In a recent move, the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted 16-0 to eliminate funding for the state’s two-person Film Office, which cost the state approximately $125,000 last year. Now, as the proposed budget cut makes its way through the legislative process, film industry insiders including Scott Robbe, producer/director/president of MONDO Productions, Madison, are joining forces to recreate the film commission in the private sector, most likely as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
“If we don’t aggressively work to maintain the entertainment industry in the state, we lose that revenue and tax revenue as well,” Robbe said. “So it’s basically a coalition that’s come together to help to revive the business in Wisconsin and hopefully to make it thrive.”
Thus far, the coalition’s “loose steering committee” includes George Tzougros, executive director of the Wisconsin Arts Board; Michael Graf, director/owner of Spot Filmworks, Madison; Anne Katz, executive director of Arts Wisconsin; and Scott Thom, operations assistant at the Wisconsin Film Office.
The state’s Film Office has been part of the Department of Tourism for the past 15 years. This year, the governor asked the department to submit a budget based on its highest priorities and the Film Office didn’t fare well. “The reality is our primary job is to promote travel in the state of Wisconsin,” communications director for the department Jerry Huffman said. “Film finished at the bottom of the list primarily because budget numbers kept going down, competition from other states [increased]. You’d be an idiot to make a movie here if you’re going to get ten million bucks in tax breaks to do it in Illinois. Our Jim Holperin, the secretary [of tourism], made the difficult decision to face the reality.”
Wisconsin’s government works according to a fiscal year starting July 1 and ending June 30, so the office in its current form is likely to close by the end of next month. By July 1, Robbe would like to have the new office up and running, facilitating a smooth transition.
The Department of Tourism is supporting the effort. “The metaphor I would use is we want to hand them the keys and say here you go, it’s yours now. We want to make it easy for them,” Huffman related.
The tentative name for this new group is Film Wisconsin. And at this early stage in its development, the funding strategy is to attract a core group of corporate sponsors who will receive advertising on the organization’s Web site, in production guides and at marketing events. Possible sponsors are Time Warner, The Marcus Corporation and Midwest Express.
The next meeting to discuss the restructuring of the Film Office is set for Monday, May 23 from 6-8 pm at The Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design in Milwaukee, Wis. The town-hall style meeting will be open to everyone.