Lights… Camera… Action! Get ready, Northeast Ohio! Big plans are in place for some “major movies” to bring their productions to Cleveland. “People are going to be happy,” teases Cleveland Film Commission President Bill Garvey. “Some iconic, major movies are coming.” Garvey didn’t offer many additional details, but said there’s “a great slate of productions lined up for the next year.” “It’s going to be busy. You’re going to know we’re here because there’s a lot coming.” Garvey’s update comes after news surfaced Wednesday night that a tentative deal had been reached to end the actors strike.
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter | Katie Kilkenny
September 24, 2023
In a significant development that could bring an end to a historic writers strike, the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced a provisional deal on Sunday.
After several long consecutive days of negotiations, the Writers Guild of America and the labor group representing studios and streamers have reached a tentative deal on a new contract in a major development that could precipitate the end of a historic, 146-day writers strike.
The Writers Guild of America emailed strike captains the news on Sunday night, and shortly after, its negotiating committee informed all members. “We have reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 MBA, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language,” the latter message stated. “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”
SOURCE: The Morning Journal | Aliah Kimbro
September 9, 2023
A Lorain journalist and producer is highlighting the issues surrounding Black women’s health.
Betty Halliburton, an independent producer and founder of Intentional Content Inc., has produced the docuseries “Black Women: Our Hope, Health and Healing” in collaboration with Ideastream Public Media.
Halliburton also is the media relations personnel for the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival.
The four-part series was birthed out of Halliburton’s other collaboration with Ideastream, “Connecting the Dots Between Racism and Health Disparities.”
Kiyomi and Det Chansamone left their home in Los Angeles to buy a former high school in Burton, Ohio, to convert it as a production studio and venue for his own movie and TV efforts. | Stan Bullard
SOURCE: Crain’s Cleveland Business | Stan Bullard
September 11, 2023
A short walk north of the town square in Burton, which traces its history to 1798 and has managed to remain a village with just over 1,000 people, Det and Kiyomi Chansamone have bought the former Berkshire High School to remake it as a video production center.
The availability of the 96,000-square-foot high school, which was built in three phases beginning in 1930, drew Det Chansamone to Burton. He envisions one of the school’s gyms as a huge soundstage, with other sections, like the old band room, being converted and made available to rent by out-of-state film and TV crews shooting in Northeast Ohio as well as area commercial production companies.
Have you ever been watching a movie and thought to yourself, “this looks familiar”? That’s because it might be! There have been over 145 movies and 160 other projects filmed in the State of Ohio, and over 58 movies filmed in Cleveland since 2009, including The Avengers, Captain America: Winter Soldier, the Fate of the Furious, and White Noise. This is largely due to the creation of the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit, which has attracted productions and generated economic impact to our state since it was first introduced in 2009.
East 9th set up for the filming of The Avengers
The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit provides a refundable tax credit that equals 30% of in-state expenditures on eligible productions who spend a minimum of $300,000 in the State of Ohio. Eligible productions may include feature-length films, TV shows, documentaries, music videos, commercials, video games, theatrical stage productions and more. Once productions are approved for the Ohio tax incentive, they can only receive tax incentive reimbursement once they have finished production and submit an audit to the state, after the spending has taken place in Ohio. In the previous two years, Ohio has seen nearly $133.6 million of out-of-state investment flow into northeast Ohio to spend on motion picture productions. From 2009-2020, it attracted over $571.8 million to our state from direct production spending and job creation. This investment generates significant economic impact for our region, as film crews utilize hotels, eat locally, and shop at retail storefronts.
As stewards of Downtown Cleveland’s economic growth, we understand that the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit plays a critical role in attracting investment, jobs, residents, and visitors to our central business district. In the 2024-2025 State Operating Budget, we were proud to successfully advocate for increases to the tax credit to $50 million this year, and an increase to $75M beginning in July of 2024. Due to this increase in state investment, eight projects were approved to be filmed in Ohio, five of which will be filmed in the Cleveland area. These projects will amount to over $96.3 million in combined production budgets set to film in Cleveland.
Playhouse Square in Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is home to the second largest performing arts district outside of New York City – Playhouse Square – where Broadway productions are often tested or launched. One such example is The Lion King, which launched its first run after the pandemic in Downtown Cleveland. Playhouse Square attracts over 1 million visitors each year, amounting to over $359 million in economic impact each year. An additional $5M in the State Operating Budget was allocated to Playhouse Square to be used for theatrical productions. This will help us to continue to elevate our stature as a national hub for the performing arts.
Despite these wins in the State Budget, our advocacy work on the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit is not over. There are currently 38 states offering similar incentives, including Georgia whose program is currently uncapped, resulting in $4.4 billion in direct production spending in Georgia in 2022. Furthermore, Texas recently increased its cap to $200 million per year and New Jersey recently introduced legislation to increase its annual cap to $200 million.
Movie Magic on East 9th
Global production spending has increased by more than double in the last decade, from $128 billion in 2013 to $238 billion in 2022. Ohio can be competitive in this growing industry by increasing the Motion Picture Tax Credit cap. In the last two years, over $409 million combined production budget applied to film in Ohio but were turned away due to the annual cap, resulting in the productions opting for competitor states. Ohio must also restore a more efficient rolling application process instead of the existing 14 week-long application window process. A rolling application will allow for eligible productions to apply and be approved as projects arise, allowing the funds to attract new investment rather than holding incentives for six months.
As we continue to advocate for greater investment in this incentive program, we are highly anticipating the five exciting projects that will begin filming in the Cleveland area. Downtown Cleveland will be coming soon to a screen near you!
Congratulations to THE MARKSMAN screenwriters Danny Kravitz and Chris Charles for the successful launch of their novelization of the film, and for reaching no. 1 on Amazon’s new release list in Movie Tie-In Fiction!
When THE MARKSMAN filmed in Northeast Ohio in 2019, the production:
The Unit eXperience Project performs July 19 at Wade Oval Wednesday. | Ken Blaze
SOURCE: Crain’s Cleveland Business | Grant Segall
August 28, 2023
Cleveland Shakespeare has sold T-shirts saying “All the CLE’s a stage.”
“Theater can be anywhere, and theater is for everyone,” Artistic Director Dusten Welch told spectators last month of the troupe, which tours from Lorain to Mentor.
And CLE has a world of stages. Parks, plazas, porches, schools, libraries, hospitals, airports, cemeteries, shelters, prisons and repurposed factories all get in the act. City Ballet danced this month on a boardwalk over a marsh at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Downtown Cleveland Inc. is recruiting buskers to work sidewalks in the footsteps of the late Maurice “Sax Man” Reedus Jr.
But the COVID-19 pandemic particularly hurt the arts and artists.
Lowell Perry Jr., Chief Diversity Officer, VP Corporate & Community Engagement at the Greater Cleveland Film Commission
SOURCE: CODE M | David Christel
August Issue
CODE M | BUSINESS Woven in to the Fiber
At a time when Black advances are being cancelled, diversity, equity, and inclusion become even more important. For Lowell Perry Jr., bringing DEI to life has become his life’s passion.
Cleveland International Film Festival | Marcie Goodman’s career with CIFF began in 1987. She held several leadership roles before being named the organization’s executive director in 2001.
SOURCE: Ideastream | Kabir Bhatia
August 3, 2023
For only the third time in its history, the Cleveland International Film Festival will soon be searching for an executive director. Marcie Goodman will step down in 2024 after 23 years at the helm. She informed the board Thursday that she’ll leave in June, calling her tenure “a labor of love.”
SOURCE: The Business Journal | Staff
August 3, 2023
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Development has awarded $36 million in tax credits to support eight Ohio film productions in six communities, including several in northeastern Ohio.
The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Program provides a refundable tax credit of 30% on production cast and crew wages and other in-state spending for eligible productions, including feature-length films, documentaries, pre-Broadway productions, miniseries, video games and music videos.
“Film impacts our communities in more ways than just providing entertainment,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Department of Development. “Projects awarded … will help highlight Ohio’s unique communities, promote the arts, and bring creative jobs to our state.”
Awarded projects total more than $170 million in production expenses, $129 million in total eligible production expenses and are expected to create 370 full-time jobs. The department received 30 applications for the fiscal year 2023 July round, requesting more than $77 million in tax credits.
The latest Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit recipients are:
Applications are reviewed and awarded in two rounds each year. $40 million is available annually, evenly divided between the two rounds plus any rollover amounts from the preceding period. Projects are awarded first to television series or miniseries, then to all others, based on the extent of positive economic impact in the state and the effect on developing a permanent workforce in the motion picture or theatrical production industries in the state.
The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit was created in 2009 to encourage and develop a film industry in Ohio. The application and additional program information can be found HERE.
