In 2014, the Hillsborough County Comission put together a local incentive package amounting to $250,000 to lure "The Infiltrator," a film based on the autobiography of the same name by Tampa resident Robert Mazur, to the city. The Florida legislature had the opportunity to pass a bill that would replenish the state's film incentive program but wound up voting against it.
Good Films, a production company based out of Britain, spent eight days shooting portions of the film adaptation in the Tampa Bay area. The film's star, Bryan Cranston, was spotted all over Tampa Bay and at St. Pete Beach's pink palace, Loews don CeSar, during production. The company originally wanted to film a bulk of the film in Tampa Bay but had to pull out when they could not get a $4million pre-approved tax credit toward production.
HCP, a research marketing firm in Tampa, reports that in that eight day span the film had an economic impact of $957,020. The analysis found that Hillsborough took in $490,192 in direct expenditures, $145,942 of indirect spending, and $320,886 from an “induced effect” to the local economy.
In a year where the area lost Ben Affleck's film Live By Night to Georgia and the state is on the verge of losing HBO's Ballers and the Netflix original Bloodlines, these numbers serve as a reminder of what a thriving arts community can mean for the state.
The first trailer for the film has been released. Spot any familiar settings?
