Here we combine two of my favorite things: tax breaks and movies.
House Bill 1362, a bipartisan effort by Republican Rep. Tom Massey and Democratic Rep. Cheri Jahn, would provide $1 million in tax rebate money to filmmakers as long as they spend 75 percent of production costs in the state.
The key problem with this performance-based incentive bill is that it doesn’t go far enough. A million bucks – max? Why would we limit enticements to such a relatively paltry amount? After all, isn’t any new dollar coming in to the state better than none?
Colorado, dotted with dramatically scenic spots, has the distinction of being one of the few that lacks any sort of deal to lure moviemakers. But this isn’t only about Hollywood; it’s a template for economic development.
“The money is spent with local business,” claims Martin Cuff, new director of the Colorado Film Commission. “It’s totally about stimulating the local economy. It’s really just an economic growth incentive. And it just happens to use film production as a catalyst for that.”
Out of touch or not, film productions hire caterers, hotels, restaurants, grips, cleaning crews, hairdressers, construction crews, limos, etc. …
With this upside in mind, the Colorado Film Commission was officially relaunched in February with Cuff, a South African resident, at the helm. His goal: bring the movie industry back to Colorado.
In 1990, for instance, big-budget pictures including “City Slickers,” “Die Hard 2: Die Harder” and “Thelma & Louise” were all shot – at least in part – in Colorado.
Last year? The most noteworthy movie filmed in the state was “Catch and Release” starring Jennifer Garner.
The “Catch and Release” crew spent five days filming in Boulder. Conservative estimates say they pumped $100,000 a day into the local economy.
The film spent approximately 50 days shooting in Canada.
Robin Williams (disclaimer: everything I ever learned about Colorado growing up, I learned watching “Mork & Mindy”) is the star of a new movie called “R.V.” to be released this year.
Williams’ character “and his dysfunctional family rent an RV for a road trip to the Colorado Rockies …” reads the outline. OK, it might work.
Too bad not a single day of filming was done in the Colorado Rockies.
“The problem is more than other states,” Cuff goes on. “It’s not even just about British Columbia. It’s about Romania and Argentina and Zealand and the Swiss Alps and the Italian Alps and all those other places that offer incentives or encourage filmmaking.”
Cuff says his new job has been more daunting than anticipated. One reason is the lack of central coordination in the film industry.
I, too, was surprised that Colorado, the site of countless classic Westerns from the first half of the 20th century, would have such a difficult time attracting
moviemakers.
For Pete’s sake, two of the greatest comedies of the ’70s, nay of all time – “Sleeper” and “The Frisco Kid” – were filmed right here. When Woody Allen fans hear I’m from Colorado, they invariably ask me about the Sculptured House on Genesee Mountain.
No, there’s no orgasmatron.
“I’ve been a film commissioner or doing film promotion work for nearly a decade, and I can honestly say since 2000, I have not been asked a location question,” Cuff says. “There are 37 other states with incentives, all of the main English-
speaking commonwealth countries. European countries have incentives. Why would you even look at Colorado?”
Obviously, if you have 37 stores that are providing you with a great deal, as a consumer you’re not going to shop at one shop without a sale.
Don’t get me wrong, society won’t disintegrate if a movie is never again made in Colorado.
But why not?
Think of it: When they finally remake “Mork & Mindy,” they’ll probably shoot it in Berkeley, Calif., or Ann Arbor, Mich.
We can’t stand for it. We just can’t.
David Harsanyi’s column appears Monday and Thursday. He can be reached at 303-820-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
