Darling no more: Hollywood flees Louisiana for sweeter taxes

In this June 1, 2016 photo, Trey Burvant, director of operations for Second Line Stages, walks through the now unused studio space, in New Orleans. Louisiana’s once-booming film industry, branded as “Hollywood South”, has gone from darling to Hollywood castoff. The industry is off by as much as 90 percent due to changes to the state’s film tax incentive program that have scared off movie makers (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) In this June 1, 2016 photo, Trey Burvant, director of operations for Second Line Stages, walks through the now unused studio space, in New Orleans. Louisiana’s once-booming film industry, branded as “Hollywood South”, has gone from darling to Hollywood castoff. The industry is off by as much as 90 percent due to changes to the state’s film tax incentive program that have scared off movie makers (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

By Associated Press July 4, 2016 4 min read

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – It’s the middle of a recent work day inside a Hollywood-style movie studio in downtown New Orleans, and Trey Burvant turns off the lights on an empty Stage 1.

He heads over to stages 2 and 3, and they’re empty, too.

“Not much going on,” Burvant says inside Second Line Stages studio. “Nothing going on.”

He’s a Louisiana-raised actor and producer who came back from the East Coast when the movie industry started to take off a decade ago in his home state, thanks to generous tax breaks for movie makers.

But now the slick $32 million state-of-the-art studio Burvant runs – with its air conditioning turned off, its stages dark and its empty parking lot – is a forlorn window into the volatile business of America’s race to attract movie makers with tax breaks.