Massachusetts has been quickly transforming into the Hollywood of the East. Riding on the heels of 2006 legislation that calls for a 25% film tax credit for the state, there have been tremendous increases in film production in the Bay State.

A new film production studio is rising up in Plymouth Massachusetts called Plymouth Rock Studios, and it is predicted to be completed by 2010. The state of the art development will include a 10-acre back lot, both pre-, and post-production offices and 14 fully equipped sound stages capable of holding entire movie sets inside them. The development also has a theater and an amenity village. All together the project will produce over 2,000 well paying jobs and will provide the movie and entertainment industry room to grow in New England.

The company is aspiring to become one of the world’s first “green” group of studios. They believe in setting an example for the industry and have registered their blueprints and ideas with the United States Green Building Council.

Recently, several high profile movies have been shot in Massachusetts. Filmed in Boston, Milford, Woburn, Lynn, Worcester, Hopedale and Taunton, The Surrogates, based on the comic book series by Robert Venditti, will star Bruce Willis. The film will be released in early 2009.

Ashecliffe, a Scorsese thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was also filmed in Taunton and Medfield last July.

Most recently, Edge of Darkness, a thriller directed by Martin Campbell (director of Casino Royale and The Legend of Zorro) was filmed in the streets of Boston and Lowell.

All of these recent films have been bringing attention to the state and giving the country a taste of what’s to come: Hollywood East. Not all are convinced, though. California native Mark Rosman, a Disney oriented Hollywood director states, “Part of the reason Hollywood is where it is is because of the ideal weather here in California; Boston has its perks and charm but their weather is a huge limiting factor in the film industry.”

The term Hollywood East is both the official name and the description of what Massachusetts hopes to achieve. In May 2008, Plymouth Rock Studios joined together with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to come up with an agreement to grant rights to the Hollywood name and to produce a Hollywood sign similar to the one in California with an ‘East’ attached to it.