Film Ready Workshop Comes to South Jersey



(BLACKWOOD, NJ) — The New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission (NJMPTVC), in partnership with the South Jersey Film Office Cooperative invites representatives of municipalities in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties to attend the Film Ready New Jersey Workshop on Friday, September 29, 2023, from 9:00am – 1:30pm at Camden County College in Blackwood.

Counties and municipalities interested in attending must pre-register online. Film Ready New Jersey is a five-step certification and marketing program that enables cities and towns to effectively accommodate on-location filming and market their communities as filming destinations. As an entity that now falls under the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), the Commission is focused on ensuring that New Jersey’s downtowns and municipalities in general are prepared to reap the economic benefits of film and television industry growth and interest in locating their projects in New Jersey.

The September 29th workshop is the first step towards certification. At the workshop, participants will learn about the economic benefits of hosting on-location filming. Training and guidance will be provided by industry professionals as well as NJMPTVC staff members and commissioners.

The workshop will cover ordinances, permitting, opportunities for small businesses and other facets of on-location filming. Participants will walk away with a toolkit to attract and welcome productions to their community and learn about the necessary steps required to become a certified Film Ready Community.

The workshop will also feature Film Ready Police + Fire, designed to educate and train police and fire chiefs in safety measures for crew members and the public.

Workshops will be offered on a regional basis, by invitation, throughout the year. Interested municipalities can learn more about the Film Ready program here.

Since the revival and enhancement of New Jersey’s tax credit program in 2018, which offers eligible production companies a transferable tax credit of up to 35 percent on qualified film production expenses, plus an additional 2 percent or 4 percent diversity bonus for qualified productions, the state has attracted hundreds of feature films and television shows, generating close to $1.5 billion in spending. New Jersey has experienced a constant flow of filmmaking across every county from Cape May to Sussex, hastening the demand to prepare municipalities for an influx of film and television production.

In 2022, the BET+ action-thriller Call Her King, starring Naturi Naughton and Lance Gross, filmed at various locations in Camden and Gloucester counties. During the 15 days of filming in Camden City and Gloucester County’s ceremonial courtroom, the production used hotels, bought from local food vendors, and worked with local production professionals including three production assistants and three local interns, contributing $2.1 million in direct economic impact.

M. Night Shyamalan returned to South Jersey to shoot his 15th feature film, Knock at the Cabin. Produced by Blinding Edge Pictures and Universal Pictures, the movie is based on the New Hampshire-set 2018 book The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay. Much of the movie was filmed on the grounds of a cranberry farm in Tabernacle, and at the Evergreen Dairy Bar in Southampton. Blinding Edge Pictures reported expenditures of $5 million for the filming of Knock at the Cabin.

Atlantic City is prominently featured in the Netflix sports drama Bruised. The movie stars Oscar- winner Halle Berry and marks her directorial debut. It is a story about a former mixed-martial arts fighter struggling to regain custody of her son and rekindle her athletic career.

Filmed entirely in New Jersey in 2021, the movie was shot largely at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and Elite Heat Boxing Gym on Mount Pleasant Avenue in Newark. Throughout the production in both Atlantic City and Newark, the team behind Bruised spent nearly $10 million in New Jersey and hired hundreds of local cast and crew members.

Get your community involved. The first step is attending this month’s informative and entertaining Film Ready New Jersey Workshop.

The New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission, which falls under the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, is staffed by industry professionals and serves as a resource for production companies. The Commission promotes film and television production in New Jersey.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) serves as the State’s principal agency for driving economic growth. The NJEDA is committed to making New Jersey a national model for inclusive and sustainable economic development by focusing on key strategies to help build strong and dynamic communities, create good jobs for New Jersey residents, and provide pathways to a stronger and fairer economy. Through partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders, the NJEDA creates and implements initiatives to enhance the economic vitality and quality of life in the State and strengthen New Jersey’s long-term economic competitiveness.