
My name is Andrew P. Wilson. I am a Weymouth resident and a NEW local Massachusetts business owner.
Just recently, I became licensed with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an employment agency. More specifically, I own and run a talent agency, and it is my job to procure employment opportunities for local film/tv actors and other talented professionals.
Over the past five years, I have seen many new clients permanently moving to, or shooting in, Massachusetts. I’ve worked with clients from other parts of the US as well as England and Germany — all of whom came here to spend their money and hire local crew and talent.
There are several thousand local actors here, and many of them are professional, meaning they are members of a professional union and/or work as full-time actors with no (or little) other income. These actors are people you know. You may not know them by name, but you see them, laugh at them, and emote with them every single day on your television when you are enjoying locally made films and commercials. They are not always the stars, but they are hardworking, lower income people (mostly) just struggling to survive while doing what they love to do.
A LOCAL Massachusetts actor does not make a lot of money, and much of what he or she earns is put back into supporting other local Massachusetts people, such as acting coaches, head shot photographers, demo reel producers, and resume writers — all of which are small, local businesses.
For me, it’s simple: If we lose the film tax incentive, or even change it so that it no longer supports the continued growth of a full-time industry here, Hollywood will take it money to Atlanta, smaller productions/producers will follow that money, actors will be forced to follow the work, and I will lose my business within a few months of opening.
So as potentially the newest business to open as a result of growth in the local film industry, please allow me to keep helping local people be employed.
“Without investment there will not be growth, and without growth there will not be employment.”