On Friday, New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy and Secretary of State Tahesha Way joined the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission (NJMPTVC) as it launched Film Ready New Jersey at Kean University. With a growing film industry presence in New Jersey, the Film Ready program is designed to support municipalities and counties as they work to accommodate location filming and market their communities as filming destinations, positioning the state as a top production destination. County and municipal employees from Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Passaic, and Union counties were invited to participate in the program.

The Film Ready event began with remarks from First Lady Tammy Murphy, Secretary of State Tahesha Way, and Union County Commission Chair Sergio Granados.

“New Jersey’s range of landscapes - from bustling cities like Newark and Jersey City, to idyllic and pristine beaches, to farmland, wetlands, and forests - makes our state a uniquely diverse destination for film and television production,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “As the film industry in our state grows, so will our tourism industry and economy. The Film Ready New Jersey program will not only ensure municipalities are prepared to accommodate on location filming, but it will also educate municipal leaders on how to market their communities as ideal filming destinations, helping us to show the world all that there is to love about our state.”

“We are thrilled that film production is booming here,” said Secretary Way. “Film Ready New Jersey will help ensure that our communities are prepared and benefit as this industry continues to grow.”

“We are excited to roll out the Film Ready New Jersey Program to additional municipalities. The State of New Jersey offers many advantages to the film and television industry, and the cooperation of our communities is foremost among them. We are encouraging our cities and towns to welcome filmmakers with open arms, and the Film Ready New Jersey Program is designed to facilitate that,” said NJ Motion Picture and Television Commission’s Executive Director Steven Gorelick. “Partnerships with our municipal and county governments are vital to the state’s success.”

Following their remarks, Elizabeth Parchment and Steve Gorelick of the NJMPTVC began the instructional portion of the event, outlining the Film Ready New Jersey certification process. The program continued with information about marketing communities for filmmaking, creating film-related municipal ordinances, safe film set protocols with police, fire, and first responders, and more.

The 5-step certification and marketing program sets basic standards for attracting filmmaking and aims to make New Jersey a real production destination. With this program, municipalities will be able to attract filmmakers, and showcase their communities as filming destinations.

Included below are photographs from the program.

Film Ready New Jersey was originally created as a pilot program in Fall 2022, with four Somerset County communities (Franklin, Hillsborough, South Bound Brook, and Watchung) working with the Commission to complete the training and certification process to be designated “Film Ready Communities.”