With several decades having gone by, many people have watched “Sleepless in Seattle” not once but countless times. Proceed to Cameron Crowe’s “Singles,” from 1992, and “10 Things I Hate About You” in 1999.
Seattle and its environs were hot on the location scene for popular much-watched films in the 1990s. But then, the popularity of Washington for film seemed to fizzle.
Maybe it is now reemerging in a different way than Vancouver, its north-of-the-border counterpart, with the state’s focus on rural communities in the mix. Washington can offer tax incentives, but not everything that Vancouver — or even other states — might (apart from the incredible and diverse scenery of mountains, water, islands, cities and agricultural terrain, of course).
Vancouver’s development of “North Hollywood”
Comparing Washington and British Columbia is a lot like looking at apples and oranges. Turn on the Hallmark Channel and try to guess where the movie or show was filmed. It was likely within 30 miles of the United States — and probably within 30 miles of Whatcom County. While Washington has had its ups and downs with film support, Canada, particularly Vancouver and Toronto, developed not only tax incentives but also a vast network of film support services and talented crew decades ago.
Entertainment Productions’ Report on the Entertainment Industry in 2024 and 2025 attributed strong incentives to creating a robust production infrastructure across Canada, with state-of-the-art studios and labor forces; British Columbia has approximately 2.8 million square feet of studio space (including facilities like Canadian Motion Picture Park Studios, which has a long-term lease with Netflix, and Martini Film Studios, which provides a full-service production facility of 150,000 square feet of stage space with eight stages) and an additional 100,000 square feet of support space and back lot services.
What about Whatcom County?
Lindsey Gerhard of the Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism office serves as the Whatcom County film liaison for Washington Filmworks, the private nonprofit organization set up to manage the state’s Motion Picture Competitiveness Program.
“They have created a selection of videos showcasing the regions around Washington and the varieties of locations available across our state,” she said. “They have been shown to hundreds of members attending the Location Managers Guild International, at the Sundance Film Festival, and other festivals.”
The Washington Legislature created the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program as an economic development vehicle to attract and retain film industry investment in the state. Washington Filmworks is the nonprofit that manages the program and the state film office. During the 2017 legislative session, the program was renewed through June 30, 2027.
Things have been happening locally on the film front, Gerhard said.
“Currently, I know of a few projects airing that have been filmed in Whatcom County,” Gerhard said. “The Netflix show ‘Penelope’ was partially filmed in the North Cascades, and a recent commercial for the Land Rover Defender was shot in locations including Whatcom County — and has won a few notable awards. On my side, in the past six months I would say I have received around five inquiries, mostly from international production companies with a strong emphasis toward DIY house-hunter-style shows. Even these single-episode productions can bring an economic impact to our areas, and the crew members often stay in our local hotels and accommodations.”
“Top Gun: Maverick,” which grossed $1.496 billion worldwide, used Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and the North Cascades as part of the over-the-top scenery as Navy jets screamed by in 2022. The Washington mountains doubled for enemy terrain during an intense flight sequence. “Captain Fantastic,” released in 2016, featured a number of Whatcom County scenes.
AJ Winslow is involved in film production out of Bellingham, but that doesn’t mean he makes all of his films in Washington. Winslow, who has been part of Hand Crank Films and Chester & Friends, is primarily associated with Rocket Soul Studios, which he co-founded with Jim Pidgeon in 2018 for features and television. He got his start in 2008 in Los Angeles, where he graduated from the Los Angeles Film School. He moved to Bellingham in 2014; he liked being closer to nature in a calmer environment.
“Freedom’s Path,” a Rocket Soul project, is streaming on Paramount+. While Rocket Soul has a small team, it co-produces with others and contracts out, with each project structured as its own limited liability company. One pilot, a Lummi story, was shot here. Winslow brought up the subject of “fringe labor costs” — crew housing and insurance costs, for example. Winslow said they look to Canada and even to other states. He is eying Arkansas for one project, he said, as it is a right-to-work state that doesn’t require union membership or higher wages.
“Washington is an expensive place to hire people,” Winslow said.
Budgets take a hit with union wages and pricey housing costs — even with tax incentives.
“We have to take care of the investor,” Winslow said. While he wants to grow the Washington film scene, he said: “It doesn’t pencil.”
Washington film today: what it offers
Sherrye Wyatt of Washington Filmworks said the state’s film office previously existed at various state agencies in some form until the legislation was passed to form it as it stands currently.
“The film office services were incorporated into the organization so that it was a one-stop shot for producers to get information about locations, incentives and crew,” Wyatt said.
These projects have spent an estimated $123 million directly in our economy and created more than 21,000 jobs for Washington resident cast and crew members. Securing an episodic series has long been a priority for Washington Filmworks, because this work generates the best and most consistent work for local crew and businesses.
Per Wyatt, over the past five years, “Z Nation” has filmed 69 episodes in locations across the state. On average, over 120 Washington residents are employed on each episode, and the series has spent money at over 500 unique Washington state businesses. And even though the series is headquartered in Spokane, 124 cities across Washington state have felt the economic impact of the project when production spent money with a local business, when a city hosted the production for filming, or when resident cast and crew spent their wages in their hometowns.
As part of newer legislation passed in 2022, an enhanced incentive was put into place to encourage film production in Washington’s 30 rural counties, potentially showcasing many previously untapped filming locations.
“The incentive encourages new economic activity for rural areas and increases our competitive edge with other states and counties,” Wyatt said.
Seventeen of the 30 rural counties have seen filming since this was launched in May 2023. Wyatt said that other states offering a similar “place-based” incentive have seen different results. In Washington, if 50 percent of filming days take place in a rural county, a production may qualify for an additional 10 percent back on their investment in Washington state — not just on what they spent in that rural county.
What is unique to Washington is that a production may be eligible to receive up to 10% back on their entire qualified spend, not just on what they spend within that rural county.
Montana offers a 5% uplift only on production expenditures made within a county that is considered an underserved area, which may vary from year to year.
The 10% tax credit uplift is available only on qualified expenditures in New Mexico areas at least 60 miles outside of the Santa Fe and Albuquerque City Halls.
Nevada offers a 5% bonus if 50% of the filming days take place outside of Clark County.
“The rural incentive is proving to be extremely successful,” Wyatt said. “We’re now seeing more film projects and increased activity in undiscovered and underutilized rural locations throughout the state.
Naturally, this can be a huge boon for those rural locations, he said.
To learn about filming assistance in Washington or to add your property to the 95 filming locations already identified in Whatcom County, visit washingtonfilmworks.org.
For those within the Whatcom County community, a network is being developed of those with or looking for production skills. Bellingham Film is dedicated to helping grow the film community. The group’s goal is to grow the necessary infrastructure to ease filming in the Nortwest. It retains information about crew, equipment rental, location scouting, casting, and production consulting. It also offers training programs to those new to the industry. For more information about Bellingham Film, see thebfo.com.
