MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION RESPONSE TO NORWAY’S PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON ITS PRODUCTION INCENTIVE PROGRAM – 28 March 2021
Contacts: Stan_McCoy@motionpictures.org / Olivier_Dock@motionpictures.org
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is a trade association representing the interests of major international film and audiovisual producers and distributors. Its members are Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Netflix Studios, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal City Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros Entertainment. MPA members value Norway’s production industry, its talent and crews, and have been beneficiaries of Norway’s incentive program.
We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Ministry of Culture’s consultation on amendments to the regulation of 16 December 2015 no. 1684 on the incentive scheme for film and series productions.
We take note that the scope of this consultation does not cover the extension of the incentive program, and that this is reserved to a later exercise, in which we look forward to providing input, too.
We welcome the Ministry of Culture’s intention to enhance the speed and predictability of the program, with regard to payment of the rebate and acknowledge the government’s desire for greater predictability in the dedication of appropriated funds to Norwegian productions. We understand that some streamlining of the appropriation process might be warranted as you see fit and there is a natural tension in achieving this objective and attracting the complex, contemporary film, television and streaming projects that deliver the greatest economic returns to the country in the most stable of environments let alone the significant challenges of production while the global pandemic remains, inter alia a daily risk to orderly schedules. Accordingly, we have some concern if the proposed improvements condition the scope of the program on the size and maturity of the projects which apply for the incentive, wary that a quest for predictability on the payment side might prejudice the diversity of the projects submitted to your consideration. Experiences from other jurisdictions may help in achieving your objectives in this regard, including adopting a basic requirement to undertake principal photography within 180 days from the Institute’s approval unless reasonable cause can be provided for further delay. Naturally, however, there are specific considerations for Norway, including planning productions around weather conditions (for example, snow dependent scenes) which explains why the Norwegian regime currently has a much longer period which gives flexibility. So, a careful balancing exercise is required, tailored to Norwegian circumstances.
Given the growth of international production in Europe, we would like to suggest considering an increase of the budget dedicated to the program. We see such an increase going a long way towards enhancing the competitiveness of the country vis- à-vis other jurisdictions. Although we understand that this suggestion might be more relevant to your next consultation, we wish to underline its significance at this stage, too.
In the spirit of fostering as many worthy projects as possible on an annual basis, we would suggest exploring, for example, the imposition of limitations on pay-out in a particular fiscal year, or the flexibility of accessing funds from future year allocations. Those solutions tie into our above point on an increased budget.
We understand the Ministry of Culture’s proposal to raise the spending cap. The minimum spending caps are commonplace and serve to limit smaller, speculative or hobbyist productions in favor of those that hire the most local labor at better salary rates, buy more local goods, use local production facilities, and stay longer in the region. As you know, for all production types, producers make location decisions based on a global competitive landscape and under the current Norwegian scheme which annually appropriates a fixed amount of incentive funding with limited application windows, raising the minimum spending cap would seem appropriate to maximize the return of the fixed authorized funds.
In our view, the lifting of the minimum cap is much more productive to “attract major international productions” (Par. 6, Terms of Subsidy of the Consultation document) than the “submission of documentation on an agreement on international distribution”. The obligation to provide such documentation might not be practicable and altogether constitute a deterrent for application. Nevertheless, we suggest, as is the case in other territories that the prospective production include in its application a confirmation of ‘greenlight’ or ‘order letter’ to satisfy this obligation.
We commend the Ministry’s proposal to seek the long-term development of a skilled workforce by encouraging the hiring of trainees, and would welcome the possibility to provide further guidance in that regard.
We appreciate the adverse knock-on effect that the “20% overrun” clause might have had between past projects and we respectfully suggest that some flexibility should be applied as the Ministry seeks to reach a better outcome. We believe that the overrun clause should be preserved as is (Section 7 of the Guidelines).
We thank you for your consideration of our proposals and welcome any possibility to follow up with the Ministry in order to clarify the above and/or address other items worthy of discussion. Moreover, given our members’ interest in the future of production in Norway we believe our lessons learned undertaking substantial direct investment in thriving, burgeoning production centers in Europe may be useful in informing your decisions about the future of the Norwegian incentive scheme. We look forward to an opportunity to speak directly with you about Norway maximizing its extraordinary potential to develop and expand its screen sector.
Contacts: Stan_McCoy@motionpictures.org / Olivier_Dock@motionpictures.org
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is a trade association representing the interests of major international film and audiovisual producers and distributors. Its members are Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Netflix Studios, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal City Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros Entertainment. MPA members value Norway’s production industry, its talent and crews, and have been beneficiaries of Norway’s incentive program.
We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Ministry of Culture’s consultation on amendments to the regulation of 16 December 2015 no. 1684 on the incentive scheme for film and series productions.
We take note that the scope of this consultation does not cover the extension of the incentive program, and that this is reserved to a later exercise, in which we look forward to providing input, too.
We welcome the Ministry of Culture’s intention to enhance the speed and predictability of the program, with regard to payment of the rebate and acknowledge the government’s desire for greater predictability in the dedication of appropriated funds to Norwegian productions. We understand that some streamlining of the appropriation process might be warranted as you see fit and there is a natural tension in achieving this objective and attracting the complex, contemporary film, television and streaming projects that deliver the greatest economic returns to the country in the most stable of environments let alone the significant challenges of production while the global pandemic remains, inter alia a daily risk to orderly schedules. Accordingly, we have some concern if the proposed improvements condition the scope of the program on the size and maturity of the projects which apply for the incentive, wary that a quest for predictability on the payment side might prejudice the diversity of the projects submitted to your consideration. Experiences from other jurisdictions may help in achieving your objectives in this regard, including adopting a basic requirement to undertake principal photography within 180 days from the Institute’s approval unless reasonable cause can be provided for further delay. Naturally, however, there are specific considerations for Norway, including planning productions around weather conditions (for example, snow dependent scenes) which explains why the Norwegian regime currently has a much longer period which gives flexibility. So, a careful balancing exercise is required, tailored to Norwegian circumstances.
Given the growth of international production in Europe, we would like to suggest considering an increase of the budget dedicated to the program. We see such an increase going a long way towards enhancing the competitiveness of the country vis- à-vis other jurisdictions. Although we understand that this suggestion might be more relevant to your next consultation, we wish to underline its significance at this stage, too.
In the spirit of fostering as many worthy projects as possible on an annual basis, we would suggest exploring, for example, the imposition of limitations on pay-out in a particular fiscal year, or the flexibility of accessing funds from future year allocations. Those solutions tie into our above point on an increased budget.
We understand the Ministry of Culture’s proposal to raise the spending cap. The minimum spending caps are commonplace and serve to limit smaller, speculative or hobbyist productions in favor of those that hire the most local labor at better salary rates, buy more local goods, use local production facilities, and stay longer in the region. As you know, for all production types, producers make location decisions based on a global competitive landscape and under the current Norwegian scheme which annually appropriates a fixed amount of incentive funding with limited application windows, raising the minimum spending cap would seem appropriate to maximize the return of the fixed authorized funds.
In our view, the lifting of the minimum cap is much more productive to “attract major international productions” (Par. 6, Terms of Subsidy of the Consultation document) than the “submission of documentation on an agreement on international distribution”. The obligation to provide such documentation might not be practicable and altogether constitute a deterrent for application. Nevertheless, we suggest, as is the case in other territories that the prospective production include in its application a confirmation of ‘greenlight’ or ‘order letter’ to satisfy this obligation.
We commend the Ministry’s proposal to seek the long-term development of a skilled workforce by encouraging the hiring of trainees, and would welcome the possibility to provide further guidance in that regard.
We appreciate the adverse knock-on effect that the “20% overrun” clause might have had between past projects and we respectfully suggest that some flexibility should be applied as the Ministry seeks to reach a better outcome. We believe that the overrun clause should be preserved as is (Section 7 of the Guidelines).
We thank you for your consideration of our proposals and welcome any possibility to follow up with the Ministry in order to clarify the above and/or address other items worthy of discussion. Moreover, given our members’ interest in the future of production in Norway we believe our lessons learned undertaking substantial direct investment in thriving, burgeoning production centers in Europe may be useful in informing your decisions about the future of the Norwegian incentive scheme. We look forward to an opportunity to speak directly with you about Norway maximizing its extraordinary potential to develop and expand its screen sector.