While film commissions are in the business of marketing hot locations, the art of marketing them was put into high gear at two hot locales last week–Santa Monica and Hollywood, the respective venues of the American Film Market (AFM) and the American Film Institute’s AFI Fest 2011.
A case in point is the Montana Film Office which hosted a filmmakers reception at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during the AFI Fest while also participating in the American Film Market. Montana Film Office manager Sten Iversen was meeting with the filming community at both events which too are linked and have been for eight years running.
Per that linkage, films selected for the AFI Fest 2011 were also represented at AFM. The association between AFM and the AFI Fest (the festival partner of AFM) is billed as connecting art and commerce, broadening opportunities for participants at both events.
Beyond pitching established producers and directors, Montana also served notice that the entry deadline, Nov. 30, for its “Pitch the 406” competition, which targets new filmmakers, is fast approaching. The contest invites aspiring filmmakers to pitch the Montana Film Office on why their project should be made in Montana. The three-minute video pitch can take varied forms–from a straight-forward-look-into-the-camera sales spiel to a sample scene from the proposed project or an ambitious trailer. The winner receives $20,000 in lighting, equipment and crew time to make his or her film in Montana. Entrants will also gain exposure before a judging panel comprised of Hollywood veterans such as Marty Katz, former executive VP in charge of motion pictures and television for Walt Disney Studios. Competition info is available at scout406.com. Contest winner will be announced the first week of January.
Exhibitors Foreign film commissions were prominent among AFM exhibitors, including representatives from Colombia, Croatia, Mexico, Argentina, Bavaria, Korea, New Zealand, Quebec, Thailand, Rio de Janeiro, and Saskatchewan. Stateside participants included Central Louisiana, West Virginia and Michigan.
Several were aggressively promoting tax credit programs, including Saskatchewan, Canada, with an incentive covering both Saskatchewan labor and outside non-Saskatchewan above-the-line wages. A sample calculation on a $10 million film with Saskatchewan expenditures of $7.5 million and some rural lensing yielded a total tax credit of $2.875 million.
Indeed the role of incentives in film financing was a hot topic at AFM, underscored by an AFM Conference Series finance panel discussion moderated by Joe Chianese, sr. VP, tax, business development and production planning for Entertainment Partners. The Incentive Solutions Group of Entertainment Partners finds its clients the right incentives for their productions, looks to get maximum return from incentives, facilitates the incentive process and expedites the realization of incentive benefits. The Incentive Solutions Group also provides expertise in selling transferable film tax credits for the optimum competitive price.
As earlier reported (SHOOT, 8/19), Chianese affirmed that incentives have become a pivotal factor in determining not only where projects get shot but also at times if those projects will come to fruition. He noted that it would be fiscally irresponsible for producers not to take incentives into consideration when planning projects.
While budget shortfalls throughout the U.S. have translated into cutbacks in filming incentives for a number of states, these same states have often retained enough of their packages to continue generating filmmaker interest. Michigan was at AFM courting producers despite recently instituted restrictions on its precedent-setting 42 percent refundable tax credit. Though Michigan’s annual cap on incentives was dramatically decreased to $25 million, there appear to still be some appealing enticements for those qualifying feature and TV programs that have direct production expenditures and/or Michigan personnel expenditures of at least $100,000 per the latest measure (Senate Bill 569) before the legislature. (Commercials are not eligible for Michigan incentives.)
Indeed a number of states with threatened drastic cutbacks have seen their programs fare better than originally projected. For example, New Mexico preserved more of its incentives package than had been expected, with the reduced $50 million cap generally regarded as a positive development. The New Mexico program still includes a 25 percent refundable tax credit on qualifying projects. Commercials are eligible for New Mexico incentives.
As for recent activity, Lionsgate last month announced the start of production on director Kim Jee-Woon’s The Last Stand across locations in New Mexico and Nevada. The action suspense film has a cast featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Zack Gilford, Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzman, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander and Eduardo Noriega.
Economic impact As for what filming can mean to a community, consider the new Superman movie Man of Steel which has already translated into an estimated 550 jobs for Illinois workers.
“This film,” said Governor Pat Quinn, “is a great example of how the impact of film and television productions is far reaching in the Illinois economy, benefiting everyone from local restaurants to the carpenters, truck drivers, caterers and custodial staff who make them possible.”
Man of Steel began production in late July in and around Plano, IL, which was transformed into Clark Kent’s hometown of Smallville. Production moved to Chicago in September. The film stars Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Clark’s parents, Laurence Fishburne as Daily Planet editor Perry White, and Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Clark’s biological father.
Illinois’ film industry saw a record $161 million in spending in 2010, which topped the $155 million tallied in ’07 and represents a 54 percent increase from ’09. Earlier this year, Governor Quinn helped dedicate a new soundstage development, Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, which will further enhance Illinois as a production destination. When fully built out, the studio will include 1.2 million square feet on the near southwest side of Chicago.
Illinois offers a 30 percent tax credit to filmmakers for money spent on state goods and services, including wages paid to Illinois residents. Since its inception, the Illinois Film Tax Credit has helped bring over $500 million in revenue to the state and more than 10,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
Film commissioners In other related lensing news, Nick Maniatis is settling into his role as director of the New Mexico Film Office after being named to that post some five months ago. He previously was the executive director of the New Mexico Independent Power Producers.
Maniatis succeeded Lisa Strout who took the reins of the Massachusetts Film Office on June 15. A native of Lexington, Mass., Strout started her nearly 30-year career in the Commonwealth, working on local film and TV projects. As director of the New Mexico Film Office, she was instrumental in attracting such high-profile Hollywood movies as No Country for Old Men and 3:10 to Yuma to the state.