SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter | Katie Kilkenny
June 27, 2024
Entertainment’s top crew union struck a tentative deal with Hollywood’s studios and streamers for a contract covering 23 Locals on Thursday, just two days after their West Coast peers did the same.
IATSE announced in a message to its members that a three-year successor deal to its Area Standards Agreement has been reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The agreement will need to be ratified by IATSE members — 20,000 of whom work under the deal — before it can take effect.
Significant improvements in the ASA tentative agreement include a scale wage rate increase of 7 percent, 4 percent, and 3.5 percent over the three-year term. The ASA also includes “additional regional wage adjustments and a uniform benefit contribution rate for all jurisdictions with significant increases in both health and retirement representing as much as a $63 increase per employee, per day in some areas.”
Is there a major motion picture currently being filmed in the region? The Cleveland Film Commission cannot confirm any such thing. What they can say, however, is that when a movie is filmed in Greater Cleveland, the economic impact is wide-ranging and powerful.
GCP recently sat down with Greater Cleveland Film Commission President Bill Garvey to learn more about how the commission brings productions to the region, the $1 billion+ brought to the state in the last 15 years, and Cleveland’s emerging talent pool.
A recent scene from downtown.
How do you get a movie production to come to Cleveland?
The film commission drives production business to choose Northeast Ohio as it’s filming destination by tracking the 4,000 + projects in development at any one time globally and pursing the projects that are the best fit architecturally for our region. We look for storylines that could be told successfully here.
Once we identify the projects we target to pursue, we pitch the producer or studio and sign an NDA in order to gain access to the screenplay. We then go out into Northeast Ohio and photograph potential filming locations in order to put together a scout photo package that goes to the studio, producers, and director. We present our pitch along with the pictures to sell NE Ohio as the best choice destination for the project. That’s where it starts.
Can you share an example?
A movie entitled “Judas and the Black Messiah” filmed here in 2019 with a Chicago storyline revolving around the Black Panthers circa 1970.
We pitched Warner Brothers. They sent a lookbook: a package of images that represent the look of the movie and what tone they seek in their filming locations.
We put together research, we went out and scouted and photographed potential filming locations, put together a scout photo package and presented to the director, Shaka King, and producers. WB then narrowed down their options into two or three cities that they looked at in person.
When they came out, we showed them the range and richness of Cleveland architecture that would enhance the storytelling, serving as the best option for the project. Their decision to film here came after months of research, preparation, and dialogue with the film commission.
That’s how we attracted a $28 million movie to invest in Cleveland, spending at hundreds of local small business vendors and creating hundred of local jobs.
“Fast & Furious 8” was filmed in Cleveland in 2016.
What makes Cleveland attractive as a location?
The great thing about this region is that we can tell a lot of different stories. We do a great job of representing all other regions of, frankly, the world.
And beyond the versatility of architecture and topography, we’re 15 years into the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit. In those 15 years we’ve developed a veteran crew.
So, when we go up against the big boys in Georgia, the head of the pack, we do a great job of customer service. We are going out proactively pitching Cleveland as a place to bring this business in a way that a lot of other film commissions are not – and we’ve been successful at it.
That’s why we have a total production budget booked this year of $147 million — the best year we’ve ever had.
But ultimately, this is an incentive driven industry. That’s the reason $1.38 billion has been spent over the last 15 years in Ohio, because the tax incentive drives the business.
How important is the tax incentive?
We are only as good as our cap lets us be. Once that tax incentive cap is reached, projects will not look at Ohio. And we max it out every year.
Right now, it is $75 million, but there is a bill in the Senate right now, SB 283, to increase it to $100 million. Anything that raises the cap raises our return on investment. There is a 300% return on investment for that tax to the state of Ohio.
We are competing with 38 states and 106 countries that offer incentives, and we are in the middle of the pack cap wise. We not only compete against Georgia, but also states like Texas ($200M annual cap), Louisianna ($150M annual cap), New Mexico ($100M annual cap), New Jersey ($100M annual cap), and Pennsylvania ($100M annual cap), in additional to the traditional production states of California, New York, and Illinois, all with much higher annual caps.
This is new money flowing to invest in and create jobs in Ohio exclusively because Ohio delivers a tax credit. Tax credits are built into every motion picture and television show. Not a single movie or show you watch is not made without a tax credit. States without motion picture tax credit programs do not have a production industry.
“Fast & Furious 8” was filmed in Cleveland in 2016.
Where is the money on production being spent?
The tax credit is a 30% rebate on all taxable spending, everything from hospitality to staffing to local small business vendors.
And that’s not ripple effect or economic multipliers. I’m talking about direct return on investment. So, you have a 30% rebate. And that gets you a 3.33x multiplier on that rebate that goes into the pockets of Ohioans. All the vendors that work on these projects have to be registered in Ohio to get the tax incentive, which means they’re local vendors: mom and pops, locksmiths and plumbers and electricians and restaurants, it runs the gamut. There are hundreds of vendors that work on each project.
Has a homegrown talent pool emerged in the last 15 years?
Yes, there are some really good educational programs that have matured along with the local industry. Cleveland State, Tri-C, the Cleveland Institute of Art, Kent State, and Baldwin Wallace all have programs. All of these schools are doing a really great job of coaching people with different talents, different skill sets, focused on different parts of the business.
We’ve partnered with all of these schools, and we are also creating programs ourselves. We have taught at CMSD art schools for the past 3 years, a hands-on soup to nuts introduction to the business of film, from screenwriting through production and post-production visual effects.
It’s unique. There is no other film commission in the country running a high school training program like ours.
We also run another training program: a production assistant workshop geared towards college level and mid-career adults that focuses on motion picture industry paperwork training, to equip attendees with the skills to work as crew. We had 194 people going through that program this year, learning about the business of film.
“Fast & Furious 8” was filmed in Cleveland in 2016.
Let’s talk about numbers. What economic impact data can you share?
Since 2009, the program has generated $1.38 billion in economic output in Ohio, with Northeast Ohio getting 60 to 70%.
In the last round, Greater Cleveland got 60.87% of the total production budget approved by the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Program.
We have nine more projects that just applied. That $147 million doesn’t even include the nine new projects. The new projects that have just applied are an additional roughly $60 million.
And, statewide, 7,092 full-time equivalent jobs have been created.
Beyond the money – and cool factor – what are the benefits to a movie being filmed in Cleveland?
The spotlight effect! I still get calls about the Avengers and Captain America and what we were able to accomplish. And that’s from industry people from around the country. That’s a big spotlight. That’s a billboard saying,’ hey, this is a good place to do business.’ That’s important: the spotlight effect, that buzz effect, it attracts more buzz and attracts more business.
Can you share an example of a recent successful project?
“White Noise” is a Netflix movie starring Adam Driver, directed by Noah Baumbach, which filmed here in 2021.
That one movie generated 36,000 hotel room nights. Why does one movie create that many? Well, the movie is spread out over time. And even though they hire a lot of local crew, they also bring in crew.
Over time you have a crew living in a hotel for a year straight. That one movie spent $106.6 million, all in Northeast Ohio. And it hired 921 crew. It worked with 256 vendors. It hired 3000 extras. That’s a major economic impact from one movie. And obviously this industry is much more than one movie.
Attention Local Crew Members: There has been an opportunity going around to various crew members for a production by Evergreen Films promising high rates for a Production Assistant position for a short film. It is in our estimation this is a false project that is intended to be a phishing scheme.
PLEASE NOTE:If you are ever promised high rates and asked to secure locations or equipment with a blank check, this is not a normal request.
If you receive this type of email please let us know or simply ignore it. Thank you to those who have made us aware of these!
If you have additional questions, please contact GCFC Production Coordinator Mike Wendt at [email protected].
BURTON, Ohio (WOIO) – What do you do with a nearly 100,000 square foot empty school building? The former Berkshire High School building has become the newest and one of the largest production spaces in the area.
Schoolyard Studio is the vision of Det Chansamone, a visual effects artist, who bought the school for $600,000 two years ago.
“It was actually still in session so the day we took over is the day the students left so we got the keys the next day,” Chansamone remembered.
The team has several phases planned but the space is ready to go right now.
Filmmaker and educator Bilgesu Sisman will take the helm at the Cleveland Cinematheque on June 17, working alongside the theater’s co-founder, John Ewing, for the final two weeks of his 40-year tenure. Sisman brings a background in film, philosophy and marketing to Northeast Ohio after previous work in Illinois, Nebraska and Maryland.
SOURCE: Ideastream | Kabir Bhatia
April 30, 2024
Bilgesu Sisman has been named the next director of the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque.
Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, the filmmaker and educator has worked in programming and marketing for several years, most recently at the Maryland Hall cultural center in Annapolis and Film Streams in Nebraska. Sisman also taught “Philosophy and Film” courses at DePaul University, where she is a doctoral candidate.
A release from the Cleveland Institute of Art, home of the Cinematheque, said Sisman plans to “create educational and interactive opportunities to engage with film through innovative and diverse repertory arthouse programming—which she believes will help make cinema accessible to all audiences.”
Nathan Zegura sits down with “Draft Day” actor Denis Leary and Bill Garvey, President of the Cleveland Film Commission, to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the film. Denis reflects on his memories and experience filming with the Browns in Berea.
Cameras are rolling again in the Slavic Village neighborhood for the film “Stickshift.” The plot is about a reformed getaway driver getting pulled back in for one last job.
CLEVELAND — Cleveland has seen its fair share of movies shot in the city over the years. Big-time films, including “White Boy Rick,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Judas and The Black Messiah” and “The Avengers,” found something special about the area.
Cameras are rolling again in the Slavic Village neighborhood for the film “Stickshift.” According to local casting director Lillian Pyles, the plot is about a reformed getaway driver getting pulled back in for one last job to save the life of her always-in-trouble ex, who is indebted to their former boss.
Wednesday morning, a rigged car was speeding through the street as crews filmed.
Noni Johnson lives in the area and didn’t know a movie was being filmed at first.
“See any stars yet?” asked News 5’s Damon Maloney.
“No I ain’t seen no stars. I’ve seen actors. You can tell they’re actors, but I didn’t see no stars,” Johnson said.
But there were still plenty of sights to see and sounds to hear.
“We knew they were doing it in the area, but not exactly where until like last week,” said Brian Williams, who works near where the action was taking place.
Williams isn’t sweating the street closures or the production team’s big rigs parked in the neighborhood.
He sees the filming as an opportunity to show the world that Cleveland is open for business.
“Cleveland is a good city… is not the mistake on a lake,” Williams said. “If anything it’s the great place on the lake to be.”
Williams also has a personal link to what’s being created for a streaming audience on Disney-owned Hulu.
“The restaurant across the street that they’re shooting at is actually my cousin’s restaurant.”
Williams said husband and wife Dontay and Tangee Sims own Marsha’s Soul Food Café.
Bill Garvey, president of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, said Ohio’s Motion Picture Tax Credit, created in 2009, drives filmmakers to do business in our state.
“This is a growing industry,” Garvey said. “Obviously everybody’s talking about streaming, theatrical… it’s all growing and the appetite for content is there.”
The tax credit awards $50 million yearly for the filming of TV series and feature films.
Garvey said the program has generated $1.38 billion in economic output in Ohio, with Northeast Ohio getting 60% to 70% of the work.
He said Northeast Ohio is a draw for several reasons.
“We have this rich history of architecture that looks great, but then it’s also you know something that isn’t overshot,” Garvey said.
This year, he said the film commission has secured a $147 million total production budget to choose Northeast Ohio.
“It means a lot of spending for Northeast Ohio. And that money goes out into the community. It gives opportunity to locals to take those jobs. There’s hundreds of jobs that are behind that camera wherever they’re filming.”
Williams looks forward to seeing the movie once it’s finished.
“Now that you’ve seen behind the scenes… is that going to ruin your movie experience when you watch it?” Maloney asked.
“No. Nope. Not at all,” Williams said. “It makes me want to see it more now.”
In details released Tuesday morning, Angela Boehm Casting says Cleveland “shoot dates” are scheduled for June 17 – July 16. Filming is also expected in Cincinnati from July 17-18.
CLEVELAND — In the near future, when you “look up at the sky” in downtown Cleveland, you may actually see Superman!
On Friday, the Cleveland Planning Commission approved a proposal to create the Siegel and Shuster Tribute Plaza at the southwest corner of the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland at Ontario Street and St. Clair Avenue.
