Several major Hollywood film companies are currently considering building permanent movie studios on sites in South Weymouth and in Plymouth, but one city councilor is suggesting it can also happen right here in Boston--or more specifically East Boston.
That’s right. If building a full-scale casino in Eastie never happens, Councilor Sal LaMattina said a movie studio at Suffolk Downs Racetrack, or a second McClellan Highway location, could be a very good Plan B that would bring construction jobs, good paying permanent jobs and a boost to the local economy--just like a casino would.
LaMattina filed a order Tuesday to hold the first hearing to examine the potential for a movie studio in Eastie.
Since the the 2007 revisions of the Massachusetts Film Credit and Sales Tax Exemption Act, movie studios have found the state an attractive location in which to film large and small scale films.  A studio can reduce costs by up to 25 percent due to the generous credits.
Just last summer, a major motion picture production crew rolled into Eastie to film a new movie staring Academy Award nominee Kate Hudson and actor-comedian Dane Cook, who is originally from Arlington.
Both Hudson and Cook were filming scenes for “Bachelor No. 2” at East Boston High School and Eastie was one of several Boston locations  used in the film that will be in theaters in 2009.
“The City of Boston offers several advantages over other sites, including a very highly educated workforce, direct access to Logan International Airport and major roads, close proximity to multiple historical sites and cultural icons and an experienced city Film Bureau with years of guiding filmmakers through the city’s processes,” said LaMattina.
Although LaMattina doesn’t mention Suffolk Downs specifically in his order, he said he had the historic racetrack--currently lobbying for casino gambling in Massachusetts--and a second site on the corner of McClellan Highway and Boardman Street in mind.
“Boston has several potential sites where a studio could be located, including land in East Boston or the South Boston Waterfront,” said LaMattina. “The Boston Redevelopment Authority owns or has access to several other plots of land that could be used as studios as well. With all this talk about casinos in Massachusetts, I think we should also be looking at other ideas and locations that could be used to stimulate the state’s economy.”
In his research, LaMattina found a film studio complex could employ as many as 1,500 workers in well-paid technical jobs, hundreds of service and support positions and provide months of construction work per film.
“A film industry would bring in jobs that did not previously exist and would provide more positions for those in periphery roles, ranging from custodians to caterers and personal assistants,” said LaMattina.