Thursday, September 01, 2011

'Flying Wild Alaska' receives $400,000 state subsidy


From Kyle Hopkins --

The budget box score for Unalakleet-based "Flying Wild Alaska" has been posted on the Alaska Film Office website. 

The production reported $1,182,247 in Alaska spending. It'll get more than one-third of that money back from the state in the form of tax credits totaling $398,917.

Principal photography on season one of the Bush pilot reality show lasted 60 days and the project created the equivalent of two full-time jobs, according to the application. 

Note that most of the report is blacked out, meaning it's unclear just how the show's budget was spent. The state hides nearly all financial information about all Alaska-based productions.

Discovery Channel announced earlier this year that the hit show would return for a second season. (I watched the film crews gather around Lance Mackey at the Unalakleet Iditarod checkpoint during this year's race.)

The series, starring the Tweto family and the pilots they work with, was a favorite in an informal Daily News poll of Alaska readers back in February. Discovery's other new hit, "Gold Rush: Alaska?" Not so much. Though look for a second season of that series too. 

Meantime, the state also recently approved $53,437 in tax credits for "Hillstranded," a "Deadliest Catch" spinoff. That show reported a meager Alaska spend of $175,681. 

The tax credits are awarded under the state's film incentive program. They allow filmmakers and producers to sell tax credits to other companies in order to recoup up to 44 percent of the cost of making TV shows and movies in Alaska. The credits are a subsidy because the money awarded in tax credits is money that would have otherwise filled state coffers.

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