Sony Accepts $20 Million in Tax Breaks for 'Spectre'

The upcoming Bond movie has been creating a lot of buzz lately. Just yesterday the above teaser poster for the film was released. But the big budgeted sequel has also been in the news regarding huge tax breaks it received from Mexico. According to various articles, the producers of 'Spectre' accepted tax incentives in exchange for making changes to the script. Mexican officials requested that the filmmakers not cast a Mexican actor to play the villain, but did ask that a well-known Mexican actress play a Bond girl. Although Sony has not officially commented on these tax cuts, just last week Mexican actress Stephanie Sigman was cast in the action movie.

It is very common for countries to offer tax breaks to large studio films. Puerto Rico gave $11 million in film tax credits to the hit movie 'Fast Five.' Thailand currently does not tax foreign actors who film in their country. But the tax breaks that Sony took advantage of came with strings attached. It's hard to believe that the creative forces behind the latest installment in this franchise were thrilled with the last minute script changes that they were forced to do. Sam Mendes was originally hesitant to direct Bond 24 due to the time-consuming nature of being attached to such a large movie. So for him to have to also deal with creative disagreements with studio executives might affect his decision on returning for Bond 25.

But is it even right that Sony agreed to Mexico's demands of making the country not look as bad as it is? Mexico has a severe image issue as a result of its high crime rate. Enforced disappearances  have been a huge problem for the government. Organized criminal groups and drug cartels are responsible for thousands of deaths every year throughout the country. Therefore, it does make sense that Mexican officials want to use a blockbuster to persuade tourists that the country isn't as violent as it appears on the news. From Sony's perspective, it's all about saving money. I doubt that this will become a public relations issue for them.