New Jersey native Kevin Smith says the Garden State is reclaiming its place in the film industry, as generous tax incentives attract major productions and studios to the state where motion pictures first took shape.

“New Jersey becoming the epicenter of film again is gratifying for a longtime Jersey resident who knows that the industry began in New Jersey,” said Smith, the filmmaker behind “Clerks”, “Chasing Amy”, “Dogma”, and the Jay and Silent Bob movies.

That resurgence is already drawing major outside investment. Netflix is building a roughly $1 billion production campus at the former Fort Monmouth site, which some point to as a tangible sign that major studios see New Jersey as a long-term production hub.

“In a world where the dollar reigns, they’re going to go any place,” he said. “The movie industry is going to go any place where they can get a rebate. And truth is, Jersey has the fattest, sweetest rebate right now.”

While Smith said the arrival of major studios will create jobs and raise New Jersey’s profile, he noted that the growth is being subsidized by the state.

“Film is coming back to New Jersey. It ain’t coming for free, kids. It’s coming out of your taxpayer dollars,” he said. “But the good news is bringing lots of jobs with it.”

A collective experience

Smith is also working to preserve the moviegoing experience through Smodcastle Cinemas, housed in the Atlantic Highlands theater he attended while growing up nearby. He and several friends stepped in after learning it could close following the pandemic.

“This is the movie theater that I went to as a kid. This was my temple,” Smith said. “The idea of letting it die was anathema. Like, oh no, we can’t let this happen.”

Smith acknowledged that saving the theater has been a difficult financial undertaking. Smodcastle has become a nonprofit and relies partly on special events, celebrity appearances and screenings during which Smith pauses his movies to share stories about their production.

“It’s gratifying work keeping the theater alive, but hard work, man,” he said.

Despite the convenience and popularity of streaming services, Smith believes movie theaters can survive by offering audiences an experience they can’t get at home.

“Watching a movie in the theater with a bunch of strangers as the lights go down, having that collective experience will never go away,” he said. “It’s just going to get pricier, is really all it comes down to.”