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It wasn’t so long ago that Barry Levinson was delighting moviegoers with his Baltimore trilogy, Julia Roberts’ Runaway Bride was hiding out in scenic Worcester County and Vince Vaughan and Owen Wilson were committing mischief in the Maryland made Wedding Crashers.

But times have changed.

When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Curious Case of Benjamin Button he set the story in Baltimore. However, the script was rewritten for New Orleans in order to take advantage of Louisiana’s production incentives. A $150 million project went south along with the prestige of hosting one of the year’s most heralded films.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The list of recent productions that considered and rejected Maryland in favor of states with better incentives is staggering. With each project that goes elsewhere we lose jobs, infrastructure, taxes, revenue and the opportunity to see our beautiful state on the big screen. That is why the Maryland Film Industry Coalition was formed. Your support is crucial to the Coalition’s success.

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A time honored Maryland industry is fighting for survival.

For more than thirty years, our state has been one of America’s most popular film locations. From favorite sons like Barry Levinson and John Waters to visiting superstars like Jodie Foster and Clint Eastwood, we’ve entertained the most talented people who have entertained us.

But that’s pretty much a thing of the past.

During the past few years, Maryland has been rapidly losing film, television and media production to states with more competitive incentives. Over a four year span, projects with combined total budgets of more than $500 million looked at Maryland, and then went elsewhere. We couldn’t even compete for stories set here like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hairspray, or Annapolis.

In July 2008, a group of concerned Marylanders met to confront the challenge. They examined the impact not just on people who work in the industry but on the many businesses, educational institutions and others that benefit from this important industry. From that meeting, the Maryland Film Industry Coalition was formed. An alliance of businesses, labor unions, educational institutions, government entities and concerned citizens, the Coalition’s goal is to reverse the dramatic decline in film and television production in Maryland by advocating for incentives that compete with other states.

This is an important issue to me. I trust it is to you, as well. Your support is urgently needed. To learn more about the Coalition’s plans, what is at stake and most important, how you can help, visit the MFIC website at www.MDfilm.org.