KY film credits boost economy, officials and film experts say. Some aren’t so convinced. 

Kentucky towns are serving as the backdrop of holiday movies, thrillers and “Ethan Almighty,” an upcoming film about the dog who inspired the passage of a Kentucky law criminalizing abuse of dogs and cats. 

The bump in film production in the commonwealth can be attributed to Kentucky lawmakers building up the state’s film incentives in recent years. Yet, some criticize the program for providing state funds to private companies with little return on investment. 

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, told the Kentucky Lantern in a recent interview the state has an opportunity to become a destination for movie and television filming. He pointed to places that have seen a boost in tourism because they were featured in a movie or TV show, like Scotland showcasing film locations shown in the “Outlander” series, which he heard about from parliament members while visiting the area. 

“You create tourism destinations and iconic points through movies, through TV series,” Stivers said.

Not only that, boosting a new industry “would be great to diversify our economy,” Stivers said.  Some major productions have moved out of traditional film hubs like California as other states began offering lucrative tax credits. 

Kentucky has had iterations of tax credits within the last couple of decades, but has put more backing into the program and subsidies in recent years. In 2025, the General Assembly approved Senate Bill 1 to establish the Kentucky Film Office, overseen by the Kentucky Film Leadership Council, within the Cabinet for Economic Development. 

One southern state that has captured film productions is Georgia, which has no cap on the tax subsidies the state can offer. Kentucky’s annual cap is $75 million. 

“Can we be like Georgia? Yes, we can, but we’re really just kind of in our infancy, so we need to basically crawl, then walk, then run,” Stivers said. 

Andrew McNeil, the president and senior policy fellow at the Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics & Education, isn’t so convinced. The film incentives, which differ from a traditional economic development incentive in that they give direct subsidies from the state to the companies, are for “temporary job creation that doesn’t leave nearly anything in state or in the communities as permanent fixed investment,” he said. He called it “a sugar fix” for small communities, and argued that those state dollars could go to “far more important and impactful investments,” like aging water systems and sewer connections. 

“Yes, I’d love to see a nice feel-good story come out from ‘Ethan Almighty.’ I’d love to see it be a hit,” McNeil said. “Is that going to turn into major capital investment in studio space and a recurring employment amongst a talented class of people involved in the industry? I don’t see that happening.”

‘Asset to a community’

Kentucky film incentives began under former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration, but former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin called for axing the incentives. That made it extra newsy in September when Bevin was arrested on a warrant for contempt of court while working as an extra on a Christmas movie being filmed in Bourbon County. The movie was not listed as receiving film incentives this year. 

Bevin removing the incentive “decimated” growth of the film industry in Kentucky,” said Meg Fister, the executive director of the Kentucky Film Office. When it was brought back under Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration, “it has slowly increased, and I would say it has astronomically increased since having someone actually out there marketing this program,” she added. 

Fister was named as director earlier this year and focuses on bringing productions to Kentucky in her role. Stivers said not having “structure around the incentive program” was the biggest problem with film incentives in the past, and praised Fister’s work so far. She has more than 20 years of experience in television, film and nonprofit leadership and has had senior roles at Quinn’s House Productions at NBC, Universal and Warner Bros.

On the economic front, Fister said the Cabinet for Economic Development has tracked that more than 300 productions generated more than $800 million in spending in Kentucky since 2022. Film projects are “like an octopus,” she said, as they spread throughout the communities they are in as companies spend dollars. She also pointed to a global trend of fans of movies and shows visiting film locations. 

“They’re connecting to them emotionally, and they’re wanting to visit them,” Fister said. “And so that’s such an asset to a community, just to get that kind of spotlight on it and to really showcase it on the big screen.” 

One Kentucky town that has seen a few entertainment projects in recent years is Paducah. A Broadway show tour, a feature-length film and a television show in McCracken County are on this year’s list of approvals for tax incentives of about $2.2 million. 

Alyssa Phares, the president and CEO of the Paducah Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Kentucky’s variety in landscapes is appealing to filmmakers in towns like Paducah. 

“You can get that sort of small community-city feel, but then also go just 40 minutes and be at Kentucky Lake and have these beautiful natural landscapes,” she said. 

Phares said a recent production that was in town for about four to six weeks brought some attention to the area and noted the production used local companies for things like catering, drivers and more. 

“Several of the actors and actresses posted pictures of the Paducah area and just kind of talked about how nice it was to get out of maybe L.A. or New York or wherever they lived and come to a place that had a different pace of life,” Phares said. 

‘Doesn’t pass the smell test’

In a review by the Lantern of this year’s approvals and business licenses available online, Kentucky Film Leadership Council members Misdee Wrigley Miller and Jeremy Winton had connections to projects approved for potential tax credits. Companies with a connection to Miller are set to get a potential of $6.5 million in tax incentives, while those with a connection with Winton are set to get $1.8 million. 

Meeting minutes show they recuse themselves from voting on those projects. The council has seven board members. 

But McNeil said the situation “doesn’t pass the smell test.” He argued that council members’ companies should not receive tax incentives as a “trade-off” for being on the council. 

“Their whole vision is tainted by their participation on this commission,” McNeil said. “If they really cared about the integrity of building this industry in the state, they should resign.”

Miller, who owns Wrigley Media Group, said she does not personally receive any incentive funds. 

“My involvement has been to provide deficit financing — essentially advancing funds against the anticipated incentive — to help small productions that otherwise have difficulty securing financing get their projects made in Kentucky. Without that bridge financing, some of these productions would not have been able to move forward,” she said in an email, adding that she does not take a salary for this work. 

Asked about McNeil’s “trade-off” idea, Miller told the Lantern she brings experience to the board as someone in the industry and is committed to growing film production in Kentucky. 

“Hopefully there’s going to be a lot more me’s in the future, but when we first put this thing together, there weren’t too many me’s,” she added. 

Winton, an attorney and a producer, said in an email that he is “proud to be an active member of the film industry in Kentucky, especially as our firm focuses on production work throughout western Kentucky, helping to create jobs for Kentuckians and offering training and work experiences for those wishing to enter this exciting profession.” 

He added when a project is considered that he has any involvement or financial engagement in, “I fully recuse myself from any voting and making any comments and physically remove myself from the meeting while the project is being considered.”

Stivers said he’s discussed the appearance of conflicts of interest with Fister and board members, saying “they’ve got to be careful about that because that would be one thing that I believe would be detrimental and possibly terminate the program.” Stivers did argue, though, that he views the current board members as “some of the most knowledgeable about what should or should not be done because they’re in the industry.” 

“Do you put people on the Kentucky Racing Commission for horse races that raise cattle? No, you don’t,” Stivers said. “You put people who know the racing industry and are involved in the racing industry. You just got to put people in place with guardrails to make sure you protect against self dealing or conflicts of interest.”

As for the future of Kentucky’s film incentives, Fister and Stivers both said increasing the $75 million cap or removing it could aid in growing the state’s film industry. Kentucky is probably going to reach the current cap for the first time this year, Fister said. 

In addition to Georgia, some states like Illinois, Connecticut and Maine do not have a limit on their annual tax incentives. California’s is $750 million annually. 

“I think the caps are always concerning to especially large studios and major movie budgets, and they’re concerning to me running the film office because my goal is for this program to be effective for Kentucky and for constituents of Kentucky,” Fister said. “And so, if a major Marvel feature wanted to shoot in January and took almost all of the incentive, then I wouldn’t have people working all year long, and I don’t want to do that.” 

Stivers said if “a good return on investment” is shown from the tax incentives, “I think people would believe that we could expand the program.” 

“But we have again, we have to do the foundational things to make sure we can grow it with a good return on investment, because if we don’t, then what’s the purpose of having it?” he continued. 

Miller called Kentucky’s film incentives “one of the best subsidies in the country.” 

“I’ve spent a lot of time in California talking to studio heads, and they said, especially with all the consolidation in the industry right now, that the bottom line is driving all of their decisions right now,” she added. “So if there are great incentives to be had, that’s where they’re going to go.”

Expanding the tax incentive is “a terrible idea,” McNeil said, pointing out that recent film projects have not just gone to other states, but moved out of the country. Some of that is in part of other countries backing their own film subsidies. McNeil argued that doubling Kentucky’s cap to $150 million would “not going to build an industry that’s comparable to what you see in Georgia, what remains in California, what Texas could possibly do if they get seriously in the game.”  

“What it’s going to do is just direct more tax dollars to the Wrigley Medias of the state,” he said. 

However, if state lawmakers like Stivers want to invest, McNeil encourages them to debate the issue publicly. McNeil noted that 2025’s Senate Bill 1 was filed on the last day to introduce bills in the chamber. 

“If Sen. Stivers believes that this is something that can create an impactful, transformative industry for the state, then bring it in front of the public,” McNeil said. “Bring it in front of the interim legislative process. Bring it in front of public scrutiny, and let’s have that debate.”