PHOENIX — Anita Verma-Lallian launched Camelback Productions, which she says is Arizona’s first woman- and South Asian-owned film production and entertainment company, in January following the passage of the state’s film tax credit.
Verma-Lallian said she had been interested in starting a production company, and the film tax credit, which incentivizes production companies to shoot primarily in Arizona, inspired her to launch her company.
“I think until the time that we had something to offer, the timing just wasn’t right,” Verma-Lallian said. “So that was definitely a big factor in my decision.”
This film tax credit — which will have a total of $75 million available this year and grow to $125 million by 2025 — is different from prior iterations, according to Nick Simonetta from Pivotal Policy Consulting, a government relations firm that advocated for the credit.
“The bill and the program were constructed differently than the old program,” Simonetta said. “Under the old program … you could come in and shoot a scene in the desert or anywhere in Arizona and claim a credit, and at the end of the day there was no way to build a foundation off of that that really had the industry committing with its dollars and its presence in Arizona.”
Arizona’s original film tax credit was created in 2005 but shut down in 2010 after the Arizona Department of Commerce reported that the state spent $6.3 million more in tax credits in 2008 than it generated in new taxes due to the credit.
The film industry spent $238 billion globally in 2022 and is predicted to spend $243 billion in 2023, according to data from Statista.
It is a competitive market, according to Simonetta, and tax-credit programs can influence the location of productions.
“The program that was put together here in Arizona was done to create a lot of positives for the state,” Simonetta said. “At the end of the day, if it doesn’t work for the state and isn’t creating a plus for the state, it’s not a program that will be sustainable.”
Simonetta said the program was constructed based on economic analysis in order to ensure the program would benefit the state.
“It requires the industry to commit productions to the state, to commit the bulk of their productions to operate in studio buildings that are in the state regardless of who builds them and where they build them, but you have to be in Arizona,” Simonetta said.
The program, unlike the previous tax credit, does not allow productions to come in and do a scene, leave and then claim a tax credit. Simonetta said the way the program is constructed, filmmakers must pay taxes on production costs in Arizona.
Draft rules for the program were posted by the Arizona Commerce Authority, and the public comment period has closed. The authority is in the process of reviewing those comments and finalizing the rules for the program, Patrick Ptak, ACA senior vice president of executive initiatives, said in an email.
According to the draft rules and guidelines for the tax credit provided by the ACA, production companies that want to claim the credit must use a qualified production studio in Arizona, film primarily in the state, maintain its full-time production labor positions in Arizona and include a “filmed in Arizona” line in the on-screen credits.
Companies can receive a tax credit, based on their total production costs, from 15% for a production that costs up to $10 million to 20% for productions that cost $35 million or more. They could get another 2.5% in production credits for using in-state services, as well as a potential 2.5% credit against labor by Arizona workers.
Simonetta said there are opportunities for production companies across the state, including working with Native American nations.
“We’ve got 22 tribes in Arizona and there’s a lot of opportunities for cross-pollination of culture and industry with things that will be done here, location opportunities all over the state, including the reservations, including all the parts of rural Arizona,” Simonetta said. “The whole point of being able to benefit all around the state is having these opportunities for partnerships with universities, tribal nations, small business groups, and various areas around the state.”
Simonetta said it’s not easy to get a tax credit. Productions have to qualify and report to the ACA.
“It is a high bar and it should ensure that everything that needs to happen is happening so it performs the way it is supposed to for the state,” Simonetta said. “There are not only a lot of things to show you qualify, you also have to pay all of your taxes on all these different areas whether it’s sales tax or whether it’s income tax.”
Opponents of the film tax credit compare it to other states. California, for example, requires that TV series and films meet a minimum budget requirement of $1 million in order to be eligible for its film credit, according to an Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee fiscal analysis.
Some parts of the Arizona film tax credit is more stringent than credits in other states. Arizona requires that a company producing a film at a location that does not use a qualified production facility must perform all pre-production, postproduction and editing at an industry standard facility in Arizona. Texas requires that only 60% of the production days be completed within the state.
JLBC pointed to an analysis by Arizona-based Rounds Consulting Group that predicted that, after eight years, new tax revenues generated by the program could exceed the annual funding allocated for it by the state. But the JLBC’s own analysis predicted that the tax credits will cost the state more than they generate in new revenues “for the foreseeable future.”
Proponents believe the tax credit will encourage Arizonans to open their own production companies.
Camelback Productions is one example.
Owner Verma-Lallian supports the film tax credit but believes it isn’t competitive with other states’ credits.
“New Mexico, for instance, their tax credit is 30%. In Arizona … it’s really not as strong as it needs to be to be compelling,” Verma-Lallian said.
Verma-Lallian’s company is not filming yet but is working on the beginning stages of an upcoming production.
“We’re working on a movie, it’s a comedy, and so we are in the process now of we’re starting to cast for it,” she said. “The shooting is going to start in the summer in June … the movie should be ready sometime end of this year, early next year.
“There’s a few other movies that we are looking at; we’re not as far along on those, but we’re kind of looking at a couple different scripts that we’re going to be working on next.”
Verma-Lallian said though the credit is less competitive than in other states, she thinks it will influence others in Arizona to start production companies, as well.
She said there is a need for more film production within Arizona, and that will happen if the incentives make sense for particular projects.
“I think we’re just going to see a lot more development around this space coming to Arizona.”
List: 40 movies filmed in Tucson and southern Arizona
The Fabelmans (2022)
Tucson locations: Tucson Mountain Park and the Sonoran Desert
Cast: Michelle Williams, Gabriel LaBelle, Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen
Genre: Drama: Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker.
Tombstone (1993)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Babocomari Ranch in Sonoita, Texas Canyon, Little Dragoon Mountains, Skeleton Canyon, Empire Ranch in Sonoita, Elgin, Sonoran Desert, Chiricahua National Monument, San Simon Valley, Mescal, Tucson Mountains, San Pedro River, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, Patagonia, Whetstone Mountains, Turkey Creek, Mount Lemmon, Fort Crittenden, Tucson, Harshaw, St. David, Granite Mountains in Prescott, Sierrita Mountains, Benson.
According to the Internet Movie Database, Tombstone was not a location for the movie shoot.
Cast: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton
Genre: Biography, drama, history: A dramatic retelling of the events leading to and following the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral.
Box office gross: $56.51 million
Almost Famous (2000)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Ajo Highway, Tumacácori, Interstate 19, Amado, Tucson
Cast: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson
Genre: Adventure, comedy, drama: A high schooler travels with a rock band for a story in Rolling Stone magazine.
Box office gross: $32.53 million
A Star is Born (1976)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson Convention Center, Pima County Courthouse, Old Tucson Studios, Sonoita and Tempe.
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey, Oliver Clark
Genre: Drama, romance, musical: A has-been rock star falls in love with a young, up-and-coming songstress.
Box office gross: $80 million
Major League (1989)
Tucson locations: Hi Corbett Field, Tucson
Cast: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton
Genre: Comedy, sport: The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a team she hopes will lose so she can move the team. The team disagrees.
Box office gross: $49.8 million
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Tucson location: Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Boneyard
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson
Genre: Action, adventure Sci-fi: The Autobots and Decepticons battle in this sequel.
Box office gross: $402.11 million
Wild Wild West (1999)
Tucson location: Old Tucson
Cast: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek
Genre: Action, comedy sci-fi: Based on the old TV show of Secret Service agents after the Civil War.
Box office gross: $113.81 million
Public Enemies (2009)
Tucson location: Congress Hotel front
Cast: Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Christian Stolte, Jason Clarke
Genre: Action, biography, crime: Feds try to take down John Dillinger.
Box office gross: $97.1 million
Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
Tucson locations: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base boneyard, Scoops on Speedway, a house on North Hill Farm Drive, a house on North Christmas Avenue, The Loft Cinema, Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson High School, Tucson Mall, Arcade on Speedway, Speedway boulevard, Winterhaven neighborhood, Hill Farm
Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains
Genre: Comedy, drama, romance: An outcast pays the most popular girl in school to be his girlfriend for a month.
Box office gross: $31.62 million
Young Guns (1988)
Tucson locations: Old Tucson, Tucson, Sonoran Desert
Cast: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen
Genre: Action, western: Young gunmen led by Billy the Kid become deputies and take their authority too far.
Box office gross: $45.66 million
Young Guns II (1990)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Bisbee, Sonoran Desert, San Rafael Ranch State Park in Patagonia, Tucson Mountains, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Sierrita Mountains, Warren, Tumacácori National Historical Park
Cast: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater
Genre: Action, western: Patrick Floyd Garrett receives a bounty to kill Billy the Kid.
Box office gross: $44.14 million
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Tucson locations: Catalina Park Inn, Catalina Park, Bear Down Gym at the University of Arizona, Friends Meeting House on Fifth Avenue, University of Arizona, Cochise Hall at UA, Old Main at UA, Scottish Rite Temple on Scott Avenue, Old Tucson
Cast: Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield, Andrew Cassese
Genre: Comedy: A group of bullied college outcasts and misfits fight back.
Box office gross: $40.9 million
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Mescal, Sierrita Mountains, Sonoran Desert, Tucson Mountains, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Sonoita, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area
Cast: Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe
Genre: Action, romance, thriller: A female gunfighter enters a dueling tournament to avenge her father's death.
Box office gross: $18.64 million
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)
Tucson locations: Tucson streets
Cast: Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Carofalo
Genre: Comedy: Two dimwitted friends concoct an elaborate lie to impress classmates at their high school reunion.
Box office gross: $29.21 million
Stir Crazy (1980)
Tucson locations: Downtown, Tucson Rodeo Grounds, Pima Community College West Campus, former Whistle Stop bar on Craycroft Road, Pima County Courthouse; other Arizona locations: Arizona State Prison in Florence, Arizona
Cast: Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams
Genre: Comedy: Two friends are set up and wrongfully accused of a crime they didn't commit.
Box office gross: $101.3 million
The Trial of Billy Jack (1974)
Tucson locations: Old Tucson Studios and Colossal Cave Mountain Park
Cast: Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Victor Izay, Teresa Kelly
Genre: Action, drama
Box office gross: $89 million
The Cannonball Run (1981)
Tucson location: Old Tucson
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise
Genre: Action, comedy: Eccentric competitors participate in a cross-country road race.
Box office gross: $72.18 million
Three Kings (1999)
Arizona locations: Tucson, Casa Grande. Sacaton Mine in Casa Grande, Yuma, Eloy, Sonoran Desert, Coolidge, Marana, Phoenix
Cast: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze
Genre: Action, adventure, comedy: After the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers plan to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait.
Box office gross: $60.65 million
The Postman (1997)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Sopori Ranch, Amado and Nogales
Cast: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi: In post-apocalyptic America in the year 2013, an unnamed wanderer retrieves a postman's uniform and undelivered bag of mail, which he delivers to a nearby town
Box office gross: $17.6 million
Tin Cup (1996)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Hotel Congress, Tubac, Sonoita, Nogales.
Cast: Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin
Genre: Comedy, drama, romance: A washed up golf pro tries to qualify for the US Open.
Box office gross: $53.85 million
Glory Road (2006)
Tucson location: Bear Down Gym at the University of Arizona
Cast: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, Jon Voight
Genre: Biography, drama, sport: Texas Western coach leads the first all-black starting line-up college basketball team to the NCAA championship.
Box office gross: $42.64 million
Three Amigos (1986)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Coronado National Forest, Florence, Apache Junction, Superstition Mountains, Apache Trail, Superstition Wilderness, Sonoran Desert, Gold Canyon
Cast: Steve Martin, Checy Chase, Martin Short
Genre: Comedy, western: Three actors go to a Mexican village to perform their onscreen roles unaware they are in a real fight.
Box office gross: $39.25 million
The Family That Preys (2008)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Sonoita
Cast: Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan
Genre: Drama: Two families from different walks of life learn to work together.
Box office gross: $37.02 million
Murphy's Romance (1985)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson (street scenes), Florence, Tubac, Keating Building in Florence, Eloy, Coolidge, Main Street Vault in Florence, Valley Art Theater in Tempe, Tempe, Main Street in Florence
Cast: Sally Field, James Garner, Brian Kerwin
Genre: Comedy, drama, romance: A divorcee and her son move to a ranch and she befriends a local man.
Box office gross: $30.76 million
Cannonball Run II (1984)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Bisbee, Old Tucson, Arizona State School for the Deaf and the Blind Campus
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin
Genre: Action, comedy: This sequel features another cross country race.
Box office gross: $28.08 million
Escape from New York (1981)
Tucson location: Fox Theater
Cast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi: Manhattan is now a maximum security prison and the U.S. president has crashed into it.
Box office gross: $25.24 million
Boys on the Side (1995)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Tumacácori, Teatro Carmen, Elusian Grove Market in Barrio Viejo, Tucson General Hospital (since demolished), Big Horn Restaurant in Amado, Tucson Elks Lodge, Amado
Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore, Matthew McConaughey
Genre: Comedy, drama: Three very different women drive cross country and become close friends.
Box office gross: $23.45 million
Madhouse (1990)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Phoenix
Cast: Richard Alexander, Kirstie Alley, John Larroquette
Genre: Comedy: A yuppie couple's villa is overrun by uninvited guests.
Box office gross: $21.04 million
8 Seconds (1994)
Tucson location: Tucson Rodeo Grounds, other Tucson locations
Cast: Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, James Rebhorn
Genre: Biography, drama, sport: The life of Lane Frost, 1987 PRCA Bull Riding World Champion.
Box office gross: $19.6 million
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Monument Valley, Kayenta, Red Mesa, Kaibab National Forest, Williams (Grand Canyon Railway), Mexican Water, San Francisco Peaks, Skeleton Canyon, Teec Nos Pos, Tucson
Cast: Jason Patric, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall
Genre: Drama, history, western: The story of the Apache chief and his resistance to the U.S. Government's subjugation of his people.
Box office gross: $18.64 million
Posse (1993)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Florence, Sonoran Desert, Empire Ranch in Sonoita, Sierrita Mountains, Tucson Mountains, Benson, Tucson
Cast: Mario Van Peebles, Stephen Baldwin, Charles Lane
Genre: Western: Buffalo soldiers find gold, desert and help defend a black town from the KKK.
Box office gross: $18.29 million
Lightning Jack (1994)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Page, Sonoran Desert, Tucson Mountains, Sierrita Mountains, Flagstaff
Cast: Paul Hogan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Beverly D'Angelo
Genre: Comedy, western: An Australian outlaw in the wild west.
Box office gross: $16.82 million
Terminal Velocity (1994)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Douglas, Little Colorado River Canyon, Tucson, Flagstaff, Phoenix
Cast: Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski, James Gandolfini
Genre: Action, mystery, romance: A maverick skydiver and a former KGB agent team up to stop the Russian mafia.
Box office gross: $16.48 million
The Getaway (1994)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Prescott, Phoenix International Raceway, Hotel Del Sol in Yuma, Downtown Yuma, Flagstaff, Sonoran Desert, Coolidge, Maricopa County Courthouse and Old Phoenix City Hall, Apache Lodge in Prescott, Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, Phoenix Greyhound Park, Union Station in Phoenix
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Michael Madsen
Genre: Action, adventure, crime: An ex-con and his wife flee after a heist goes wrong.
Box office gross: $16.1 million
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, White Stallion Ranch, Nogales
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney
Genre: Biography, comedy, crime: Adaptation of the cult memoir of game show impresario Chuck Barris.
Box office gross: $16 million
Flirting with Disaster (1996)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Tucson, Cave Creek, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Carefree, Marana
Cast: Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni
Genre: Comedy: A young man searches for his birth parents.
Box office gross: $14.89 million
Fire Birds (1990)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Army Pilot Training Post in Tucson, Mammoth, Mesa, Sonoran Desert, Apache Leap Mountains in Superior, Superstition Mountains, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Superior, Picketpost Mountain in Superior, Superstition Wilderness, Miami, Globe, Reymert, Tonto National Forest, Apache Junction, Amphitheater High School
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young
Genre: Action, adventure: Elite Apache helicopter pilots must destroy powerful drug cartels.
Box office gross: $14.76 million
Stay Tuned (1992)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Old Tucson, Florence, Tucson
Cast: John Ritter, Pam Dawber, Jeffrey Jones
Genre: Adventure, comedy, fantasy: a husband and wife are sucked into television sets and must survive twisted versions of TV shows.
Box office gross: $10.74 million
Cyborg (1989)
Tucson and Arizona locations: Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley, The Domes in Casa Grande, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Casa Grande, Green Valley, Tucson
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Richter, Vincent Klyn
Genre: Action, sci-fi, thriller: Hunt for a killer in a plague-infested future.
Box office gross: $10.17 million
The Wraith (1986)
Tucson locations: North Sixth Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Sabino Canyon, Catalina Highway, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, East Fifth Street, West Ajo Way and East Benson Highway.
Cast: Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn, Randy Quaid
Genre: Sci-fi, horror: A high-schooler returns from the dead to get revenge on the psychotic drag racer who killed him.
Box office gross: $3.5 million