RALEIGH – N.C. Dept. of Commerce Sec. Jim Fain announced today that the Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development has hired Aaron Lee Syrett to serve as the new director of the N.C. State Film Office.
Syrett, 34, comes to North Carolina from Salt Lake City, where he worked as the director of the Utah Film Commission, part of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. I n a position very similar to that of the N.C. film director, Syrett was in charge of growing the state’s film production industry, administering a new state film incentive program and working closely with regional film commissions.
“We are very fortunate to have found a person with such outstanding credentials for this job,” Fain said. “Aaron brings a great mix of enthusiasm and experience that should help North Carolina remain a top U.S. filming location.”
Syrett said he is looking forward to joining the Division team in April and advancing the film industry in North Carolina. “This is a wonderful opportunity in a great state,” he said.
Syrett replaces Bill Arnold, who founded the N.C. Film Office in 1980 and served as its director for 26 years before retiring last year.
North Carolina has served as the host to more 800 motion pictures, 14 network and cable television series, and countless national and regional television commercials over the years. The state is home to eight full-service studio complexes, 32 soundstages, a State Film Office, and the School of Filmmaking at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. In addition, the N.C. Film Office works in partnership with local and regional film offices across the state who are certified by the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI).
Beginning this year, production companies that spend at least $250,000 in the state are eligible for a 15 percent tax credit on in-state spending for goods, services and labor. That incentive program already is reaping rewards with announcements that George Clooney is filming part of the romantic comedy “Leatherheads” in the Charlotte and Greensboro areas this month, and “Nights in Rodanthe,” starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, will begin filming in May in Wilmington and the Outer Banks.
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