From The Hawk Eye

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Hazell's films moving forward
Local filmmaker looking for investors in 12 projects.

By CHRISTINIA CRIPPES
ccrippes@thehawkeye.com

"Hardship to Hope" is not just the name of a television show Jon Hazell hopes to produce in Burlington in the coming months. It also describes Hazell's experience with the Iowa Film Office during the past eight months.

After the film office's tax credit program was suspended last September due to allegations of mismanagement of the incentives, many production company's like Hazell's were left in limbo.

Several rounds of negotiations later and Hazell finally has a contract with the state of Iowa to proceed with all 12 projects he had pending. He first received notification in November 2009 that he could proceed with two. However, his business model required all of his projects to go through so he can start a full-fledged film studio in Burlington.

"What we're looking at doing is becoming a working studio here in Iowa, which of course, most people don't believe can happen, but we're looking at doing it," Hazell said.

His contract with the state gives him two and a half years to complete all 12 projects, though he may be granted an extension if he shows a good faith effort. He received a contract for tax credits for five feature films, four documentaries and three television series. He will receive the credits after production is complete.

"If this all goes, we will be really the only show in town," Hazell said last week. While Hazell is not the only Iowa filmmaker who has been negotiating with the state to fulfill contracts, he had submitted and received a contract for the most projects.

Show me the money

Before the projects can get fully under way, Hazell and his Iowa Production Network are seeking investors on all 12 endeavors. IPN is an overarching group for five companies, including Hazell Productions, that are involved in the effort, two of which are faith-based non-profit organizations.

Hazell estimates a combined $80 million cost for all of the projects, but he has tiered investment options.

"We will give presentations to anybody that wants to listen further about this," Hazell said.

His main priority at the moment is to locate investors in Burlington so he can keep the money local, rather than turning to one of Iowa's larger communities. Hazell hopes to be able to start filming efforts next month.

"The reality we're looking at here, and it's scary ... the next two and a half years could be one of the most hard-working, exciting time periods I have ever had in my life," Hazell said. "It's a huge challenge, but it's totally exciting."

Although the initial producers who were granted state tax incentives were offered a 50 percent reimbursement for all costs, that has been scaled back to a total of 25 percent for production and investment. Hazell's business plan, though, also includes taking advantage of federal tax credits and, more importantly, turning a profit with his projects.

With a background in accounting, Hazell also realizes the importance of spreading the risk. That's why he is looking for an investment in all 12 projects so if one is wildly successful and a few others less so, investors can still turn a profit.

Confidence builders

Hazell's initial efforts once he secures funding will be with two documentaries, "The Last Champion" and "A River Nation," for which most of the filming is already complete. He calls those efforts "confidence builders" because they will allow investors to see marketing of the first projects within a couple months of getting started.

From there, Hazell has laid out a timeline for completion of the projects by the end of 2012. He will use an assembly line process, which includes the hiring of 30 to 45 full-time, salaried staff members, as well as additional contracted labor, during at least the next two and a half years to streamline the filming and editing.

He believes having the same people working together for a common cause will inspire confidence in each other and create a drive to complete the work as scheduled.

Because one of the new requirements of the contracts is that the projects be made by Iowa-based companies, Hazell also sees an opportunity in working with other out-of-state filmmakers who may want to use his local studio to complete their projects.

Aside from jump-starting a new industry in southeast Iowa, Hazell foresees additional benefits to Burlington. He believes it will help combat youth leaving the state if they have creative, high-technology jobs in their own backyard, as well as offering a tourist destination for people who want to see the real-life scenes of where the films were shot.

An Iowa native, Hazell believes good things are coming to Burlington, and not just in the film industry.

"What this, I think, adds is this adds a new element to economic development here to the community; you can call it a creative economic development industry," Hazell said.

Lost opportunities

Hazell is hesitant to guess what will happen to the future of the film incentive program in Iowa. He's obviously focused on getting started on the huge job in front of him.

He said much will depend on the outcome of the 2010 election, as current Gov. Chet Culver and lawmakers have put the program on hold until 2013. Hazell said many are hoping that whether under new leadership or not, the state lawmakers can restart the program sooner.

He said the fear is that during the hiatus, many film companies will decide to locate or shoot productions in other states that have a working tax credit program.

"The paradox is Iowa in one year had its best reputation ever ... then also had paradoxically its worst because of the scandal," Hazell said, adding that nearly 40 productions were filmed here in 2009 including four feature films in southeast Iowa.