Albuquerque Ranks #3 for Independent Films
MovieMaker ranks Albuquerque No. 3 for independent filmmakers
New Mexico Business Weekly by Megan Kamerick, NMBW Senior Reporter
Date: Monday, January 30, 2012, 2:56pm MST
The city of Albuquerque once again made the list of the Top 10 Cities to be an Independent Moviemaker, published by MovieMaker Magazine.
The city is ranked No. 3 for 2011 after New Orleans and Austin. Last year, Albuquerque was in the No. 2 spot behind Boston in 2010, and was in the No. 1 spot in 2009.
The rankings considered a number of factors, including the cost of living, average income levels, housing rates, employment opportunities and overall quality of life. The trade publication also looks at financial incentives, the availability of talent (in front of and behind the camera) and the ease of shooting.
Mayor Richard J. Berry said the industry spent $130 million in the greater Albuquerque area in 2011.
“These productions kept New Mexican film crews working and local establishments busy,” Berry said in a news release. “This national ranking is a real testament to the hard work put into developing the film industry in Albuquerque.”
MovieMaker noted a number of recent films shot here, including “Due Date” and “Fright Night.” Currently, the city has been playing host to “The Last Stand,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Crews were busy last week in Downtown, setting up a shot that involved a zip line between office buildings and a crane that hoisted a car onto a building. “The Lone Ranger” is in pre-production at Albuquerque Studios. The cable television series “In Plain Sight” is filming its fifth and final season here, and “Breaking Bad” will begin shooting its fifth season here as well.
The article quotes Ann Lerner, the city’s film liaison, touting the city’s film-friendly attitude, experienced crew base and variety of looks for different locations. It also quotes filmmaker Craig Butler, who made “The Righteous and the Wicked,” a low-budget indie film.
“New Mexico is a fantastic state to shoot in,” Butler is quoted as saying. “It has created incentives and numerous production resources, such as a prop/costume warehouse filled with things left behind by past productions, and entire Old West towns that have been preserved as film locations. The Albuquerque Film Office is amazing and local businesses are film-friendly. The independent filmmaker couldn’t ask for a better place to work.”
The article characterizes New Mexico’s incentives as “tax breaks you can literally take to the bank,” such as the 25 percent tax rebate, the 50 percent reimbursement on wages for training up state residents and the state’s film loan program, although it calls it a film investment loan program.
The State Investment Council actually did away with the old film investment program, whereby the state invested in films in lieu of charging interest, and the film loan program is now a straightforward interest-bearing loan, said Charles Wollmann, spokesman for the SIC. Only two films out of 24 that participated in the old program yielded profits for the state, “Employee of the Month,” which brought about $500,000, and “The Book of Eli,” which has returned $540,000 so far.
New Mexico was one the first states to create a film incentive program, which allowed it to get a jump on building education programs, a crew base and infrastructure, such as studio facilities, say industry experts. But many states have since followed suit or beefed up their programs. Louisiana has been garnering significant business, with a 30 percent investor tax credit based on total in-state expenditures. Apparently it has also scored the valuable post-production facilities that many in New Mexico would like to see here, since post (the editing and everything else that takes place after principal photography) is often at least half of a film’s budget. MovieMaker notes that FotoKem, the world’s largest independently owned post-production facility, recently opened a satellite office in New Orleans.
It looks like New Mexico’s neighbor, Colorado, is eying upping its own incentive program this year. The state has a “modest” incentive program, reports the Pueblo Chieftain, and now Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, has the support of Gov. John Hickenlooper to try to expand it by about $3 million.
