{"id":28860,"date":"2025-11-01T01:42:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T01:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/28860\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T01:42:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T01:42:18","slug":"florida-expects-production-surge-with-new-stage-32-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/28860\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Expects Production Surge with New Stage 32 Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a recurring theme in David Fincher\u2019s 2020 film<\/a> \u201cMank\u201d about Los Angeles film workers fretting that the studio bosses are going to move Hollywood to Florida<\/a>. That never happened, and certainly Florida\u2019s paltry statewide tax incentives<\/a> throughout the 2020s made that seem less likely than ever. However, there are signs that things could be changing, and quickly. Consider it a prelude to Florida\u2019s version of the sudden massive film investment in New Jersey that Paramount and Netflix<\/a> have carried out by building new studios there.<\/p>\n

That level of investment for Florida is still quite some way off, but some tracks are being laid to make it more possible. IndieWire can exclusively announce that Stage 32<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest online entertainment education program, is partnering with Film Florida to launch a statewide below-the-line certification program. The idea is to begin creating a large, ready-to-work crew base in the state that can spring into action as film and TV productions ramp up.<\/p>\n

\"'Bugonia'\"<\/a> \"Tracy<\/a> <\/p>\n

The training will cover key roles, including line producing, location management, post production supervision, production accounting, being an assistant director, being a production assistant, being a production coordinator, and script supervising. In-person workshops will be included as well, and industry veterans leading both online and in-person courses include post-production producer Brad Carpenter (\u201cThe Diplomat,\u201d \u201cFosse\/Verdon\u201d), post-production supervisor Leslie Coverse (\u201cBabygirl\u201d) Shalonda Ware (senior production finance manager at Paramount), DGA assistant director Korey Pollard (\u201cSEAL Team\u201d), and location manager Miranda Carnessal (\u201cBarbie,\u201d \u201cKillers of the Flower Moon\u201d).<\/p>\n

Though a statewide incentive has been nonexistent for years in Florida, local jurisdictions have offered their own incentives. Across the state, in places like St. Pete\/Clearwater, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Broward County, there is a cumulative total of over $30 million in tax incentives for productions, with some allowing up to $2 million in incentives for a single production. <\/p>\n

In addition, IndieWire has heard rumbles about the Trump administration encouraging new statewide Florida production tax incentives that could go into effect in the future. There\u2019s no such thing as film tariffs.<\/a> Supporting film production through new statewide tax incentives, though? That could work.<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay in particular has been a magnet for some time for Lifetime and Hallmark movie productions, as well as being one of the leading destinations for shooting commercials in the entire country. Car companies love that it only costs $2,000 to shut down a key toll freeway in Tampa when it isn\u2019t rush hour as a way to really show off their vehicles on-camera. There\u2019s also a growing DIY spirit, with a major indie TV production of Patrick D. Smith\u2019s multi-generational Florida Western novel \u201cA Land Remembered\u201d planned for a 2026 production from \u201cThe School Duel\u201d director Todd Wiseman Jr<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But the mini-renaissance of Florida-based filmmaking in the 2010s, with \u201cMagic Mike\u201d and the A24 trifecta of \u201cSpring Breakers,\u201d \u201cMoonlight,\u201d and \u201cZola\u201d hasn\u2019t continued this decade.<\/p>\n

However, if these expanded incentives come through, the Stage 32 program could mean that there\u2019s a ready-to-go crew base in Florida for when production does ramp up again. Local crew bases did indeed spring up around production hubs in New Mexico and Atlanta, and though New Mexico is still going strong, major studio productions have started leaving Georgia en masse. Disney\u2019s MCU films always shot in Atlanta \u2014\u00a0now they\u2019re in London, reflecting the unfavorable financial environment for films in the U.S. altogether. (On the other hand, production seems to keep ramping up in Texas, thanks to the Taylor Sheridan-motivated tax incentives there.)<\/p>\n

Could New Jersey and Florida really pick up the slack for California and Georgia? At the very least, a trial program for Stage 32 in Florida has succeeded so far just in the Tampa Bay region, with the collaboration and support of Film Tampa Bay commissioner Tyler Martinolich, who\u2019s done as much as anyone to bring filmmaking to the area. That program was focused on everything involved with being a production assistant: on-set protocols, paperwork, and collaboration. Those who completed the program were entered into Stage 32\u2019s Certification Portal to be matched with relevant productions across the state and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cFilm Florida is thrilled to partner with Stage 32 to bring world-class training to our members and elevate Florida\u2019s film industry,\u201d said John Lux, Executive Director of Film Florida. \u201cBy providing access to Stage 32\u2019s certification program, we\u2019re empowering our film commissions and organizations to build a robust, skilled workforce, starting with this exciting program in Tampa Bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStage 32 is honored to collaborate with Film Florida to strengthen Florida\u2019s production ecosystem,\u201d said Amanda Toney, managing director of Stage 32. \u201cAfter successfully training talent for over 50 film commissions worldwide, including an impactful program with St. Pete\/Clearwater, we\u2019re excited to launch this initiative in Tampa Bay and expand opportunities for below-the-line professionals across the state with Film Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could New Jersey and Florida really be places where major film productions are taking place all the time? Time will tell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a recurring theme in David Fincher\u2019s 2020 film \u201cMank\u201d about Los Angeles film workers fretting that the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[21352,28,30,29,21353,21354],"class_list":["post-28860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-film","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-stage-32","tag-tax-incentives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}