Television and film in New Jersey


There is a long history of television and film in New Jersey, which is considered the birthplace of the movie picture industry.
The roots of the industry started in Newark with Hannibal Goodwin's patent of nitrocellulose film in 1887. Motion picture technology was invented by Thomas Edison, with early work done at his West Orange laboratory. Edison's Black Maria, where the first motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States, Fred Ott's Sneeze, was shot. The Centaur Film Company of Bayonne was the first independent movie studio in the USA. America's first motion picture industry started in 1907 in Fort Lee and the first studio was constructed there in 1909. Fred Wesley Wentworth was commissioned in 1914 by Jacob Fabian to build the Regent in Paterson, the first facility built exclusively for the exhibition of moving pictures. The nation's first drive-in theater opened at Airport Circle in 1933.
DuMont Laboratories in Passaic, developed early sets and made the first broadcast to the private home.
Many television shows and motion picture films have been filmed in New Jersey, which since 1978 maintains a Motion Picture and Television Commission.

Tax credits

New Jersey has long held an attraction for producers, both for its locations and the tax credits offered by the state. Governor Christopher Christie suspended the credits in 2010, but the New Jersey State Legislature in 2011 approved the restoration and expansion of the tax credit program. Under bills passed by both the state Senate and Assembly, the program would offer 20 percent tax credits to television and film productions that shoot in the state and meet set standards for hiring and local spending. The tax credit is lower than that of other states offering similar incentives. A controversy arose in 2011, when the governor threatened to veto the payment of tax rebates to the production company of Jersey Shore, a program he and others felt negatively portrayed New Jersey. As of 2014, a bill is under consideration in the Senate is that would extend the program and remove any caps on tax credits.
Governor Phil Murphy restored the credits.

Networks based in New Jersey

;Cable and Satellite
;VHF stations
;UHF stations

Location

The floor space and height of the Jersey City Armory has led to its use as a temporary studio for many projects, including Robert De Niro's A Bronx Tale, the Faye Dunaway thriller Eyes Of Laura Mars, Laura Brannigan's music video "Self-Control", Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry, Terry Kinney's Diminished Capacity, and A Perfect Murder by Andrew Davis.
In 2010, a new Studio City New Jersey was opened in Trenton.
and in 2011, the Ironbound Film and Television Studio was opened in Newark. In September 2019 it was announced that the Critierian Group would convert a warehouse in Jersey City to the state's largest film studio.
The Meadowlands Arena since its closure as a sports and entertainment venue has become a major filming location.

Film festivals