According to the Montana Film Commission, a black-and-white film shot in Montana is receiving a lot of praise this awards season and may help pave the way for more films to be produced in the state.

"We're really excited that Nebraska, following up on it's Golden Globe nominations, got 6 nominations for Oscars, and that film was shot in Billings and Laurel," said Montana Film Commissioner Deny Staggs. "With the director Alexander Payne, he's very much a location centered filmmaker. He decided to actually shoot it Montana and not try to cheat it somewhere where they'd get more incentive, or something like that."

Staggs hopes there will be more Montana made movies and says the key to that happening is to make the tax incentives of the Big Sky on the Big Screen Act more generous during the next legislative session.

"Our [tax incentive] is not as competitive as we'd like it to be, but it is definitely important to have one so that we can be on the short list," Staggs said. "Otherwise, if we don't, we're like North Dakota and they don't have a tax incentive, and therefore, they have no film industry, and nobody makes movies in North Dakota, which is too bad. We have a 9 percent tax incentive, and all of our competitors are at 20 percent."

The filming of Nebraka brought an estimated 370,000 dollars to Montana. The dramatic comedy received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

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