Montanans strategize on how to reel in lucrative Hollywood projects

Picture this: a weekly mystery television series starring a 40-something sheriff in a small Montana town, fumbling through the oddities of life in the changing Rocky Mountain West.

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL, Chronicle Staff Writer

The series is an idea "A River Runs Through It" producer Patrick Markey is developing — in collaboration with Livingston author Jamie Harrison — as one way to boost the local film production industry.

The film industry is a lucrative and clean business and Montana needs more of it, Alicia Bradshaw, executive director of the Gallatin Development Corp., said Friday at the Montana Film Conference here.

Major film projects and TV programs inject large sums of money into the community where they are produced.

"Films can have a major impact on a small community," Bradshaw said. "Films bring a large influx of new cash dollars to the community … those dollars turn over two to three times."

With major films, the injection is a one-time shot.

After filming is through, local lighting technicians and crew members wind up taking odd jobs between productions, said Dennis Aig, a film professor at Montana State University and a member of the Montana Film Center. The Livingston-based nonprofit brought film industry experts to the conference to brainstorm ideas.

"We want to turn a lot of these ideas into action," he said, adding that MFC’s five-member board will use information from the conference to determine the best way to promote Montana to the film industry.

"One of the things we are going to explore is a television series here," he said.

When a community gets a weekly series, Aig said it creates a more stable film environment. Other productions are more likely to come to Montana if the infrastructure from a TV series is already in place.

"But it’s not easy," Aig said. "You need a lot more capital for a television series than film."

As with all start-up ventures, establishing funding is often the hardest part.

Investing in films is high-risk with no guaranteed payoff, and it can take years to see a financial return, Bradshaw said.

One solution is to gather a group of local investors with an interest in the film industry to back projects, she said.

Markey said he’d be interested in starting a private and revolving investment fund for films made in Montana.

The center would also like to see legislation passed at a state level offering tax incentives for film producers.

"We have enormous competition from Canada, Australia and New Zealand," Markey said. "They have taken the films away from us."

Tax breaks and exchange rates mean if a production company spends $10 million in Canada, they get $2.5 million back when they head home.

In New Mexico and Louisiana, state governments have started offering 15 percent rebates on goods and services purchased during the making of a film. As a result, film production has skyrocketed in both states in the last year, Markey said.

"Until something changes at the state level, it doesn’t really matter what we do," Markey said. "Pictures will go somewhere else."

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