The State Journal
by James E. Casto
When the television miniseries “The American West” aired last year on cable channel AMC, the Mountain State was a stand-in locale for a tale about the taming of the West. The show was largely shot in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, along with Prickett’s Fort State Park in Marion County.
In recent years, a number of movies and TV productions have filmed in Berkeley County, and producers of three movies and a TV show are expected to film this year at locations in the county, says Laura Gassler, executive director of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
But Gov. Jim Justice’s proposals to rescind West Virginia’s film-tax credit and shut down the West Virginia Film Office may prompt those productions to go elsewhere, warns Gassler.
Large movie productions are lured by the tax incentives and smaller productions rely on the Film Office to find filmmaking locations, Gassler explained.