There has to be an easier and cheaper way of doing this... For the filming of "King Kong" next year, director Peter ("Lord of the Rings") Jackson is recreating 1930s downtown New York, complete with Broadway and Times Square -- in New Zealand. As you read this, workers Down Under are busily constructing a Macy's department store.

Jackson explains why the film crew isn't in New York: "A lot of people are thinking that New York in New Zealand is kind of a crazy notion. Why don’t we go to New York City and shoot it for real? But of course the reality is that shooting in modern day New York as 1933 is almost impossible. The city is hard to shoot in at the best of times..."

That's not what Mayor Bloomberg thinks -- his administration has worked tirelessly to attract film projects to the city through the "Made in NY" program. New York City's "Made in NY" incentive program offers film and television productions "a slate of opportunities that make it more attractive than ever to shoot in the five boroughs, featuring a combination of tax and marketing credits, along with expanded customer services for production."