N.J. film industry is on display in big way at TIFF

Ellen Schwartz still remembers the day: Dec. 23, 2023. She got an early holiday present — the green light to begin working on “Millers in Marriage,” a film she was doing with Aaron Lubin. They just needed a place to film it.

Schwartz said she put in a call to the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission — and was stunned by what happened next: Someone there picked up the phone.

Schwartz said she was looking for a location for a film she was making and was considering New Jersey.

What happened after that surprised her even more: Within 24 hours, on Christmas Eve, she was sent a file of photos of various locations in the state they thought would work for the movie.

“That pretty much sold us on taking this movie to New Jersey,” she said.

Nine months later, after a 20-day shoot in the state, Schwartz and Lubin had one of seven films that were being premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. They also were one of the speakers at a reception the Motion Picture and Television Commission had Sunday night.

More than 100 people from the industry stopped by to hear what is going on in the state — and why they should consider bringing their next picture to New Jersey.

Gov. Phil Murphy said the event showed how far the state has come.

“We’ve gone from middle to back of the pack as it relates to film and television when we first got into office in 2018 to being one of the global superpowers that can compete with anybody,” he said.

Murphy not only points to the studios that are coming (Netflix, Lionsgate and 1888, among others) and the available workforce (it’s already here), but the incentives that come along with it.

Tim Sullivan, the CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, said the available film tax credits in the state, which Murphy helped bring back, are essential.

“We think we’ve got the best-in-class film tax credits in America and, to a certain extent, the world,” he said. “That’s partially because we’ve had the benefit of going to school on how other states do it and we’ve taken the best of the approaches for ours.”

Sullivan said it’s a key step, but not the only step, in the process.

“You can’t really compete without them, but they’re also not enough to win the day on their own,” he said. “You’ve got to have great locations. You’ve got to have a group like the film commission that helps figure out where to shoot. You’ve got to have great crews. You’ve got to have great talent. You’ve got to have great mobility options, and that’s what New Jersey brings to bear.”

Of course, you’ve got to become “Film Ready,” too.

That’s the name of a new initiative, one in which towns can go through a course to become familiar with all the things they need to do to be host a shoot.

Jon Crowley, the executive director of the commission, said this initiative is just one of the things that helps set New Jersey apart.

“The commission is unlike other commissions, where you can roll into a state and they’ll say: ‘Thank you, glad you could show up. Have fun.’  We’re as hands on as you want us to be. We can do the location scouting for you. Interface with other state agencies. You name it, we’re there for you.”

The seven films that were made in New Jersey that were premiering at TIFF is an example that the industry is growing in New Jersey.

The reception Sunday night, sponsored by Choose New Jersey, was an effort to put that all on display — in an effort to get more, CEO Wes Mathews said.

“This is about awareness,” he said. “Even though we know and speak and bleed film in New Jersey, a lot of people still around the world don’t know. We’re at TIFF — we’re purposefully here this year and here today to make a splash and say New Jersey is a film state and to show folks what we have in terms of assets infrastructure, but also in terms of incentives.

“Having our revamped Film Commission, with Jon Crowley at the head, and the governor and the EDA here is a really good way for us to speak to the folks at TIFF about New Jersey.”