Developing Views 2026 – Vol. 10

We might be hearing the cliched call of ‘Lights, Camera, Action!’ a little more often in Connecticut in the next year or so – but chances are it will likely be within the city limits of Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford instead of here in Newtown.

That’s because state lawmakers quietly approved a targeted program of tax credits for film, television, and digital content makers that extends maximum benefits to projects in just those three cities. According to the Hartford Business Journal, Connecticut expanded and extended its film and digital media tax incentives, preserving a lucrative credit-transfer provision through the 2027 tax year.

This is something my office lobbied for at the State Capital last year, shortly after Newtown enjoyed several days in the spotlight hosting a major motion picture crew for location work on the film “The Monster,” which was renamed “Twisted” before its release. Anyone interested in trying to pick out the Newtown locations can stream “Twisted” now on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, and several other platforms.

The recently revised state budget also introduced a supplemental urban uplift for productions shooting in specific cities, while extending the sales and use tax credit eligibility.

This week, Hearst CT Media reported that for nearly two decades, Connecticut has had a film tax credit subsidy, currently capped at 30% of eligible costs, to try to compete with other states in luring productions and, ideally, establish a permanent so-called Hollywood East infrastructure.

The new budget offers, for 2027 and 2028, to cover up to an additional 30%, 35% and 50% of certain expenses for a minimum 20 days of “principal photography shooting” in Bridgeport, the state’s largest city, Connecticut’s capital of Hartford, and New Haven.

The state’s DECD office of Film, TV, & Digital Media touts our state as “an ideal site for film, TV and commercial productions.” A company may be eligible for this tax credit if it:
*conducts at least 50% of principal photography days within the state;
*expends at least 50% of postproduction costs within the state; or
*expends $1 million or more in postproduction costs in this state.

While I lament the off-balance advantage this new upscaled credit provides to our urban municipalities, the simple fact that any kind of more widely available tax credits is good news. As I stated during a 2026 press conference in Hartford when supporting the continuation and expansion of such credits, “Connecticut communities like Newtown directly benefit from these initiatives.”

I reminded lawmakers that Lauren Black, a Newtown native, along with her husband Jonathan, have exemplified this impact through Chair 10 Productions. The recent film production they helped bring to Newtown brought a large crew, employed hundreds, and boosted local businesses, including catering, lodging, and transportation. 

In fact, when all the receipts were tallied, “the overall financial economic impact that Newtown directly experienced was well over $150,000 – with an additional secondary benefit for people such as restaurant employees, security, and other businesses that saw an economic boost from the days of filming in Newtown.”

Before and since that project wrapped locally, I also had the pleasure of accompanying a number of film and content scouts around the community as they considered various locations for future projects.

Newtown is and has not only been the home of many film, TV, and related industry professionals for many decades, it has also been featured in a number of notable projects including “the “Sleepers”, starring Robert DeNiro, Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon and Dustin Hoffman. A significant portion of location shooting for “Sleepers” was done here at Fairfield Hills.

In 2010, “All Good Things” starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst utilized a private lakeside home in Newtown and Lake Lillinonah as the setting for several key scenes. And way back in 1949, select scenes for the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn comedy “Adams Rib” were filmed at the private Newtown home of screenwriters Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin.

Following the 12/14 tragedy, two 2016 documentaries were also produced about the community — “Midsummer in Newtown, and “Newtown.” My office has also accompanied a number of film and content scouts around the community as they considered various locations for future projects.

While it will be great to lure more film, TV, and digital production work back to our major cities, my office still believes that providing any state-level incentives for any community in the state including Newtown, makes sense from an economic development perspective.

Thanks to Jonathan and Lauren Black for headquartering their Chair 10 Productions company here – and to any interested film or content makers who may be looking for a variety of diverse locations to set their scenes.

My office stands ready to assist you – and will coordinate with with our partners at the state level to make your work here in Newtown as pleasant, productive and accommodating as possible.

Have your people call my people and we’ll help make it happen!

Submitted by Newtown ECD Director John Voket