Montana Film Office – A rotating cast and the office is hiring

When producers of The Revenant wanted to shoot a scene in Montana, they contacted the Montana Film Office http://www.montanafilm.com/ for help choosing a location. If a similar plea for help came this summer, it’s unclear who would answer the call.

Frustration over a lack of support and the allure of better opportunities will soon leave the Montana Film Office without any dedicated staff. Public Relations Coordinator Rachel Gregg is departing at the end of the month to join the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival as a producer. Former film office Commissioner Deny Staggs left in March to become CEO of a Bozeman wildlife film company, and the office’s former location coordinator, John Ansotegui, followed Staggs.

Gregg estimates the film office helped generate $10 million in local business last year from seven feature films and approximately 100 smaller projects shooting in Montana.

Staggs says the loss of a tax incentive program reflects a broader problem with the state film industry’s lack of visibility among lawmakers. The legislature doesn’t recognize film as a good investment and business opportunity, and the industry needs a stronger voice in Helena to gain traction, "like agriculture, like coal, like oil, like Realtors and hoteliers and that kind of thing," he says.

By Andrew Graham

Full Story: http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/montana-film-office/Content?oid=3013794

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Now Hiring

Here at the Montana Film Office, part of helping pictures get made is helping to connect the projects to the right people, locally. With that in mind, we maintain a current listing of projects of all sizes that are hiring around the state. We also have documents here to help you get hired in your first picture, become a production assistant, promote a your location as a filming destination, and much more. Be sure to check back often to see what new and exciting information we’re offering!

Now-Hiring