Patrick signs bill to aid film industry

BOSTON -- Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law Friday a bill designed to bring more star power to Massachusetts with the help of tax credits for the film industry.

Moments after the signing at a downtown movie theater, Patrick walked down the street to meet with Denzel Washington, who was in Boston shooting portions of his new movie "The Great Debaters," about a group of students from a small East Texas college who challenge Harvard's championship squad in the 1930s.

The legislation builds on a 2005 law that offered tax credits for the first $7 million spent on a movie shot in Massachusetts. The credit didn't kick in until the first $250,000 was spent.

The new law lifts that cap, starts the credits after the first $50,000 to entice smaller independent movies and expands the definition of movies to include digital media.

Patrick said the goal was to encourage more moviemakers to take advantage of key Massachusetts locations, from Fenway Park and Harvard University to the Berkshires and Cape Cod.

"The creative economy is extremely mobile and we can't stand still in the face of stiff challenges from other states," Patrick said.

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