Group aims to expand tax incentives for Montana filmmakers
By Mario Carr EBS CONTRIBUTOR
On Saturday, Sept. 21, the Montana Media Coalition held an event at the Peak Ski Company showroom in Four Corners to discuss the potential impact of the 2025 legislative session on media productions in Montana.
“This is such an important legislative session. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is,” said Lynn-Wood Fields, coalition president, at the beginning of her presentation.
Fields sought to educate attendees on the Montana Economic Development Industry Advancement (MEDIA) Act that was passed in July 2019 and how the coalition is hoping to expand on the act in 2025, which would encourage the continued growth of Montana’s film industry. The event included a silent auction, a presentation by Fields and a premier of a new film called “Somewhere In Montana.” The event focused on helping grow the film industry in Montana, and accordingly, “Somewhere in Montana” depicts a filmmaker making a movie in Polson.
The coalition wants the state to raise its media credit cap—a tax incentive for media productions—to $30 million during this 2025 legislative session, with 60% of that money being reserved for filmmakers who live in Montana.
The Montana Department of Commerce has a webpage dedicated to the MEDIA Act, including reports that explain its economic benefits.
“The film industry produces both qualitative and quantitative economic benefits to businesses and residents of Montana,” the report states. Researchers found that while the tax credit did incur an initial tax deficit of $1.8 million to the state, that money was more than made up for through other economic impacts. “The taxes exclusively generated from film activity are only part of the impact.”
The report goes on to explain that the additional tax revenue generated from “film-induced tourism” makes up for this net loss, and ends by stating, “the industry’s spillover supports a variety of diverse sectors throughout Montana.”
The Montana Media Coalition wants Montanans to understand that these productions provide jobs in the state as well as tremendous economic impact. According to an economic report from the Montana Film Office, the MEDIA Act has created over 1,000 full-time jobs in Montana in 2024, and has increased the total economic impact of the industry from $47.6 million in 2019 to $312.2 million in just the first eight months of 2024. While Fields views the past five years as a success for the film industry in Montana, the coalition is sounding an alarm for the industry in years to come.
The media credit cap included in the MEDIA Act is what incentivizes filmmakers to shoot in Montana. Since 2022, that cap has been $12 million per year, but it won’t renew after 2024.
“We are out of credits until 2028… This is the biggest year ever because if we do not get this up, I would bet that film dies in Montana,” Fields said.
According to Fields, there are many other states offering these incentives. For example, in 2023, Texas raised its incentive to $200 million over the next two years. Fields is eager to grow the Montana Media Coalition, so that more local filmmakers can have a say in this legislation.
“Filmmakers and film businesses have never been at the table about writing this legislation. It has been developers and big studios,” Fields said.
Filmmakers and film supporters alike are welcome and encouraged to join the coalition, which currently has over 70 members—Fields is hoping to get that number to 300.
“If legislators hear that there are actual Montanans making this, that makes a difference. Right now there’s this huge perception that nobody in Montana actually does this work and that is not true,” she said.
By rallying the support of Montana Filmmakers, Fields is hoping to raise the money needed in order to pass a bill.
“To pass a bill—whether you agree with this or not—we need at least thirty to fifty thousand dollars… We are really excited that we are joining forces to make our money go further,” Fields said.
After describing economic benefits of the tax incentives, Fields discussed possible pushback.
“I’m sure all of you hear these talking points. There’s a perception that potentially ‘Yellowstone’ [the TV show] is the reason for the housing crisis—that’s a mixed bag,” she said, adding that this crisis was primarily caused by COVID and an influx of remote workers, and that Montana’s housing crisis is not unique to Montana but has been seen in western states like Utah and Idaho as well.
“If legislators hear that there are actual Montanans making this, that makes a difference. Right now there’s this huge perception that nobody in Montana actually does this work and that is not true.”
Lynn-Wood Fields, Montana Media Coalition president
Fields grew up in Whitefish in the 90s. She said the film industry was huge in Montana during that time. However, when Canada introduced a tax incentive to attract filmmakers, Montana film production dropped off, she explained. With the MEDIA Act offering greater incentives beginning in 2019, the industry has bounced back—there have been 167 film productions in the state of Montana in 2024 alone, which isn’t over yet.
“That is so important to know because all we ever hear about is one,” Fields said, referring to the popular show, “Yellowstone.”
Fields also explained that this tax incentive money might be better described as a rebate because it’s disbursed after production. After film producers prove that they have paid their crew and cast in Montana through extensive auditing, they can receive this incentive or rebate.
Samuel Enemy Hunter, a member of the Crow Nation, also spoke to the group about the production assistant course with the University of Montana’s Media Training Center that he went through with Fields, and how he believes that filmmaking can provide great jobs to the indigenous population in Montana. Now, Enemy Hunter will share what he has learned with other native people around the state.
“We’re actually going to be doing a reservation tour where I’ll be teaching the [production assistant] course to the natives… In Montana we do have a lot of talent, and a lot of native talent that is being overlooked,” Enemy Hunter said.
As the leader of the coalition, Fields was careful to mention her gratitude towards productions like “Yellowstone” that have “put Montana on the map” in the film industry. But that being said, she and the coalition want Montanans to understand that there are over 100 other productions happening in the state, that are run by Montanans and depend on these tax incentives as well. The current model of the MEDIA Act offers incentives on a first-come, first-served basis, which means that many smaller Montana productions have no chance at receiving any incentives. The coalition hopes to change that with the “sideboards” they are planning to introduce.
At the end of the presentation, casting director Tina Buckingham announced the coalition will host another, larger event on Saturday Oct. 26 at the Yellowstone Film Ranch.
The MEDIA Act could be discussed this coming winter as Montana begins its next legislative session.
