By Catherine M. Welch & Michelle Bliss
Wilmington, NC – The Wilmington-filmed HBO series "Eastbound and Down" will return for a second season, but it remains unclear whether it will be shot in North Carolina.
North Carolina's Film Commissioner, Aaron Syrett, says he's waiting for a script to see whether the show's plot keeps its characters in North Carolina.
While television show "One Tree Hill" signed on for another season of filming in Wilmington, and a feature film staring Orlando Bloom is in production in Durham, Syrett says production is down this year, in part to competing film incentives in other states.
"Georgia this past year went up to 30%, South Carolina is between 20 and 30%, Michigan is up 42%, Louisiana's at 25%. So we're seeing some of those other states who have historically not had the film industry in their jurisdictions, starting to build one with tax incentives."
Syrette says the film industry put $91 million into the state's economy last year.
A bill(S943)in the legislature would hike North Carolina's incentives package from 15 to 25%.
Read The Film Credit Expansion Bill
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