New film production studio announced

The following moved on the AP wire this morning:

Film studio project moves along

PORT ALLEN, La. (AP) - A proposed $325 million television and film production studio near Port Allen is moving closer to being built.

The company putting up the project - Studio City Louisiana - predicts it will create thousands of permanent jobs with an annual payroll of more than $100 million.

The State Bond Commission has approved the use of GO Zone bonds, a set of special incentives created by Congress to spur hurricane recovery. Those bonds allow businesses to tap into tax-free, low-interest borrowing with state approval.

The West Baton Rouge Parish Council has already rezoned more than 800 acres of an old plantation and 350 acres of land inside the Mississippi River levee for the project.

Plans call for the studio to be fully operational by 2009.

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If this Baton Rouge area facility comes to fruition, competition between cities inside Louisiana will become fiercer than it is now. LIFT is already planning a studio facility in New Orleans. Shreveport is quickly gaining its production credentials. The question for producers will no longer be: "Can we save money by shooting in Louisiana?" It will be, "In what Louisiana city can we save the most?"

A more detailed AP is posted here.