Why no zombies in Philly?

ZOMBIES stomping up Broad Street. Screaming innocents stampeding through Center City. Brad Pitt strolling through Rittenhouse Square.

That's what could have been - if the makers of "World War Z" had decided to shoot the flick in Philly, where part of the movie is set.

What else could have been? At least $44 million in production expenses finding its way to city businesses and workers.

And that's only the money spent that would have qualified for tax credits. Millions more would have been spent on the production that would not have qualified for rebates.

Instead, the street scenes were filmed in Glasgow, Scotland, where City Chambers fills in for City Hall and George Square does its best Rittenhouse. During filming, Scottish street signs were replaced with "Arch Street" and "Ben Franklin Br," and American cars lined the streets.

The reason? Uncertainty over Pennsylvania's Film Tax Credit program, which subsidizes movies, TV shows and commercials shot in Pennsylvania for up to 25 percent of their tax liabilities.

"It was a huge factor," said a studio executive who worked on the movie. "That was why we didn't shoot in Pennsylvania." Three years ago, when the makers of "World War Z," which reportedly had a budget of more than $200 million, had to make decisions about where to shoot, the tax credit was in limbo during budget negotiations in Gov. Corbett's first year. The program survived and now dishes out up to $60 million of credits per year.

State Sen. Dominic Pileggi, a Republican from Delaware County, is pushing for the credit to be "uncapped," meaning that the state could give out as many credits as it wants.

A recent report from the nonpartisan Independent Fiscal Office estimated that demand for the program would increase to about $120 million to $180 million in credits per year. The new activity would pump $167 million to $334 million into the state's economy.

But for budget watchers in Harrisburg, the picture isn't as rosy: For every $1 doled out through an uncapped Film Tax Credit, the state would recoup only 14 cents in directly related tax revenue.

Advocates say that uncapping the credit would reduce uncertainty about its availability and allow the local film industry to expand, said Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office.

"We need a much more dependable program that is better funded," Pinkenson said "I can tell you that the hotels hope it happens, the restaurants hope it happens, the social-media world hopes that it happens, lawyers and accountants and food purveyors of every kind, people who rent and sell."

Like growing corn or building stadiums, making movies has become a subsidized industry, and producers frequently choose locations based on tax incentives.

Forty states offer similar programs, 12 of which have uncapped tax credits, including Illinois, Louisiana and North Carolina.

The IFO report found that 98 percent of the tax credits are not actually applied to reducing the projects' tax bills. Instead, the movie companies cash in by selling or transferring them.

Pennsylvania's film-industry sector is already the fifth largest in the country, but there is an enormous gap between California and New York and the rest of the states.

Still, the Keystone State's share of the movie-making pie has grown in recent years. In 2002, 1.2 percent of the industry worked in the state; in 2011, that share reached 1.8 percent, with about 3,800 Pennsylvanians employed.

Pileggi spokesman Erik Arnseon said that the tax credit, which began in 2004, "has created an industry in the state, and it's now time to take the next step and really solidify the industry."

The bill already has 25 other sponsors, meaning that it will have enough votes to pass the Senate. Pileggi is negotiating with Corbett's office to include the uncapped credit in a budget deal.

Pennsylvania has approved nearly $360 million in tax incentives since 2007. Recent feature films approved for tax credits include the Oscar-winning "Silver Linings Playbook" and the Will and Jaden Smith vehicle "After Earth." On the TV front, tax credits have been awarded to myriad of QVC shows and the canceled NBC medical drama "Do No Harm," which shot in Philly.

Jobs are the program's primary aim and final paperwork for completed projects (261 as of March) show that on average 75 jobs are created per project.

"As the capacity grows within the state, more work will come in and companies like mine and others will take on that capacity and expand and add jobs," said Ray Carballada, president of ShootersINC, a Philly production company.

Director M. Night Shyamalan, a Chester County native who has shot many of his films in the area, said Philly could become a major movie city.

"If you give us the incentives we can turn the city into an entertainment city," Shyamalan said. "There could be 10 movies shooting here all the time. The only thing that's missing is just a will to make it happen."

The 2009 indie flick "Adventureland," which starred Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, provided the largest number of paying jobs for Pennsylvania residents in a single project: 996.

- Staff writers Gary Thompson and Derrick Moore contributed to this report.