Despite tax credit setbacks, Las Vegas film community keeps pushing forward

Nevada’s film community isn’t backing down from its quest to attract major studios to Las Vegas, despite recent legislative setbacks in their quest to obtain substantial tax incentives for the industry.

“Just like the film industry has always been, this community is small and mighty and scrappy, and they’re going to keep doing what they’ve always done, so they’re going to keep producing, they’re going to keep creating,” said Danette Tull, deputy director at Film Nevada. “That’s basically the definition of our independent film community: They don’t need your permission … they find a way. It’s just a matter of keeping ourselves motivated and continuing to do what we’ve always done and adjust.”

Tull’s determination comes after two major film tax credit proposals failed to advance during Nevada’s 2025 legislative session.

Assembly Bill 238 would have created a substantial incentive package: up to $95 million in annual transferable tax credits over 15 years, specifically targeting film and television productions in Southern Nevada. While the bill managed to pass the Assembly, the Senate adjourned without voting on the bill.

A competing measure, Senate Bill 220, also failed to gain traction in this year’s Legislature.

Despite the legislative defeats, Film Nevada remains committed to establishing the state as a major filmmaking hub. It is a division of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and tasked with promoting Nevada as a production destination while connecting filmmakers with local locations, crews, vendors and industry resources.

There are good reasons to continue the pursuit.

Some iconic American films have been shot in Southern Nevada, including Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” and the 2024 Oscar-winning “Anora,” drawing millions in economic revenue, Tull said during the recent Las Vegas Arts and Culture Summit in downtown Las Vegas.

When “The Hangover” was shot in Las Vegas for 15 days more than a decade ago, Tull said it generated $1.5 million in the local economy through restaurant patronage, hotel room bookings and other business revenue such as catering or dry cleaning.

More recently, Caesars Entertainment was able to provide empty hotels as a backdrop for Season 2 of the popular reality television show “Love Island” in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tull added. Those seven weeks of filming for the show’s 34 episodes brought more than $9 million to local vendors who provided labor and other items for the show.

Additionally, movies and television shows filmed here promote Las Vegas, help to draw visitors and future film projects.

“There has almost been no greater soft power in the world than American cinema going out across the world, and I would say that there is no greater power of publicity than being in films and television series that anyone, anywhere can watch and appreciate,” Heather Addison, who chairs UNLV’s Department of film, said during the summit. “Every time that we (Las Vegas) are represented in popular culture, there is an economic impact, and cinema and television are big ways that that happens. If we can get Las Vegas out there in any way — in cinema, in film and other forms of art — there will be economic impact.”

Adam Paul, an assistant professor in UNLV’s department of film, said “Hollywood is no longer a place,” and that Las Vegas has all the right tools to become a film hub even without tax incentives.

He pitched UNLV as an example, touting its “robust internship program” and new Filmmaker Vision Lab, which brings in emerging filmmakers of note to the university for a week to participate in an intensive incubator program. There, those filmmakers work with UNLV’s film students to prepare, shoot and edit a short proof of concept film that ties into a larger film idea.

One of the program’s recent participants created a horror piece that secured funding to be developed into a larger series, while another — an alumnus of UNLV’s film program — wrote a short that was later developed into a larger feature set for festival distribution soon.

From a long list of local film studios and passionate artists to free film permit applications, the region has positioned itself as a promising place for moviemakers to craft their projects, the panel of experts echoed.

But more could still be done, said Shahab Zagari, a local filmmaker and administrative faculty member in UNLV’s College of Fine Arts.

Zagari explained that Europe, since the 1960s, has been awarding grants to filmmakers to attract and support their craft. He referenced a 2019 study that found the grants, on average, were about 300,000 euros (about $348,000 U.S.).

Zagari wants to see the city of Las Vegas or other local governments create a similar program, with requirements that encourage filmmakers to make use of Southern Nevada’s existing supply of talent and other crew members. He believes a program like this could be life changing, and another way to drive more interest in producing movies here.

“I think if we did something like that here — we have money; there’s gambling and mining, don’t tell me there isn’t money. If we could give $300,000 (grants), one or two of those a year, we would have feature films, independent films, coming out and competing. With the type of talent that we have in this town, we would catapult everyone,” Zagari said. “The Legislature is a long game, and they meet every other year, and so you just have to keep at it.”