Kudos to KVIA TV.
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – New Mexico is making a name for itself in the film industry. If you saw Clint Eastwood’s last movie “The Mule,” you might have recognized some of the filming locations.
That’s because Film Las Cruces is working to put the city on the map as a filming location.
On July 1, a new incentive is going into effect giving film companies an additional 5 percent tax credit if they film more than 50 miles outside Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
According to Film Las Cruces’s film liaison, it’s called the rural credit. That incentive is increasing interest in filming in Las Cruces — something that will greatly impact the Borderland economy.
“So for a smaller town like Las Cruces, the impact of something like that, the $1.3 million dollars from The Mule is incredibly huge. This kind of business is able to spend money, and they are able to spend it fast and that’s what we want to help cultivate and make sure they utilize our local vendors and utilize our local crew and just get the most out of their economic impact while they are here in town,” said film liaison Jon Foley.
Foley said because of the incentives, a reality TV show is looking to film a full season in Las Cruces. Also, films ranging from small budget to big budget have also shown an interest in Las Cruces.
Currently, the politics of two big “film credit” states, Georgia and Louisiana, has the film industry reducing the productions in those two states, which benefits New Mexico, and Las Cruces, as alternate locations.
Nice to see physical progress – even if it is for creating a virtual reality. Congratulations Las Cruces for keeping up the fight.