Yahoo Finance:
Hungry to prop up their ailing economies, U.S. states are locked in a fierce competition to lure Hollywood filmmakers to their gritty cities and picturesque towns with tax breaks and other incentives. The movement remains intense despite state budgets facing near crisis, largely because the movie and TV industry has emerged as a tough survivor in hard economic times. California, facing a $42 billion budget deficit, nevertheless approved a film tax credit Thursday.The film industry’s economic health has pushed some states like Ohio to take a second look at tax breaks for filmmakers and TV producers after years of viewing such financial incentives as luxuries the state couldn’t afford. The state shuttered its film commission for five years in 2002 because of budget cutbacks.