Screen Alliance of New Jersey Launches

On Apr 25, 2024

The Screen Alliance of New Jersey (SANJ), the latest advocate for the Garden State’s thriving film and entertainment industry, made its debut. With a mission to ensure the NJ Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program remains predictable, transparent, and sustainable, SANJ will serve as the unified representative of every sector of the industry, from established studios to the employees who support them. The diverse SANJ board includes representatives of studios, stages, real estate, film vendors, professionals, and labor.

“The Digital Media Tax Credit Program has helped New Jersey’s film and entertainment industry flourish in recent years,” said SANJ Board President and National Lead of Cinelease Studios, Gannon Murphy. “New Jersey is the state where filmmaking began, and SANJ wants it to be where filmmaking continues to prosper.”

The NJ Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program attracts production companies to film and create digital media content in New Jersey and encourages the development of large-scale studios.

New Jersey is now home to several purpose-built studios, representing the physical investments of the industry in the Garden State. Productions of notoriety throughout the state of New Jersey include the Paramount Pictures film Smile, a $17 million endeavor that went on to make over $217 million worldwide, Bros, Dumb Money, Many Saints of Newark, Joker, John Wick: Chapter 4, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, as well as TV shows like The Walking Dead: Dead City, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Murder at the End of the World and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. A Pepsi Super Bowl commercial starring Steve Martin and Ben Stiller was also filmed in New Jersey.

In recent years, the program has been expanded, allowing filmmakers to dedicate more funds to their productions while staying within budget. The program provides credits equal to 30% to 35% of qualified film production expenses and a unique diversity bonus for hiring women and minorities for key creative positions, among other benefits.

Based on data from the 2022 New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission Annual Report, New Jersey’s vibrant film and television production industry contributed a staggering $701.9 million to the state’s economy thanks to a 49% increase in productions. These productions have been instrumental in creating a substantial number of jobs – 14,620 positions that can be directly attributed to the industry.

“New Jersey has created a world-class environment for film and digital media creators to thrive,” said Nick Maniatis, director of studio and production policy at Netflix. We are delighted to be a member of SANJ, as it connects us closer to the local communities and the pulse of the motion picture and television production industry.”

Jamie Payne, SANJ Board Treasurer and Palisades Stages owner stated, “Through strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts, SANJ will actively entice filmmakers to choose New Jersey as their preferred production destination. The objective is clear: to cultivate an environment where filmmakers can build, grow, and sustain their productions, fostering a continuous influx of benefits across our statewide industry, local economies, and the very communities they impact.”

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