How Massachusetts Became a Booming Film Production Hub

It’s almost springtime in Princeton, Massachusetts, but inside a popular local restaurant, Christmas lights are twinkling as though it’s December 25. Amid the garlands and trees, a small sign asks customers to excuse the holiday décor, as a Christmas movie is filming at the eatery. The picture? A Very Vermont Christmas, from local director John Stimpson, the veritable king of the holiday rom-com, who has created 10 holiday movies over the past decade for the likes of Hallmark and Lifetime. Apart from one, all were filmed in Massachusetts.

It’s safe to say this couldn’t have happened a few decades ago. But in 2005, local film industry pros and the Massachusetts Film Office decided it was finally time to put the “biz” back in local “show biz” and transform the state into Hollywood Northeast. Leaders from the film industry’s businesses and unions—as well as individuals from the recently formed Massachusetts Production Coalition—lobbied for competitive tax incentives to attract more filmmakers. In 2006, a law passed offering 25 percent tax credits on production and payroll expenses. And that, says former MFO head Nick Paleologos, was when the “floodgates opened” for film production in the state: “We were unprepared for how much they opened. We went from zero to $400 million [in projects] in a few years.”

While that sounds like a lot—and it is—Georgia stands as a leading film production hub outside California, boasting more than $4 billion in direct film spending in 2021. It offers up to a 30 percent tax credit and, like Massachusetts, has plenty of production capacity, spurring the creation of sound stages and some 60,000 production jobs in the state. Major players such as Marvel Studios and Tyler Perry have established significant operations in and around Atlanta.

A Boston movie crew films in Copley Square outside the Boston Public Library. / Photo by Claire Folger

Likewise, Massachusetts’ tax credit also spurred significant growth in the Bay State’s film infrastructure. While interior shots once required traveling elsewhere, filmmakers can now use several sound stages in Greater Boston. New England Studios opened in 2014, followed by Red Sky Studios in Allston and Foxborough and Boston Harbor Studios in Quincy and Canton. A Braintree movie campus is also in development. In turn, this expansion has attracted related businesses, including equipment rentals, casting agencies, and visual effects companies across the state.

The number of locally based crew members has also grown rapidly: Once limited to staffing just two feature films at once, the area can now handle five or six at a time. This increase has encouraged industry professionals trained at local colleges to build careers here, and many are now settling down, buying homes, and starting families in Massachusetts. “I’ve been really proud to be a part of that,” Stimpson says.

Since the tax incentive’s 2006 inception, more than 300 productions have filmed in Massachusetts, injecting $3.2 billion into the local economy. These range from indies (Sound of Metal) to Oscar winners showcasing the state’s scenery (CODA, Little Women, The Holdovers), blockbuster Marvel films (Madame Web), and TV shows (Castle Rock). Despite controversy over lost state revenue, the economic boost, job creation, and talent retention led legislators to permanently extend the film tax credit in 2021, removing its early 2023 expiration date.

The extension initially positioned the state for a prolific period of production following the COVID-19 pandemic, but then labor strikes all but halted film and television production nationwide for two years. Although the union-related issues have now been resolved, their impact lingers as studios and networks remain cautious about greenlighting new projects, a hesitancy stemming directly from the prolonged period of uncertainty in the industry. “It’s really scary times right now,” says Central Booking’s Tim Van Patten. “Everybody’s struggling.”

Though the industry is in a moment of transition, Massachusetts’ film scene is hardly dead—it’s gearing up for a comeback. Exciting developments are on the horizon for the coming year, as multiple films and TV series are already scouting locations. Adding to the buzz, a feature film starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson is currently in production as you read this. “There’s a catchphrase: ‘Stay alive till ’25,’” says MFO assistant director John Alzapiedi. “Once we get into 2025, things will start picking up again.”

First published in the print edition of Boston magazine’s December 2024/January 2025 issue as part of the “Hollywood Comes to Boston” package, with the headline, “And We’re Rolling.”

Photo illustration by Comrade

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