frequented a local Chick-fil-A and met his business mentor, the Chick-fil-A operator John Moniz.

To this day, Scott says he goes to the movie theater most weekends. “I’m the guy in the movie theater that takes notes,” explaining that he brings “a little light” and sits high up in the theater to do so. “Sometimes you hear something that’s so profound,” he added, “Schindler’s List is one of those examples of a movie that’s so profound that you ought to take some notes.”

He also has a history of attempting to attract Hollywood business to his home state, ever since he was a Charleston County Councilmember back in the mid-aughts. A few years later, as a legislator with the state’s House of Representatives, he considered other ways to increase the state’s competitiveness in the production arena. “We thought we had figured out the magic sauce but states like Louisiana and Georgia went on to create even more tax credits and attract even more film to those states,” he said.

The federal film tax incentive, as it is currently written, would offer a boost to states like South Carolina when faced with these more established competitors. The 20 percent base credit on labor costs could be combined with preexisting state incentives, which in South Carolina’s case is a 20-25 percent rebate on employee wages and a 25-30 percent rebate on supplies. The legislation also offers a five percent uplift for filming that occurs in disaster-impacted areas or so-called “opportunity zones,” economically challenged areas that could include rural regions. Scott himself created the opportunity zones designation within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

A recent elaborate pop-up activation inside Vanderbilt Hall at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal nodded to the state’s ambitions to become a production power player. Nestled within the “Discover South Carolina” display was a fake canoe surrounded by faux swans under a neon sign quoting a line from The Notebook (2004): “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.”

The display also featured a placard calling the state “Hollywood’s Backlot,” showcasing the titles it’s perhaps best known for: The aforementioned Notebook and Forrest Gump (1994). Also included: productions like The Big Chill (1983), Sleeping With the Enemy (1991) and Dear John (2010). The pop-up was up for three days to coincide with United Nations general assembly meeting, which saw the convergence of world leaders, dignitaries and CEOs on the city.

Though the Senate bill, and an identical version in the house, is bipartisan, in conservative circles the idea is facing some skepticism. Both the editorial boards of The Wall Street Journal and the National Review have come out against the legislation, collectively portraying the idea as a way to line the pockets of big studio owners and actors and save failing unions.

Like many of lawmakers currently championing the legislation, Scott portrayed the tax credit as a pro-jobs policy. Currently, around 7,000 people are employed in production in South Carolina, while 17,000 state jobs are impacted by entertainment in some way, he said, and the tax credit could preserve and grow that number. He also took pains to challenge the argument that the tax credit would benefit well-compensated actors, though it does currently include above-the-line costs, saying that stars get paid wherever they film, but crew members and small businesses do not.

Scott further argued that Hollywood is key for exporting American values. The federal tax credit will help empower “multiple voices sharing their perspective on who we are as a country through film,” he said — an argument, perhaps, to sway conservatives concerned about “woke” stories emanating from Hollywood. Scott noted that some of the Christian movies he watches are filmed in Georgia.

Still, it remains to be seen whether more politicians across the aisle will agree with him. When legislators return to Capitol Hill after the November elections, the key to pushing the legislation forward will be building a coalition big and powerful enough to give the bill adequate floor time, he said: “The truth of the matter is unless we have strong numbers, bicameral numbers, bipartisan numbers, this will not hit the level of prioritization that’s necessary for it to get floor time.”

As for how he plans on raising more bipartisan support, he had a simple answer: “The good news is people love movies, to be honest with you.”