Film-Related Event Tomorrow In Parkersburg

This Friday, tomorrow, there will be an event tied to the horrible events that took place in Parkersburg, Iowa: the devastating tornado and the murder of beloved Parkersburg coach Ed Thomas. This event is a book signing by the author of "The Sacred Acre", which relates to these events. Tony Wilson, a producer of a motion picture made in Iowa, "The Final Season", has acquired the rights to make a film based on this book. Tony is with the West Des Moines production company, Applied Art. Former Iowa Film Office head Wendol Jarvis will be on hard, as will Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds. Iowa Senator Grassley will also be there. This will all occur in the Parkersburg High School Gymnasium, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

I Agree With Dave Thrasher!!

David Thrasher (pictured)

Once again they get it wrong. The tax incentives weren't used to purchase the vehicles. The vehicles were purchased with the production's money and these were turned in as qualified expenses for which tax credits were awarded. There was no check ever written by the state, only a certificate toward money off taxes which the producer could sell to someone else so they could take money off THEIR taxes.

Also, there's never been any prosecutions in regard to the Range Rover or the Mercedes because the law was written so loosely that there was nothing in it to say that such purchases weren't allowed.

Even at this stage of Tom Wheeler's trial there is evidence that those above him are trying to make him the scapegoat and throw him under the bus to divert attention from their own negligence.

from Des Moines Register.Com

http://www.gannettonline.com/external/scripts/momslikeme/?siteid=6171

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Written by
LEE ROOD



Two of the first witnesses in Tom Wheeler’s trial this morning warned the former film chief that filmmakers were were abusing the new film tax incentive program passed by the Legislature in 2007.

Wheeler faces multiple felony charges for misconduct in office, fraudulent practices and conspiracy. Hired to run Iowa’s one-person film office in 2004, he has been accused by state prosecutors of being an “inside guy” for those who abused the program.

Steve Faust, an Urbandale man who worked on several Iowa movies after the incentive was created, testified that he warned Wheeler director Bruce Isacson was drving a Land Rover on the set of “South Dakota” that did not appear to be used in the film.

Faust said he had heard it was being loaded up and shipped back to California.

“I went and said, ‘Tom, do I need to talk to you or someone above you?” he said.
Wheeler, Faust said, told him he would take care of the problem. He also told Faust to not tell higher-ups because he could get fired.

But Faust alo said Wheeler was respected by the people he worked with in the industry and acknowledged Wheeler might have overlooked things because the program was growing so quickly.

Faust said he had no idea whether the law drafted by legislators or rules put into place afterward by the Iowa Department of Economic Development allowed for the purchase of luxury vehicles.

Also this morning, Doug Miller, one of the state’s most experienced film and production professionals, said he warned Wheeler early of potential problems with part of the tax incentive that offered investors in a film a 25 percent tax credit.
Miller, co-founder of Great River Studios in the Quad Cities, said he worked extensively with Wheeler and other industry-backers to create incentives to lure movies to Iowa. He said he knew investor enticements could prove a problem in an industry known to have its share of swindlers, but organizers proceeded with the incentive anyway.

Miller was also expected to testify today that he told Wheeler one movie-maker changed his name after being convicted of bank fraud, and that Wheeler allowed that moviemaker to proceed with a project anyway under a different name.

The film scandal erupted in late summer 2009 after a preliminary audit at the Iowa Department of Economic Development revealed widespread mismanagement and abuses.

The state has doled out $1.5 million in court settlements so far, convicted a handful of filmmakers for trying to defraud taxpayers and fired several state workers.

The incentive program has been suspended until 2013.

from WWW.Algona.com

Algona film project: take three

Tietz hopes third time is the charm for stalled project
By Nathan Countryman, Assistant editor
Published: Thursday, August 11, 2011 10:03 AM CDT

ALGONA — Wendol Jarvis, former manager of the Iowa Film Office, and screenwriter, producer and director Don Thompson visited the Camp Algona P.O.W. Museum on Thursday, Aug. 4.

The duo were visiting the museum to see if a stalled film project can proceed on the Camp Algona P.O.W. that was established during World War II.


The film project originally was being promoted by Larry Webster and Media Majik. The film was to be based off of Don Tietz’s 2007 biographical novel, One American Dreamer, written by Alice C. Bateman.


In 2010 Tietz sued Webster and this year won a judgement default after Webster refused to appear for trial conference calls.


After suing Webster, Tietz brought in a new executive producer, Raw Leiba, director Robert Stock and screenwriters Liz Finn-Arnold and Sandra Longo, but the project stalled.


Jarvis is working with the film on behalf of Gov. Terry Branstad on a volunteer basis to try and reestablish a film office in Iowa following the film scandal.


“I’m originally from Iowa, and am good friends with Don Thompson and Don Tietz,” Jarvis said. “Right now we’re doing research in order to help us find what the story would be of the museum and work on developing a screenplay. The screenplay would be the first baby step towards the filmmaking process.”


Jarvis created the Iowa Film Office in 1984 and left the position in 2002 after budget cuts forced him to lay off two assistants.


Jarvis is originally from Centerville and has ties with the Algona area. His wife is originally from the Emmetsburg area.


According to Jarvis, the soonest filming could begin on any project would be in 2012.


“It is real important that we understand what the story is and how we can relate that to what was happening during World War II.


Jarvis brought on director, producer and screenwriter Don Thompson to give Don Tietz and Jarvis advice on how the project should proceed.


Thompson has worked on numerous films, including “Blood on the Mountain,” “Life Flight,” and “Paradise Trail.”


“I’ve been interested in film since I was a kid,” Thompson said. “I went to Hollywood and got a position at Paramount Pictures and moved out there.”


Thompson worked on several made for television movies.


When he hasn’t worked on films, Thompson has also worked as a radio broadcaster, since the age of 15, including a stint of 15 years at WHO Radio.


“When I wasn’t doing movies, I was working in radio,” Thompson said.


Currently he has a Sunday morning music and memories show, “The Musical Clock Show,” in which he plays Christian music, as well as the hits from the 1940s and 1950s and a spiritual message.


Thompson is originally from New York.


“Wendol called me up on the phone, and because we had worked together on several films I worked on that filmed in Iowa, we became good friends,” Thompson said. “He told me about this project, and it was something I never had come across before.”


Thompson remembers during World War II that P.O.W. Camps were in existence, as he saw them in New York. He didn’t realize, however, that the Midwest ever had any.


Thompson also finds a draw for the story, because of the human element.


“Anything about the military or bringing honor to our military is something I like to do with my projects,” Thompson said.


Thompson has also found there have been fewer decent movies released in the past 20 years.


“I haven’t been to a movie in the past 20 years,” Thompson said. “There aren’t as many family films in existence anymore. I remember when I was younger, my family would go to see Tarzan or the Durango Kid films on Sunday afternoons at the cineplex.”


Thompson said writing the screenplay could take months and additional research trips to Algona and the museum to find the angle needed to best portray the story on screen.

Jeremy Ray Smolik's "Career Day" film fest entry

Jeremy Ray Smolik really impressed me with his "Career Day" entry for the annual 48 Hour Film Festival!!

See it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnloeudui7k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Iowa's film program costs near $1.5 million with deal

From the Des Moines Register (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110810/NEWS10/108100311/-1/GALLERY_ARRAY/Iowa-s-film-program-costs-near-1-5-million-deal):

Iowa's film program costs near $1.5 million with deal
by Lee Rood

Producers of the 2009 movie "Smitty" reached an agreement this month with state prosecutors to receive cash and tax credits, pushing the taxpayer tab of court settlements tied the collapse of Iowa's film program to almost $1.5 million.

Under the agreement, makers of the family feature film starring Peter Fonda, Mira Sorvino and Louis Gossett Jr. will receive more than $265,000 in tax credits and almost $60,000 cash.

Jeff Thompson, a deputy state attorney general, said settlements with the makers of "The Crazies" and "The Experiment," two films whose expenses are being audited by the state, are expected to eventually be the largest reached. A handful of others could still receive tax credits.

Several filmmakers had yet to receive credits when the lucrative film incentive program was suspended in 2009 due to abuse and mismanagement. A state audit released in 2010 found 80 percent of the tax credits awarded before the program collapsed - some $26 million of $32 million - were issued improperly.

The state paid $450,000 this year to Midsummer Films, a film company that was planning to spend millions in Iowa before the program was abandoned. The company planned to make six movies, to be filmed over three years, that were worth an estimated $60 million to $70 million.

Late last year, the state also paid a $434,171 cash settlement to After Dark Films. The amount was on top of $315,828 in tax credits previously awarded to the company, which made the horror movies "Husk" and "Fertile Ground."

Next week, Tom Wheeler, former manager of the state's one-man film office, will face charges of felonious misconduct in office, first-degree fraudulent practices and conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty.

Dennis Brouse, 60, of Plattsmouth, Neb., the owner of Changing Horses Productions, is scheduled for trial March 15.

Chad Witter, 38, of Bettendorf, a tax credit broker accused of helping several filmmakers abuse the program, is scheduled to go to trial April 16.

Harel Goldstein - also known as Harel Gold and Kevin Ward - of Calabasas, Calif., has been charged with first-degree fraudulent practices, forgery and conspiracy. Goldstein, 50, is a movie distributor and was producer of the film "Underground." He has yet to appear in court.

Tom Wheeler trial finally underway

After being delayed 4 times at least, the trial of Tom Wheeler looks like it may be finally beginning, according to this article on WHO-TV's website:

http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-film-head-court-date-20110804,0,6415666.story

There seems to be a feeling from many people that the idea of this trial is to "throw Tom Wheeler under the bus" and leave higher-ups of his from the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) and members of the Culver administration, including former Governor Chet Culver himself, unscathed by the scandal with total blame assigned to Wheeler. We'll have to stay tuned to see how all of this plays out. Besides the Tom Wheeler trial, there are 3 other known trials that have been reported by the press.