Nebraska is not exactly the film capital of the Midwest. While at times it may seem like the Good Life doesn't get its fair shake on the silver screen, it is better represented than the barren desert "Gordy" would have one believe.
Last year was actually a fairly bust year for the Nebraska film industry, although the bigger productions were all independent.
Indie feature films "Geocachers" and "Trunk'd" were shot in the state, and a documentary on the 150th anniversary of the Pony Express at Homestead National Monument was shot near Ravena. A regional Monsanto commercial was shot in the state, as well as a Burger King commercial in Omaha.
"Every time you think not much is going on, everything happens at once," said Derek Baker, president of the Nebraska Film Group.
But despite all the activity, Nebraska is not often represented in major Hollywood productions.
Omaha native Alexander Payne often uses the state to shoot, most recently in 2002's "About Schmidt."
The Callahan-era Husker football team is immortalized in the 2008 Jim Carrey vehicle "Yes Man." The second unit traveled to Lincoln to shoot 2007's Nebraska vs. Oklahoma game, capturing the crowd and tunnel walk. Carrey and co-star Zooey Deschanel did not make the trip, instead filming their Nebraska-based scenes in Los Angeles.
Harrison Ford also famously visited the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while preparing for a role as a biomedical researcher for "Extraordinary Measures."
Ford's character works at UNL but the scenes that depict Lincoln were shot in Portland, Ore.
Laurie Richards, the liaison at the Nebraska Film Office, supports efforts to film throughout the state by securing permits and locations.
"There's a lot of potential for the film industry, we just haven't decidedly embraced it," Richards said.
If there is interest in setting films in Nebraska, why don't more major studios shoot here? It all comes down to tax incentives, Baker said.
Nebraska currently offers no tax incentives to filmmakers. Many other states offer tax breaks for studios that spend a certain amount of money while shooting in their state.
According to the Texas Film Commission website, Texas offers anywhere from 5 percent to 15 percent of a production budget back to filmmakers who meet a qualifying amount in in-state spending. The minimum a film crew must spend in-state is $250,000. Texas offers up to 29.25 percent back to the studio as a bonus, if they meet certain requirements.
At the Omaha-based Nebraska Film Group, Baker connects filmmakers, writers, actors and producers with each other. He is doing his part to see that a bill to offer incentives to filmmakers will be passed.
Baker says lawmakers are afraid of getting burned by big studios, but that passing a Nebraska Film Tax Incentive Bill is the only way to attract Hollywood.
Baker said that offering incentives to studios will more than pay for itself in the long term. He said that a major Hollywood picture would bring hundreds of crew members that would rent cars, hotel rooms, dine and attend events in Nebraska, all pouring money into the state.
Moreover, Baker said that people could become attracted to Nebraska if they saw it on the big screen. He cited "The Bridges of Madison County" as an example. He says the bridge in that movie is now a popular tourist destination in Iowa, just because it was in the film.
"Imagine you put Omaha on the map," Baker said. "It becomes a destination city."
tomhelberg@dailynebraskan.com
is a member of the 
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