Florida’s film industry hopes to attract big-budget movies and TV again

Beautiful coastlines. Swamps. Vibrant neighborhoods and urban scenes. What’s not to like about shooting scripted Hollywood films and television series in Florida? Well — the cost.

It’s much more “reasonable to shoot in Atlanta or Louisiana and pretend it's Florida,” said Bill Lawrence, a Hollywood producer best known for television series like Scrubs and Ted Lasso.

Florida’s film and TV industry has been in decline since the state dissolved its last major financial incentive program nearly a decade ago, which had offered performance-based incentives like cash rebates and tax credits to attract productions.

But amid the state’s struggles to lure big-budget projects is a persistent marketing push from local film commissions, independent and major filmmakers to move forward with motion pictures across South Florida.