Richard Petty’s life and racing career will soon appear on the big screen. Whether the film showcases the North Carolina landscapes where “The King” became famous remains uncertain. The Randolph County Tourism Development Authority wants the state to develop a film incentive program that keeps the state competitive for this and future movie projects. That comes after officials in Georgia made a push to land the project about the NASCAR legend. Petty, who’s from Randolph County, won seven Daytona 500 races and seven Winston Cup championships during his 35-year stock-car racing career. The film could have a $75 million budget and will be a joint venture between actor Dennis Quaid and Disney Studios. Filming is expected to begin between early 2004 and spring 2005. Producers said Georgia has offered a 10 percent savings on the $75 million budget if the film is made in and around Atlanta. That has government officials, including Gov. Mike Easley and state Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph, scrambling to find a solution. Easley’s office, the state Commerce Department and the North Carolina Film Office are talking with movie producers and studios about the project, but officials would not elaborate on possible incentives. Rebecca Clark, head of the Piedmont Triad Film Commission, said local officials believe the best option is to waive sales taxes on production costs. Local officials estimated Tuesday that the government would give up roughly $1 million in sales taxes to capture $18 million to $25 million for hotel operators, production assistants, construction workers, retail outlets, trades people and actors. An estimated 30 percent of a movie budget is spent in the area where filming takes place. In exchange, Warner Brothers promised to spend $12 million on the 12 episodes, hire 120 local people for production jobs and hire 300 locals as extras.( WRAL/AP ) past news about this and other movies, see my Media-Movie News page .(11-21-2003)
