The state office that tries to entice movie-makers to come to Missouri is no longer part of the agency that pushes economic development. The State Film Office has had budget cuts that have left little remaining. So it’s being moved from the Department of Economic Development to the University of Missouri. It’s an effort to save the state $50,000 in its $19-Billion budget. The University hopes to have the office running within a month. The director of the University’s business and industry program, Steve Wyatt, says the shift expands the reach of the office. The state will pay the University $150,000 a year for three years to operate the film office. The office will be evaluated after that. The State Film Commission is not being moved. It stays with Economic Development. It handles the Film Production Tax Credit Program, which gives films as much as $1-Million in tax credits per film.
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