Q-C visit a start in rebuilding Iowa multimedia industry
Nearly four years after the former head of the old Iowa Film
Office was fired in a tax-incentive scandal, the new chief of a revamped
multimedia production office is in place and will visit the Quad-Cities
on Tuesday.
The Quad Cities Film Coalition is hosting a public
reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at The Lodge Hotel, Bettendorf, for Liz
Gilman, executive producer of Produce Iowa, Office of Media Production,
which is part of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. She will tour
the area and learn about the local production community, meeting the
people who work in front of and behind the camera, as well as those
interested in media production of all kinds, said film coalition
co-founder Doug Miller, Davenport.
"The big focus is really
going to be getting the infrastructure of the office up and running, and
that's going to take a long time," he said, noting Ms. Gilman is
getting to know people around the state. As far as state tax incentives
for the industry, "that's not in the immediate future," Mr. Miller said.
"The difficulty is the first thing you're going to get asked (by
interested producers) is what incentives are you going to have? That
makes things a little more difficult," he said. Compared to the coasts,
though, "the cost of doing business here is a great deal less, like the
cost for anything is a lot less here than other parts of the country,"
said Mr. Miller.
The QC Film Coalition, first formed under the
old Quad City Development Group, is a loosely organized group of
professionals and businesses interested in filmed entertainment. It is
repositioning itself as a local version of Produce Iowa, representing
all ways media is produced, Mr. Miller said.
Produce Iowa aims
to promote the film, TV, and digital media-production community within
the state, as well to those outside Iowa who are interested in using
skills of these professionals.
"We are eager to move forward
with Produce Iowa and to encompass all media production as we renew our
efforts to promote and attract the industry to Iowa," said Mary Cownie,
director of the Department of Cultural Affairs. "With Liz Gilman, I
believe we have found an experienced leader who understands the
media-production world and will lead us into the future as Iowa's
storyteller, with new ideas and a fresh perspective."
"This
first year will be a building year," Ms. Gilman said. "I am looking
forward to the tremendous potential of generating media-production
opportunities in Iowa while celebrating and promoting our state to this
highly creative industry."
The Hawkeye State's effort to
compete in the cutthroat world of film financing landed it in hot water
in September 2009, when Thomas Wheeler, former head of the Iowa Film
Office, was fired. Two years later, he was convicted of falsifying
public records, but acquitted of other fraud and misconduct charges in
connection with 22 approved film projects that received more than $25
million in improper tax credits through the state film office.
The state legislature has suspended offers of tax credits, and Ms.
Gilman said in a recent interview she's happy to be starting over.
"I want to see what's out there, what people are wanting the office to
be. It's been vacant for four years," she said. "A lot has happened
since then -- so many new technologies, many apps, gaming." That's one
reason why the word "film" is not part of the name of the new office;
it's meant to encompass all media, Ms. Gilman said.
"The
greatest thing is we have a fresh start. We can create from the ground
up what we want to be," she said. "I think it's a great opportunity,
with new technologies and trends, to create something fresh and
different.
"It all comes down to relationships and people.
There are great people in our state, well-educated," Ms. Gilman said.
"We have that Iowa nice -- people want to work with us. We want to
handle quality productions, build relationships."
For more than
20 years, Ms. Gilman, an Iowa native, successfully has run her own
businesses, including Gilman Media Inc., of West Des Moines. Clients
have included national firms Comcast, Mediacom and HBO, as well as
numerous Iowa companies, including Maytag Dairy Farms, Ruan
Transportation and Des Moines Performing Arts.
Her has produced
national TV programs throughout the U.S., in locations ranging from
Walt Disney World in Orlando to MGM Grand in Las Vegas to Warner
Brothers Studios in Burbank, Calif.
"I understand what the
established companies are up against, employing people for the long
term," Ms. Gilman said. "I understand what locations you need to
provide, what crewing you need. I think one reason they were interested
in me, I've been a troop in the field. I understand the industry."
She is going to Los Angeles at the end of June to meet other film
commissioners from around the world. "I really just need to meet people
and see what's going on. I want to see what other states are doing, see
what the industry trends are," she said.
The Iowa Office of
Media Production also will identify new trends in media production and
advancements that are being made in the state.
During her visit
here, Ms. Gilman will brief the QC Film Coalition on the planned state
program and exhibit "Hollywood in the Heartland," to be developed in the
coming year and unveiled at the State Historical Museum of Iowa next
June. Mr. Miller wants to make sure the Q-C area is represented
accurately and fairly in the exhibit.
"Our heritage, on stage and on screen, goes back over 100 years. There's a wealth of information out there," he said.
The exhibit objectives are to bring attention to actors from Iowa,
movies shot in the state over the years, and the many historic
motion-picture exhibition experiences that can be had throughout the
state.
Iowa and Illinois film facts Iowa:The
motion picture and television industry is responsible for 3,664 direct
jobs and $82.1 million in wages in Iowa, including both production- and
distribution-related jobs. More than 450 of the jobs are
production-related.
In 2010 and 2011, just two movies were filmed
in the state -- "At Any Price" and "Scribble." There is no significant
tax incentive for production in Iowa.
Illinois:The
movie and TV industry is responsible for 20,946 direct jobs and $969.2
million in wages in Illinois, including both production- and
distribution-related jobs. More than 6,100 of the jobs are
production-related.
In 2011, nine movies and 10 TV series were
filmed in the state. Movies included "Man of Steel," "Lincoln," "A
Fonder Heart," "Just Like a Woman," "Valley of the Sun," and "A Green
Story." TV series include "The Rosie Show," "The Playboy Club," "Boss,"
"The Chicago Code," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Judge Jeanine Pirro" and
"Cold Case Files."
In 2010, 25 films and nine TV series filmed in
the state. Movies included "Source Code," "LOL," "The Vow," "The
Dilemma," "Contagion," and "Bad Teacher." TV series include "The Oprah
Winfrey Show," "The Chicago Code," "Cold Case Files," "Judge Mathis,"
"Giuliana & Bill," "Future Food" and "At the Movies."
The
Illinois Film Production Tax Credit took effect on Jan. 1, 2009. The tax
credit has no sunset and consists of 30 percent of the Illinois
production spending for the taxable year, and 30 percent credit on
Illinois salaries up to $100,000 per worker.
Source: Motion Picture Association of America (mpaa.org)
