Imagine a film with a scene on the Edmund Pettus Bridge filmed in some location in Florida.

Imagine a movie about The University of Alabama football fans shot anywhere else but Tuscaloosa.

It seems laughable, but it is a reality — maybe not as harsh a reality after action taken by Gov. Bob Riley on Tuesday. Riley signed into law a bill that would provide financial incentives to film and television producers as well as other entertainment executives.

What that means to Joe and Jane Citizen is more opportunities to show the world what they have to offer by way of hospitality, natural resources and acting talent.

Potential moviemakers will invariably need extras. That may not translate into a breakthrough acting career down the road, but if a future blockbuster — or even a homey, feel-good flick — is shot in Alabama, our citizens will have that much more reason for pride in our state.

People who temporarily relocate to cities bring extra money and increase the potential for tourism. Wetumpka became a brief blip on the national radar during the 2003 filming of “Big Fish,” and Elmore County has since become one of the fastest growing areas in the state.

This law was something we could not have afforded to let go any longer.