The Best Kept Secret At The Iowa Capitol

*The Best Kept Secret At The Iowa Capitol
(*phrase credited to Jay)

Today Jay Villwock and I were joined by Dave Thrasher on our trip to the Iowa Capitol.  The first thing we did was engage in a casual conversation with the governor's office manager, Leo Hough, who said there are four pay grades for the job of manager of the Iowa film office and that this would be the basis for possible salary negotiations.  He said the job is an "at-will" job, not a contract arrangement.

A source within the Iowa legislature said he "heard" that the new IFO manager is a woman but had no other details to share.

We know from speaking with Senator Bill Dotzler and Rep. Dave Deyoe that the budget for the IFO is still alive and in a joint house/senate conference discussion.

What remains a mystery is the identity of the new Iowa film office manager.  The head of Iowa Cultural Affairs, Mary Cownie, revealed in recent weeks that she has made her selection, yet we are all still in the dark because not a peep has been made concerning who Mary has chosen.

Because the Iowa film office has been stagnant for four years, not dead, but in hibernation on some forgotten state of Iowa shelf, I sense that despite the best efforts of Senator Dotzler, the film industry is what a legislator called it when it was shut down, "Iowa's whipping boy", who has been comatose for far too long.  If the identity of the manager of the film office is not made public and if the film office continues to remain helplessly lifeless until the end of the current fiscal year, the funds allotted to the film office may likely be blown by being infused into various Iowa Cultural Affairs projects.  This would mean another year of going through this sluggish political process of ensuring proper funding and putting a film office manager to work.

Now you should better understand what Jay meant when he coined that little phrase.

We Know NOTHING!

I know there are many out there who want to know who is going to be the next manager of the Iowa Film Office and what the film office will do to improve their creative lives.  Jay Villwock and I went to the Iowa State House today and succeeded in discovering NOTHING.  We have contacted Iowa Cultural Affairs and a spokesman there didn't even claim to know anything.  We do know that the appropriations bill is now in a joint house/senate conference committee and that the money allotted for the IFO will likely be ample.  We know that our two top choices to head the IFO were rejected and that the future of film-making in Iowa will likely be limited to commercial work and independent tiny-budget films, if any.  The idea that Hollywood film-makers would come back to Iowa and bring jobs to actors and crew now seems like only a hopeful dream that has all but disappeared.  Tax incentives certainly will not come back into play for many years, and without them producers will go to states where there still are movie tax incentive programs in force.  (Photo shows how political craziness has taken a toll on Jay).

New Film Office Manager Is Known Now

I was all set to file yet another report about how the Iowa film office is likely to finally get an ample amount of money allocated for its budget (which is true), and that Jay and I talked to several legislators again today and with the governor's director of the office of management and budget (also true), but now I'm just going to say that the name of the new IFO manager will very likely be announced as early as tomorrow and that the names of our two top choices will not be uttered in that announcement. 

Today we were told by someone in very high authority that the film office will most likely focus on local projects, rather than bigger movie making activity.  Speaking for Jay and myself, we hope that whoever is named to head the IFO will work towards the  resumption of movie work for creative Iowans, even though such work will most likely be industrial films and commercials.

Thank you to Senator Bill Dotzler and Rep. David Deyoe.  You two have done so much to get funding for the film office and you were always there to speak with us and support us and the film industry here.

You Want Answers? You Want Answers?

Q: You Want Answers?
A: I think I'm entitled to them.
Q: You Want Answers?
A: I want the TRUTH!!!

Well, Jay and I aren't getting any answers and sometimes even the truth eludes us.  We went to the Iowa State House today.  Spoke with a few legislators and a governor staff member, but learned nothing.  We know that the bill concerning funding for the Iowa film office is in the Iowa House though.  We also know that applicants for that job were assured that they'd hear back by last week and have not heard a peep.

It's like trying to run in waist-high water, or having a dream where everything's in s-l-o-wwwwwww motion.

April Rains, Capitol Hopes

 

Normally when Jay and I get to the Iowa State House we immediately find a legislator and begin a discussion concerning the Iowa film office.  Today things were very quiet and unpopulated legislator-wise until we had wandered for one or two hours, but our wait paid off.  Our first encounter was with the Iowa senator from Waterloo, Bill Dotzler.

Senator Dotzler has spoken up for our film office cause from day one and now he is in his fourth year of doing his utmost to help us. It's been the same length of time for Jay and me, four long years of digging for answers and seeking support.  The senator said the appropriations bill which covers funding for the Iowa Film Office is now in the Iowa House and will go back to the senate and eventually to a joint conference where the appropriations bill will be approved.  Following this, the film office will be set to re-open, with just shy of what the governor recommended in his budget proposal, $400,000 to fund the film office.  The office will not open however, until a manager is announced, which is a long and crazy story in itself.

The amount for funding the IFO will not be less than $385,000, according to Rep. Dave Deyoe, who is the appropriations committee leader on the house side.  Presently the IFO has $185,000, and this would be carried over and added to the $200,000-$300,000 allocated to the film office, bringing the total to as little as $385,000 and as much as $485,000 if I understand this complicated situation correctly.

We heard from the governor's office manager, Leo Hough, that the governor would prefer to not interfere or micro-manage the cultural affairs office, which means the selection of the new IFO manager will be strictly in the hands of that department's director, Mary Cownie.

It's gray outside.  It's gray symbolically. Sunshine is welcomed so fresh things can grow again.

Craving Crazy Drama? Go Under The Dome!

Above: Gino, Sen. Dotzler, Jay/Below: with Rep. Deyoe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drama Continues

April 4th.  Why have Jay and I gone up to the Iowa State House for four years now?  Well, Jay and I are just trying to uncover the facts on the matter of the Iowa Film Office.  We just want to be sure there will be enough funding for that office to run properly and that it will be headed by the most qualified person possible, such as someone with twenty years of successfully running the film office previously, someone who brought big movie makers to Iowa BEFORE the tax credits even began.  Someone with extensive Hollywood connections and friendships, a person who can start the process of regaining trust in our state. 

We find it very difficult to understand why the most obviously qualified person hasn't already been named manager of the film office.  We know who the governor's choice is, the same choice of top Iowa senators and representatives.  I will not use names, just initials: W. J.

Enough of the prelude.  Jay and I once again met with the Iowa film industry's strongest and most vocal proponent:  Senator Bill Dotzler.  We also met with Rep. Dave Deyoe, our most important ally in the Iowa House.Senator Dotzler said he learned that the money in the IFO from last year is up from the previously reported $100,000 to $185,000, just shy of the original $200,000 the Iowa House approved last year, half of what the governor and the senate recommended.  This fluctuating amount seems mysterious to me.  Senator Dotzler told us he made the IFO budget a line item in the current appropriations bill, meaning the full amount is to be strictly and solely used for film office business, including staffing.  Speaking of staffing, the new film office manager will definitely need an assistant.

We were told that the director of cultural affairs knows who the best choice for leading the film office is.  We know that key legislators and the governor have made their preference known.  We know that Senator Dotzler urged the director of cultural affairs to make a decision soon as to who will be the next IFO manager.

The appropriations bill is now in the Iowa House and then goes back and forth between the two chambers until a joint conference is held to finally approve the bill.

Stay tuned to this screen for more......   don't go away......    you may use the bathroom, but otherwise stay there.....

What's the Score?

The current Iowa legislative session is getting closer to the end.  This morning Jay and I once again met with several Iowa legislators and got conflicting views.  Without naming sources, we heard that the film office director's job may be announced this week or next, and that the leading candidate for that job is someone with years of experience.  We also heard that the bill pertaining to the film office allocation will leave the senate for the house by the end of this week, and that the amount for the film office will range from as little as $200,000, to as much as $400,000, as long as there is money to be carried over to the new budget.  There are active players in all of this in both the senate and the house. 

We were told that the director of cultural affairs hired a deputy director and that the Iowa Historical Museum gift shop has been closed because it was operating at a loss.  Thus, there appears to be activity within cultural affairs and the film office issue which is not being fully shared with us.

Will there indeed be money for the film office yet this fiscal year?  Of the $200,000, will any remain to re-launch the film office?  Will the announcement of the new film office director be delayed until after this fiscal year ends?  These are questions I have in my mind.  The answers are about to be revealed I am sure.