Stuntmen get Sarasota into action

SARASOTA - The Sarasota Film & Entertainment Office initiates mission impossible—to bring Florida back to the movie making stage.

Passersby along Sarasota’s bay front may have thought they stumbled on a high speed chase Wednesday.

The scene was one of the stunts by the high-octane professional stuntmen, a group that held a film mixer today to get movie makers interested in the city.

They’ve lined up some of their bells and whistles in the parking lot, including a stunt car that can reach 120 miles per hour.

The stunt men pretended to get into a nasty brawl and there was even a fake shooting, complete with a fall from a balcony.

Craig Clarke is the top man of the high octane group--but he's also not afraid to get his hands dirty as well. He says Florida is missing out on millions of dollars by not being more of a 'movie making' state.

“The movies have gone to Louisiana and Michigan which have higher incentive rates,” said Craig Clarke.

The stuntmen say some of the states offering the best tax incentives to movie makers include Louisiana, Michigan and New Mexico.

He's not just blaming the state.

“Florida was the entertainment center for years--now you have all the major studios in Orlando are theme parks now,” he said.

Craig’s company is hoping new major studios will pop up right here some time in the near future.