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Mayor candidates push movie, TV incentives for Southern Nevada
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Courtesy Of The Nevada Film Office
Actor William Petersen films part of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on a Nevada road. Although the show is set in Las Vegas, it is shot mostly in Southern California. Bringing more film and TV projects to Nevada is an issue in the Las Vegas mayoral race.
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Mar. 28, 2011 | 6:47 a.m.
Some Las Vegas mayoral candidates seem to be starstruck by Hollywood this campaign season, calling as they are for incentives and enticements to lure more film and TV productions, or perhaps a large studio, to Southern Nevada.
It's an idea that is taken seriously because film projects employ people in the theater arts and construction trades, pump money into the local economy and often showcase Las Vegas to large audiences.
A tax rebate proposal is circulating in the Nevada Legislature, and Las Vegas has redevelopment tax incentives .
Competition is fierce, however, and Nevada, unlike almost every other state, does not offer incentives for film production. Those that do often have found that the economic gains are marginal or even illusory for everyone except the project's producers.
On the campaign trail, though, mayoral candidates sing the praises of the entertainment industry.
Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani says the city should create an entertainment and theater district, perhaps anchored by production facilities on the former Moulin Rouge site.
Carolyn Goodman, wife of current Mayor Oscar Goodman, has said she has talked to a member of the "movie guild" about bringing a studio or projects here. (Her campaign later clarified she was referring to a member of the Directors Guild of America.)
She said the mayor's job is to reach out to the entertainment industry to see what would bring more of its business to Southern Nevada.
Businessman Victor Chaltiel said he has talked to the head of a large production company in Canada about Las Vegas' potential, but he also cautioned that getting a studio to move here would be a long, involved process.
That idea has been talked about for a long time, said Frank Woodbeck, who works for the Nevada Commission on Economic Development, which includes the Nevada Film Office.
"It's probably more active now than it ever has been," he said. "It's good thinking. There's nothing wrong with it, that's for sure."
PRODUCTIVE ENVIRONMENT
There are two tracks to consider when talking about film and TV projects, Woodbeck said. One is when a crew visits Nevada for location shots, such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," commercials and reality shows. That brings $90 million to $100 million in economic activity a year to the state.
The other is building a permanent facility that would film projects here full time, and "we could incentivize that type of thing," Woodbeck said.
There already are plans for a large production studio in the southwest Las Vegas Valley.
In 2009, the County Commission gave the thumbs-up to Red Digital Cinema to build an 80-acre production facility and digital camera manufacturing plant at the far south end of South Hualapai Way.
The company did not respond to a request for comment, but Woodbeck said the project is on hold until the economy improves.
"It's just stalled a bit, that's all. He still wants to do a facility here," he said, referring to the studio's CEO, Jim Jannard, who also founded the Oakley sunglasses company. "It's just based on the economic conditions."
Some of those conditions also create an attractive environment to producers, said Will Roadhouse, who hosted "House Hunters International" on HGTV and founded Compass Group Productions, specializing in reality programming.
"The tax climate here is more beneficial," he said. "The one thing I liked about Las Vegas is, the cost of hiring people who are just as good as those in Hollywood is about 30 percent less than it is in Southern California.
"It would make a lot of sense for a major studio to come out here and open up a studio. On a much smaller scale, that's what I'm planning to do."
Another Nevada advantage is cost. Roadhouse said a 10,000-square-foot warehouse to convert to a studio might cost $200,000 here and $1 million in Los Angeles.
THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE
But going after a studio first would be putting the cart before the horse, said Josh Cohen, who heads Cohencidence Productions and is helping lead the effort to enact film tax incentives. There are a handful of sound stages and postproduction houses in town, but they are far from the scale seen in Southern California and they mostly go unused.
"We've got four or five studios here already. They sit empty 28 days a month."
Cohen cited the success New Mexico has had in attracting film and TV business, including the television shows "Breaking Bad" and "In Plain Sight" and Joss Whedon's adaptation of Marvel Comics' "The Avengers."
"If it's 25 percent cheaper to film in New Mexico, they'll film in New Mexico," Cohen said. "They did it without studios, and the studios were built afterward."
The proposal before Nevada's Legislature would provide a credit toward future taxes worth 25 percent of a production's expenditures in Nevada, on Nevada businesses or paid to Nevada workers. The credit could be used to offset things like payroll taxes, room taxes or sales taxes on a future production, or it could be sold to another company.
"We're in decent shape as far as public support and as far as lawmaker support, because everybody wants to say, 'I voted to create jobs,' " Cohen said.
The challenge is satisfying concerns that the credit will make money for the state by attracting business activity that otherwise wouldn't exist.
That's a problem that other states have run into. Their film incentives programs may draw productions but don't improve the local economy.
A 2008 study by the Tax Foundation, a research organization in Washington D.C., concluded that many film production incentives were badly designed, poorly managed and had little lasting economic impact.
"In many cases ... state officials are creating temporary positions with limited options for upward mobility," the report stated. "Those visitors pay for lodging, spend their wages, and generally contribute to the economy, but that isn't the sort of economic benefit that ordinarily makes a compelling case for a massive tax subsidy."
The jobs also aren't really "new," according to the study.
"Jobs created in New Mexico are offset by those destroyed in California," it says. "Rather than creating wealth, (movie production incentives) just shift production from one state to another.
"By committing tax dollars and state effort into securing film jobs, state officials miss the chance to use those resources instead for lowering tax burdens for all industries."
TAX OR CASH REBATES
In many of the states cited in the study, the incentives include actual rebates of taxes paid or some other form of cash payment, something that is prohibited in Nevada's Constitution.
The tax credit approach would get productions to spend money first and then provide an incentive to base future productions here, Cohen said.
Las Vegas also has an "X factor," said Francisco Menendez, chairman of the UNLV film department, and that is the fact that it is Las Vegas.
"It's such a fun place for the crew to be in," he said. "You can actually spend money here. In the middle of New Mexico, all you have is a set and a hotel room. You're not going to spend much money."
Productions have always been seeking less expensive places to shoot, either using state incentives or taking advantage of the weaker Canadian dollar at one point to build an industry in Canada.
For a time, Las Vegas was safe from the competition because the Strip and downtown are unique locations, but those can now be digitally inserted.
" 'CSI' proves that you don't have to shoot here full time to make a show about Las Vegas," Menendez said. "We no longer own this landscape. This landscape can be re-created virtually."
With the U.S. and Canadian dollars running about even, it's time for Nevada to compete, he said.
" We are such a friendly place and have the facilities to provide people with mountains and lakes and casinos" and other locations, Menendez said.
"I don't think the notion of film incentives has ever been taken seriously by the state. If it were cheaper to make films, people would come to Nevada."
Both Goodman and Giunchigliani support the proposed incentive legislation.
Although the Legislature has been reluctant to enact incentives, the city should still pursue a production facility, Giunchigliani said, since the city has redevelopment incentives to offer.
"It would help revitalize that area," she said of the Moulin Rouge idea. "It makes a natural transition to the Entertainment District, which is downtown," as well as the Arts District and the Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
"I still think I can promote that, and what I want to do is the Moulin Rouge site."
Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.
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I have been proposing to add a second media campaign for Las Vegas that shows life beyond the stip. Our other businesses, neighborhoods, recreation. This is a first vital step. Then to have someone as Mayor with the background to put packages together, with private financing plus incentives to make it easier and economical for companies to move here. I have 30 years background in business and commerical real estate, land and development to do this. I speak their language. I can package this for each type of business. I have financing contacts USA and Europe. Marlene Rogoff, Candidate for Mayor of Las Vegas
As for the movie business, they will come here when they need locations. Other than that, this is most wishfull thinking. I hope no one spends public money in this direction. We could privately have people start a new movie studio here, and I have contacts for capital for these kind of ventures. But you will not get the Hollywood studios to build new studios here when they have them in L.A. Let's have some realism on this subject.
Las Vegas is poised to become either the Saudi Arabia of CLEAN-GREEN ENERGY or the woeful Detroit, Michigan of America.
We must attract the manufacurers of thse products to locate here by promoting our climate, housing, available experienced work force, entertainment, food choices, etc., etc.
dukeofvegas
Our proximity to Hollywood would negate the reason for any studio to invest milllions in a studio. This topic is similar to the prostitution conversations - a dead end and detracting from important issues.
We should be using our energies and ideas to improve education, entice manaufacturing businesess, reduce the homeless population,
obtain marijuana for medical suffering, review the Republic Carting fiasco, attempt to insure that the politicians for the last four years, NOT given the oppurtunity to repeat
Whoever is elected Mayor, is going to have to undo all of the damage that mob lawyer Oscar Goodman did by marketing the "sleaze" of Las Vegas. "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" draws a shady creepy crowd while legitimate corporations, manufacturing, and businesses have been driven away. Meanwhile, what is "staying" in Vegas is violent crime, theft, and skyrocketing STD/Aids rates. Market the diversified workforce, location, weather, and favorable tax rates and dump the sleazy marketing, and you will be surprised how this city will rebound.
George Clonewolf Cloney
ClonewolfDOTcom
Speaking of movies, apparently a documentary is being produced about this race. They have a website here: http://chrisglive.com
So that's it? Competing with Hollywood is going to bring Vegas back to life? Competing, mind you, with tax breaks anyone else will cleary provide if the effort shows positive, is by definition not a competitive strategy. But it is an eeire portent of a worsening future. And, though I'm not here to rain on the parade Ms. Goodman seems to believe all of us will benefit from when she becomes elected. There is simply the fact that this is the primary idea of the front running candidate; so that obiviously we can look for a future all down hill from there? Look, please listen: This city is set for its next phase. Vegas has a bright future if it reorganizes on the basis of its strength. Vegas itself is the value, and the city needs to be seen as the greatest vacation spot the world will ever have, period! That's different than sin city so that at all times there should be the what's considered the world's classiest form of enterntainment performed on the strip...in a word Vegas's time is now to be legal. But, that that's an idea outside of the reach of those who aren't doing the real work here shows the reorganization also needed city wide...Shows actually something I presented to the RJ that went totally misunderstood, then misused on 12/19/09 right, RJ? How's that workin out for us, btw? Ans: Sadly, so sadly...
yea, making movies in LV is gonna make lots of jobs and bring in money to folks living here.....
of course, this is a Dumbocrat majority town, the populace stuck on "Entertainment Tonight", Harry Weed, playing the Calif lottery, and supporting union thugs ripping off the taxpayers, am sure they support such tripe.
Ms. Duncan, You have some great ideas and they make for good press and sound bites but the problem is you have no real plan. You have no way of paying for what you want to do in Las Vegas. You will not be able to get any of your projects funded because there is no funds. You talk about TV and Movies from over 30 years ago. Those players are long gone and some of them are dead. Time to live in the real world and deal with facts, not fantasy.
stop giving away the tax credits or outright tax cuts.
all you are doing is shifting the cost of government to your children.
Well we are halfway there. Freemont st. is just as seedy as Hollywood.