HARTFORD, Conn. -- Christy Carlson Romano, a Milford native, hopes to help keep the stars shining in the state.

"When people come here, they're going to want to know that they can get everything that they need, and I believe that they can," she said.

Carlson Romano has appeared in "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway as well as a list film and TV roles.

Now, she's co-producing a project that will be shot in several places across Connecticut.

"It's a love story, and we would be using some of the Capitol building, and some of our politicians, and locations ... also at Yale," Carlson Romano said.

If producers spend $50,000 or more in the state, they receive a 30 percent tax incentive, which some lawmakers said has paid off.

House Speaker Jim Amman said 26 films are currently being shot in Connecticut -- totaling about $400 million in production.

"If everything holds true, I think we might do $1 billion in 2008 in production. We're doing extremely well," Amman said.

Carlson Romano's project starts filming in the spring under the working title "Class."

John Tuturro, Joaquin Phoenix and Uma Thurman have already worked on productions in Connecticut.

Two other groups were also in Hartford on Tuesday, looking for a possible movie shoot: One movie is called "The Great Debaters," which stars Denzel Washington.

Harrison Ford filmed "The Raiders of the Lost Ark" on the streets of New Haven, and Robert De Niro shot two movies in Connecticut this year.

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