Jon Crowley is out as executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission, BINJE has learned.
Crowley was let go on Friday, two people familiar with the situation said. The sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said it was a situation where the Sherrill administration wanted new leadership in an important role.
(Editor’s note: Adam Nelson of Socko Magazine, an online site that covers the industry in New Jersey, was the first to report this news.)
It’s unclear if an immediate successor has been identified, but this much is certain: The person taking over the job will inherit a key role in what has quickly become one of the biggest and most impactful business sectors in the state.
Crowley, who was a Top 30 selection in the 2026 BINJE’s Best: Power Players list earlier this year, did not immediately return calls for comment.
His successor will step into one of the most promising areas in an industry that is in the process of transforming itself. In fact, New Jersey is one of the few bright spots in a slumping film industry.
Nationally, a first-quarter 2026 report found a 10% decrease in filming count, but in New Jersey production spend was reportedly up 37%, driven largely by TV series production.
The state has climbed fast and is now competing with Georgia for the No. 3 spot in domestic production, thanks largely to transferable film and digital media tax credits of up to 35%.
The next phase is brick and mortar. Netflix is building a $1 billion studio complex in Fort Monmouth with 12 soundstages. Lionsgate is anchoring a new studio in Newark, with NJPAC as landlord and a film and TV magnet high school planned next door.
And in Bayonne, 1888 Studios, with Paramount expected to serve as the anchor tenant, will have 23 soundstages and be “the largest and first campus-style film and television studio facility in the Northeast.”
None of them is open yet, but the industry is alive and well in the state, where shoots are becoming commonplace and industry events are drawing thousands.
