A Meeting With Liz Gilman, Executive Director with Produce Iowa

Today I met with Executive Producer of Produce Iowa (our renamed Iowa film office), Liz Gilman. Joining us was Jay Villwock and Dave Thrasher, both dear friends of mine. Although Liz is still waiting for her own decent desk and ample space at Cultural Affairs, her determination and enthusiasm to get Iowa actors and crew back to work is obvious. She said she hopes more Iowans will visit the Produce Iowa website and sign-up on the Media Production Directory. Liz said the software, Reel Scout, is what the new directory utilizes, and which is widely regarded as the best in the industry. Only 150 have signed-up for the directory thus far. To list yourself, go to the Produce Iowa website and click on "Crew", then go to the Media Production Directory. We learned that the present budget for the film office (I will use that term instead of Produce Iowa) is $300,000. When I asked if she has a staff, Liz said she is able to tap into staff within Cultural Affairs when needed. Liz has two trips to Los Angeles planned to meet with other film office leaders and producers. She has plans to attract successful Iowans within the entertainment industry to give talks to members of Iowa's film industry. We talked about funding for Iowa filmmakers and she suggested contacting the Iowa Arts Council and Iowa Humanities offices to explore grants, especially for documentaries. Considering what Liz inherited, and how she faces super close scrutiny for anything she does, I think she's doing a great job.

— with Liz Gilman.

Our Fifth Year of Iowa Statehouse Visits

Jay Villwock and I resumed our Iowa statehouse visits today.  For the past four years our aim was to do our best to keep the Iowa film office alive and to urge sufficient budgeting for that office.  It was a struggle, a battle full of ups and downs with plenty of uncertainties.  But in the end the film office survived, albeit under another name, Produce Iowa, led by a new state employee, Liz Gilman, who works within the office of cultural affairs which is led by director Mary Cownie.

Produce Iowa has a budget of $400,000, but Jay and I are not sure if all of that money is being used by the new film office.  We are sure that Liz has an almost impossible task of attracting film producers to Iowa without tax incentives.  Sometimes an HBO production will roll through, even a national television ad shoot, but feature film producers were scared away possibly for good when our film office scandal broke and some producers were caught abusing the film tax credits program and put on trial.

Jay and I very rarely get calls for auditions.  He's rehearsing now for a play which will open at the newly relocated Des Moines Social Club, and the last thing I did was shot last summer, my role as a sketch artist for an episode of "The Dead Files", on The Travel Channel.

Today when the two of us entered the Iowa Senate conference room to grab some coffee, we found Senator Bill Dotzler working on a bill with an associate.  He immediately got up from his chair and gave both of us a wonderful welcome back hug.  The senator has been the best friend of Iowa film and was always there for us during each and every of the past four years of our capitol campaign visits.

We also met with Senator Joe Seng, a veterinarian from Davenport, and discussed the film office budget.   Senators Seng and Dotzler are key senate leaders who spoke in support of we actors and crew in Iowa consistently.  Another supportive senator, Brad Zaun, also spoke with us today.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget, David Roederer, spent about forty-five minutes with us in his office today.  He is another important friend on the hill who is in a top staff position in Governor Branstad's office. David told Jay and me that we are the main reason the film office was not killed.  He said our persistence was widely appreciated at the capitol and today we felt that appreciation with Senator's Dotzler's hugs and many warm handshakes and conversations.