But the series may also be the last in the foreseeable future to double as a worldwide billboard for Florida, the way Miami Vice did in the 1980s. Earlier this month, Florida legislators voted not to extend the depleted state film-and-entertainment tax incentive that has run out of funds with a requested $10-$20 million. A new incentive program may be considered in 2016.
Legislators also voted to cut the staff of the Florida Office of Film and Entertainment in half. Insiders worry that that move may signal waning interest in using funds to continue luring out-of-state productions to Florida. As production dwindles, existing media content providers and technical crew appear to be relocating — further eroding the region’s ability to compete.
According to Graham Winick, film and event production manager for the city of Miami Beach and former president of Film Florida, a nonprofit group that assists the film, TV, commercial and media industries, at least three recent high-profile Hollywood studio productions opted to shoot mostly exteriors in South Florida, then fled to other states to complete filming. Those included Ride Along 2, starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube; Arms and the Dudes, with Jonah Hill and Miles Teller; and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, the fourth installment in the popular family film franchise.
