BUFFALO, N.Y. —  Before it hit screens nationwide, before the North Park Theater rolled out the red carpet, "Marshall" was a work in progress. That work happened inside and outside of Buffalo landmarks last year, and Mayor Byron Brown says studios' interest in the Queen City didn't end there.

"$41 million in filmmaking has occurred this year in Buffalo and Western New York," said Brown.

According to the governor's office, a major reason the biopic filmed in New York was the state's Film Production Tax Credit Program.

"I've never been wild about the policy," said State Sen. Rob Ortt.

Sen. Ortt says lately, the program's bothered him even more, partly because he says he learned that through it, $5 million in taxpayer money went to The Weinstein Company. Its former head, Harvey Weinstein, was recently fired following multiple claims of sexual harassment and assault.

Another issue: the projected $4 billion dollar deficit in the upcoming state budget.

"If we're looking for revenue, this is a $420 million tax credit to, you know, the Jimmy Fallon Show, The Weinstein Company — places like that that you would have to argue probably don't really need New York State tax dollars to grow their business," Ortt said.

Ortt says he plans to introduce a bill to eliminate the program. 

"The issue becomes: what is the economic impact? You always hear, 'Oh, they stay in some hotels and then go to the restaurants,' but how can we really quantify that?" said Ortt. "The impact would have to be pretty significant, in my view, to justify that program."

Ortt says he thinks Buffalo's architecture and other assets would still draw film crews.

Productions like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2" or the latest "Purge" movie that choose to film in upstate counties, including Erie, can qualify for an additional credit.

Brown says he's not optimistic about what would happen without that incentive.

"We would have a very difficult time attracting filmmaking to the city of Buffalo, and the experience in other parts of the country has been when film tax credits have gone away, film making has dried up," said Brown.

Still, Ortt says aside from his own bill, he expects this program to be a talking point during budget discussions.