Myrtle Beach, Grand Strand area could attract more filmmakers in the future. Here’s how

The Grand Strand area has the potential for a thriving film industry. With a new film studio on it’s way in Loris, along with unique settings and natural beauty, the Myrtle Beach area is poised to draw film crews for their next project, officials say.

Those in the film industry agree that Dalton Pictures, whose major film studio has been in construction for two years, is a step in the right direction.

The 20,000-square-feet space located on Main Street in downtown Loris will become the Dalton Pictures Studio facilities, owned by Jerry Dalton, president of the Myrtle Beach International Film Festival. He announced the studio in a release at the end of January.

Different scenes, sound stages and tours

The interiors of the Dalton Pictures Studio facilities will include up to nine sets, including a restaurant stage that can be altered quickly into different themes.

Tours will take place as filming is in progress, according to a release from Dalton Pictures. The tours will allow a behind the scenes interaction and “you may just end up in the production,” the release said. Those who sign releases while street scape scenes are being filmed and when extras are needed will likely come from the tours.

Dalton said that the Myrtle Beach area has plenty of accommodations to support a growing film industry, and it’s one of the reasons he decided to invest in a film studio.

“The region has a lot of diversification in it to offer production companies the use of infrastructure,” he said. “Myrtle Beach alone, outside of the summer years, there’s all kinds of accommodations here.”

Myrtle Beach has had its fair share of films, from “Shag,” to “Magic Mike” and most recently “A Carolina Christmas,” which opened in theaters across the country in 2020, according to Dalton Pictures. Other filming has included TV shows, such as “Myrtle Manor.”

‘A little bit of everything’

Greg French, a Surfside Beach resident and local actor, said that Myrtle Beach has a little bit of everything for a growing film industry. One reason is the environment — from wooded areas, to marshes and beaches, Myrtle Beach offers a variety of settings.

Another reason is the people — the film-making community in the Grand Strand is a tightly-knit network, he said.

“I haven’t really met anybody in this area that I wouldn’t work with at the drop of a hat,” French said.

What the Myrtle Beach area needs now is to be put on the map, he said.

Recent filming in Myrtle Beach could help make that happen, according to Karen Riordan, CEO for the Myrtle Beach area Chamber of Commerce.

“Following last year’s launch of our new Cooking Channel series ‘Chef Swap at The Beach,’ we know there’s a growing appetite for Myrtle Beach as a location for films, TV shows and streaming productions,” Riordan said. “There’s great potential throughout the area with our abundance of unique settings and beautiful natural scenery, and we’re eager to engage with film crews who are considering Myrtle Beach for their next project.”

It takes communication between a city and a film crew to attract filmmakers to a city, Matt Storm, who works at the South Carolina Film Commission, said.

“You have to have a city that is able to work with the film crew,” he said. “A film is not a bank, a film is not a restaurant. There’s not an exact recipe for doing things and things change all the time.”

Myrtle Beach is a viable option, but six months out of the year filming becomes more difficult because of the city’s busy tourist season . Tourism presents a barrier, Storm said.

“The hotels are filled out,” Storm said. “Once the streets are jammed up with traffic, you can’t move a film crew.”

Restaurants wouldn’t be able to close down for a film, he added.

The Myrtle Beach area Chamber of Commerce did not believe tourism is a barrier to film making when asked. It is estimated that more than 20 million visitors come to Myrtle Beach each year.

South Carolina offers filming incentives to companies who choose the state as a place to film.

Here’s how South Carolina film incentives work

South Carolina has a variety of film incentives, including tax credits and cash rebates for those working in the film industry, according to the SC Film Commission. Here’s the simple version:

• A wage rebate for South Carolina residents up to 25%, and up to 20% for out of state employees, as long as the wage for each person is less than $1 million for the project. Wages are subject to the South Carolina withholding tax.
• A supplier rebate on South Carolina products up to 30%, and up to 25% for out-of-state products.
• A taxpayer can claim an income tax credit up to 20% of their cash investment in a South Carolina motion picture, limited to $100,000.

• Pay No State Sales/Use & Accommodations Tax: 6% to 8.5%

In the past 10 years, Horry County has had 35 incentivized projects, not including reality shows, according to the South Carolina Film Commission. A total of $13 million was spent during those years, but that number is likely much higher when you take non-incentivized projects into consideration, Storm said.

Although each year varies for how much revenue the film industry brings in to South Carolina, for every dollar the state gives in incentives, four new dollars come in, according to the South Carolina Film Commission.

East Coast cities get more attention from film makers

When it comes to filming locations in South Carolina, other areas get more attention. Charleston is seen as the state’s flagship for filming, according to Storm.

Charleston has big names that have filmed there, such as “Outer Banks,” a Netflix show that started filming in 2019 and was renewed for a third season that was set to air Feb. 23.

But without infrastructure and local crews, it becomes more difficult to attract bigger film makers, according to Wilmington Regional Film Commissioner Johnny Griffin.

Wilmington, a city about an hour and a half away from Myrtle Beach, is known for having many large titles shot in the area, such as “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “The Choice.”

In North Carolina, the revenue brought in to the state varies year by year, Griffin said. Both 2021 and 2022 were record years, with $416 million and $258 million brought in respectively, according to Griffin.

In Georgia, film and TV productions generated $4.4 billion for the state in 2022.

More filmmakers look to Wilmington due to the infrastructure already present, Griffin said. Most shows that come to Wilmington are able to locally crew about 90%, whereas during one project filmed in Myrtle Beach, Storm said that his crew was around 98% of people from out of town.

“Having local crews and infrastructure are the two things needed for attraction for movies,” he said. “You can’t have one without the other.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 6:00 AM.