The vision of Las Cruces as a destination for movie and TV productions is coming into focus.
During a work session on Feb. 26, the Las Cruces City Council heard a plan that would see the city allocate $400,000 to create an incentive for productions to film in Las Cruces. The money would come from $3 million the city has set aside for economic development from an increase in the gross receipts tax passed several years ago to replace “hold harmless” funding once provided to cities and counties by the state of New Mexico.
Although the council could not take action during the work session, Mayor Ken Miyagishima said he felt the proposal put forward by Film Las Cruces was received favorably and city staff were directed to create a proposal to present to council, possibly as soon as the March 19 meeting.
The incentive, officials hope, will lure TV and movie producers to choose to film in Las Cruces, for part or all of a production, by offering what amounts to a rebate after the work is complete.
“We’re moving it forward for staff review to make sure the money is there, which we know it is, and determine how we are going to document it and take care of it and make sure it’s utilized the way it’s supposed to be utilized,” Miyagishima said. “The way it is now, it’s not going to be utilized until we see that a production is done. We’re paying it after the fact. It’s an inducement, in a way, but paid only after you show us you’ve done the project.”
State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, who serves as the president of the Film Las Cruces board of directors, said the program was “very much needed to help attract significant film productions to Las Cruces.”
After the initial $400,000 infusion from the hold harmless funds, the program would draw on a portion of the city’s GRT and Lodgers Tax. That amount would be directly tied to how much the production spent in Las Cruces. The city is currently working to finalize the specific guidelines, requirements and auditing procedures to implement the incentive, Steinborn said. He also said film projects, whether they were using the incentive or not, would add to the city’s overall tax revenue.
“My goal is to make it as sustainable as possible,” he said of the incentive program. “It’s a hard thing to precisely calibrate. There will be some funding coming back into the (incentive fund) from the taxes. It’s all an investment in growing our crew base and growing our film support services and growing our brand as a film production center in New Mexico.”
To qualify, projects would follow clearly defined guidelines and approach the city early in the process, preferably before the production starts, he said. After the work is complete, producers would submit expenses to the city to audit and establish the level they were eligible for, up to 10 percent.
Film Las Cruces’ proposal is the result of a “tremendous” amount of work, begun in early December, involving other cities with similar programs, the New Mexico Film Office and several independent movie producers, Steinborn said.
Debbi Moore, the president and CEO of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, said they had met with Film Las Cruces and support the concept. They will wait until the details are finalized before fully endorsing the project, she said.
Setting the stage
Additionally, Film Las Cruces has acquired some sets from the entertainment company Lionsgate at a cost of $20,000. The sets are from the canceled television show, Graves. The show featured Nick Nolte as a former U.S. president who is admitting to mistakes he made while in office.
The sets include a representation of a portion of the Oval Office, a jet and a jail cell. A warhead set was donated by Lionsgate. Last week, Jim TwoCrow, a construction coordinator with IATSE Local 480, the state’s largest film union, led a three-day workshop to install the sets at Las Cruces Studios. In February, Film Las Cruces, in partnership with Doña Ana Community College, leased the former Coca Cola bottling plant south of town to house the studio.
The sets will serve to turn the vacant building into a working studio that DACC students, as well as Las Cruces Public Schools students, can use to hone their skills both in front of and behind the camera. The sets will also serve as a draw for productions elsewhere in the state to come to Las Cruces to shoot scenes. Those items are not available in studios in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Steinborn said.
“It’s absolutely unique within the state and it’s an opportunity for us to create a very unique asset within the studio,” he said. “If a production in New Mexico wants that particular set, Las Cruces is going to get that call. It’s more economical for them to come to Las Cruces than build their own set.”
Steinborn said Film Las Cruces was able to acquire the sets “at 10-cents on the dollar or less” and they were a great value compared to the cost of building the sets from scratch.
“It will recruit productions over time,” Steinborn said. “It’s a great selling point for Las Cruces and will also be great training sets.”
Their availability to students for training is vital because the next step in building a Las Cruces film industry is to have a well-trained local pool of crew members to do the work.
“Growing our film economy here is growing our crew base,” he said.
By: Jason Gibbs (Las Cruces Sun News)
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