Shreveport Times: Region's movie industry attracts 24 projects in 2007
January 01, 2008
A business on West 70th Street specializes in things with funny names.
It has shelves of baby-risers, duck lips and tripleheaders. It has rows of tweenies, midgets, redheads and blondes. In the back, there are q-taps, bead boards, dulling spray and Fuller's earth.
Though its quirky nomenclature suggests otherwise, the business is not a bar. It's not a day care center. And it's not a turn-of-the-century pharmacy.
The business is Cinelease, and it provides the movie industry with the lighting and grip equipment that makes watching movies possible.
"If it's not lit, you don't see it," said Cinelease's Dink Adams. "We supply the equipment that lights it, that makes the shadows, the rigging for the camera platforms. All of that comes from us."
Lured by the state's movie industry, Cinelease opened its loading bay doors in early July at Stage West, a soundstage facility and "vendor mall" in west Shreveport.
"We've not had a day here where we've not had a show," said Adams, who moved here from Los Angeles. "It's growing even a little faster than we had anticipated."
The arrival of Cinelease is a big deal for the northwest Louisiana film industry. Calling itself one of the largest motion picture rental companies in the country, it has facilities in Burbank, Calif., as well as Chicago, Las Vegas and North Carolina.
The Shreveport rental hub serves local movie and television productions, as well as ones shot in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Texas.
Earlier this month, Adams and his business partner, Sandy Bloom, were working to keep track of equipment rented to five productions at one time.
"Having heard there were films in Shreveport, I would not have thought it was as busy as it is," said Bloom, who up until this year has lived and worked in Los Angeles. "Here it's a lot busier than I had anticipated."
Numbers are up
In 2007, northwest Louisiana attracted 24 movie and TV projects worth an estimated $181.5 million in total budget dollars, according to Arlena Acree, Shreveport's director of film, media and entertainment.
"We usually attract mid-to-large features," Acree said. "We have some small budget productions, too."
Those 24 projects were shot during 557 total production days and created a total of 2,007 temporary jobs, according to Acree.
One project lasted just five days. More projects filmed for two or three months.
The Louisiana Economic Development Department estimates, on average in 2007, productions will spend 87 percent of their total budgets on local expenses. That's up from 33 percent in 2005.
What has shot here
Big-name productions for northwest Louisiana in 2007 include "The Mist" (in theaters), a horror movie based on a Stephen King story; Denzel Washington's "The Great Debaters" (opened Dec. 25), which was shot primarily in DeSoto Parish; and Millennium Films/Nu Image's "Mad Money" (opens Jan. 18), which stars Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes.
Smaller projects include the independent film "Wonderful World," starring Matthew Broderick; "The Last Lullaby," directed by Shreveporter Jeffrey Goodman; and horror movie sequels to "Pulse" and "Feast."
Louisiana Production Consultants, a locally based company that operates out of Mansfield Studios, has had a banner year. Line producers Lampton Enochs and Alissa Kantrow formed LPC in 2006 after moving to Shreveport from New Orleans.
LPC provided production services to seven projects that were shot or began shooting in Shreveport in 2007. The company is currently prepping more projects, like the videogame-inspired "Tekken," for 2008.
"We've been really accepted by the community, and people have shown their excitement by supporting the actual filmmaking going on," Enochs said. "At one point, we had six projects under roof (at Mansfield Studios) in some form of prep, filming or wrapping."
Gary Strangis, an Emmy-winning TV producer, formed TurnKey Louisiana in 2006. As the anchor tenant of the Stage West soundstage facility, TurnKey Louisiana provides companies with the equipment and services they need to shoot in the state.
Strangis is encouraged to see that the type of films being made in northwest Louisiana is diversifying and that studios, like the Weinstein Co., keep coming back.
"A couple years ago, it was, by and large, catching whatever New Orleans couldn't handle at the time," he said. "As word gets back to Hollywood and word gets back to New York, people are talking. We're starting to see repeat business here. We're starting to see recommendations and referrals."
Strangis also said the smaller projects shooting here tend to spend a higher percentage of their budgets on truly local expenses. "It's more directly impacting the community because there is more work being done by the local workers now."
Michael Moorhead is the managing partner of StageWorks of Louisiana, a soundstage and production facility in downtown Shreveport. He believes the region is making progress. StageWorks hosted the productions "The Mist," "Mad Money" and "Major Movie Star" in 2007 and is currently housing "Year One," a Sony project starring Jack Black that starts filming in January.
"We've demonstrated that we can accommodate major feature productions. I expect business to remain strong here for the foreseeable future," Moorhead said. "With the arrival of some key service providers, like Cinelease, that really makes our market here in northwest Louisiana a lot more competitive."
Within a few months, Nu Image/Millennium Films expects to break ground on a $10.3 million studio project in Shreveport's Ledbetter Heights neighborhood. The project has been certified by the state to receive infrastructure tax credits. The company has shot five feature films in Shreveport and northwest Louisiana since October 2006 and is prepping a sixth called "Void Moon," which should begin filming in late January. The Ledbetter Heights studio would serve as the Los Angeles-based company's local base of operations.
Nu Image/Millennium Films publicist Elizabeth Wolfe said the company is proceeding with plans to build the local studio. For this article, the company declined the request to discuss more details about the project.
The film industry remains consistent across the state, with production active in New Orleans and increasing in Baton Rouge.
"The entire state is doing pretty well," said Chris Stelly, film and television director for the Louisiana Economic Development Department. He sees the state's success as the result of continued pushes by state officials, city offices and private companies. "Without private and public support for this industry, and recognizing the value of this industry, we wouldn't see this level of activity."
Facing challenges
Northwest Louisiana does face ongoing challenges to remaining a competitive film production market.
Universally, producers working here want to hire more locally based, highly experienced crew. While numbers of qualified personnel living in Shreveport continues to increase, according to Arlena Acree and film production companies that have made back-to-back projects here, the numbers aren't increasing fast enough.
Production companies would like to see a direct flight established between Los Angeles and Shreveport, which has been lobbied for by government and industry officials, but no airline has committed to the route yet.
Bill Cooksey, spokesman for the Shreveport Regional Airport, said rising fuel costs aren't helping the cause right now.
"The whole airline industry is trying to regroup and is being very conservative about moving into new routes," he said. "The daily passenger count is continuing to rise, but it's still well short of the number we need on a daily basis to establish a flight. ... We'll continue to beat the drum, though."
Concern remains that the current strike by the Writers Guild of America and an anticipated mid-2008 strike by the Screen Actors Guild, which represents 120,000 performers, will adversely affect the state's industry.
In New Orleans, the TV series "K-Ville" shut down production because of the writers' strike. Production in northwest Louisiana, however, has been on the uptick since the strike announcement.
Local industry leaders expect the region to remain busy with film and TV projects through late February or March. If the writers' strike lingers, the region could see a slow down.
Strangis advises vendors and crew workers to save their money, just to be safe.
"When there is a lull, they shouldn't go back and think it's targeted at Shreveport or the state," he said. "It's just that our cycle is hitting a little later."
Aggressive advocacy
What appears to have boosted the local industry through 2007, in large part, is aggressive advocacy by city officials, local business leaders and industry advocates.
Acree has made repeated trips to Los Angeles to represent the city at trade shows. She also helps productions shooting in Shreveport secure the locations and permits they need.
"We have a true champion with Shreveport and the mayor and Arlena, who continues to fight to make it work," said Enochs. "She's received thousands of phone calls from us, and literally not one of them has not gone unanswered."
The Robinson Film Center and the Northwest Louisiana Film Alliance, an advocacy group, often tout the region's strengths through local meetings and national advertising.
A local advertising agency led by Pam Edwards published the Louisiana Film Industry Guide, the region's first directory of industry-related businesses.
Combined, the efforts appear to be paying off in name recognition.
Teri McGuire, owner of Stage West facility, hosted a Louisiana reception party at the American Film Market trade show in Santa Monica, Calif., in early November. There, she and industry advocates worked to lure more productions to Louisiana.
"I was just shocked to learn about so many people who knew about Shreveport," McGuire said. "They may not know where we are on the map, but they know Shreveport, and they all speak highly of it."
It has shelves of baby-risers, duck lips and tripleheaders. It has rows of tweenies, midgets, redheads and blondes. In the back, there are q-taps, bead boards, dulling spray and Fuller's earth.
The business is Cinelease, and it provides the movie industry with the lighting and grip equipment that makes watching movies possible.
"If it's not lit, you don't see it," said Cinelease's Dink Adams. "We supply the equipment that lights it, that makes the shadows, the rigging for the camera platforms. All of that comes from us."
Lured by the state's movie industry, Cinelease opened its loading bay doors in early July at Stage West, a soundstage facility and "vendor mall" in west Shreveport.
"We've not had a day here where we've not had a show," said Adams, who moved here from Los Angeles. "It's growing even a little faster than we had anticipated."
The arrival of Cinelease is a big deal for the northwest Louisiana film industry. Calling itself one of the largest motion picture rental companies in the country, it has facilities in Burbank, Calif., as well as Chicago, Las Vegas and North Carolina.
The Shreveport rental hub serves local movie and television productions, as well as ones shot in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Texas.
Earlier this month, Adams and his business partner, Sandy Bloom, were working to keep track of equipment rented to five productions at one time.
"Having heard there were films in Shreveport, I would not have thought it was as busy as it is," said Bloom, who up until this year has lived and worked in Los Angeles. "Here it's a lot busier than I had anticipated."
Numbers are up
In 2007, northwest Louisiana attracted 24 movie and TV projects worth an estimated $181.5 million in total budget dollars, according to Arlena Acree, Shreveport's director of film, media and entertainment.
"We usually attract mid-to-large features," Acree said. "We have some small budget productions, too."
Those 24 projects were shot during 557 total production days and created a total of 2,007 temporary jobs, according to Acree.
One project lasted just five days. More projects filmed for two or three months.
The Louisiana Economic Development Department estimates, on average in 2007, productions will spend 87 percent of their total budgets on local expenses. That's up from 33 percent in 2005.
What has shot here
Big-name productions for northwest Louisiana in 2007 include "The Mist" (in theaters), a horror movie based on a Stephen King story; Denzel Washington's "The Great Debaters" (opened Dec. 25), which was shot primarily in DeSoto Parish; and Millennium Films/Nu Image's "Mad Money" (opens Jan. 18), which stars Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes.
Smaller projects include the independent film "Wonderful World," starring Matthew Broderick; "The Last Lullaby," directed by Shreveporter Jeffrey Goodman; and horror movie sequels to "Pulse" and "Feast."
Louisiana Production Consultants, a locally based company that operates out of Mansfield Studios, has had a banner year. Line producers Lampton Enochs and Alissa Kantrow formed LPC in 2006 after moving to Shreveport from New Orleans.
LPC provided production services to seven projects that were shot or began shooting in Shreveport in 2007. The company is currently prepping more projects, like the videogame-inspired "Tekken," for 2008.
"We've been really accepted by the community, and people have shown their excitement by supporting the actual filmmaking going on," Enochs said. "At one point, we had six projects under roof (at Mansfield Studios) in some form of prep, filming or wrapping."
Gary Strangis, an Emmy-winning TV producer, formed TurnKey Louisiana in 2006. As the anchor tenant of the Stage West soundstage facility, TurnKey Louisiana provides companies with the equipment and services they need to shoot in the state.
Strangis is encouraged to see that the type of films being made in northwest Louisiana is diversifying and that studios, like the Weinstein Co., keep coming back.
"A couple years ago, it was, by and large, catching whatever New Orleans couldn't handle at the time," he said. "As word gets back to Hollywood and word gets back to New York, people are talking. We're starting to see repeat business here. We're starting to see recommendations and referrals."
Strangis also said the smaller projects shooting here tend to spend a higher percentage of their budgets on truly local expenses. "It's more directly impacting the community because there is more work being done by the local workers now."
Michael Moorhead is the managing partner of StageWorks of Louisiana, a soundstage and production facility in downtown Shreveport. He believes the region is making progress. StageWorks hosted the productions "The Mist," "Mad Money" and "Major Movie Star" in 2007 and is currently housing "Year One," a Sony project starring Jack Black that starts filming in January.
"We've demonstrated that we can accommodate major feature productions. I expect business to remain strong here for the foreseeable future," Moorhead said. "With the arrival of some key service providers, like Cinelease, that really makes our market here in northwest Louisiana a lot more competitive."
Within a few months, Nu Image/Millennium Films expects to break ground on a $10.3 million studio project in Shreveport's Ledbetter Heights neighborhood. The project has been certified by the state to receive infrastructure tax credits. The company has shot five feature films in Shreveport and northwest Louisiana since October 2006 and is prepping a sixth called "Void Moon," which should begin filming in late January. The Ledbetter Heights studio would serve as the Los Angeles-based company's local base of operations.
Nu Image/Millennium Films publicist Elizabeth Wolfe said the company is proceeding with plans to build the local studio. For this article, the company declined the request to discuss more details about the project.
The film industry remains consistent across the state, with production active in New Orleans and increasing in Baton Rouge.
"The entire state is doing pretty well," said Chris Stelly, film and television director for the Louisiana Economic Development Department. He sees the state's success as the result of continued pushes by state officials, city offices and private companies. "Without private and public support for this industry, and recognizing the value of this industry, we wouldn't see this level of activity."
Facing challenges
Northwest Louisiana does face ongoing challenges to remaining a competitive film production market.
Universally, producers working here want to hire more locally based, highly experienced crew. While numbers of qualified personnel living in Shreveport continues to increase, according to Arlena Acree and film production companies that have made back-to-back projects here, the numbers aren't increasing fast enough.
Production companies would like to see a direct flight established between Los Angeles and Shreveport, which has been lobbied for by government and industry officials, but no airline has committed to the route yet.
Bill Cooksey, spokesman for the Shreveport Regional Airport, said rising fuel costs aren't helping the cause right now.
"The whole airline industry is trying to regroup and is being very conservative about moving into new routes," he said. "The daily passenger count is continuing to rise, but it's still well short of the number we need on a daily basis to establish a flight. ... We'll continue to beat the drum, though."
Concern remains that the current strike by the Writers Guild of America and an anticipated mid-2008 strike by the Screen Actors Guild, which represents 120,000 performers, will adversely affect the state's industry.
In New Orleans, the TV series "K-Ville" shut down production because of the writers' strike. Production in northwest Louisiana, however, has been on the uptick since the strike announcement.
Local industry leaders expect the region to remain busy with film and TV projects through late February or March. If the writers' strike lingers, the region could see a slow down.
Strangis advises vendors and crew workers to save their money, just to be safe.
"When there is a lull, they shouldn't go back and think it's targeted at Shreveport or the state," he said. "It's just that our cycle is hitting a little later."
Aggressive advocacy
What appears to have boosted the local industry through 2007, in large part, is aggressive advocacy by city officials, local business leaders and industry advocates.
Acree has made repeated trips to Los Angeles to represent the city at trade shows. She also helps productions shooting in Shreveport secure the locations and permits they need.
"We have a true champion with Shreveport and the mayor and Arlena, who continues to fight to make it work," said Enochs. "She's received thousands of phone calls from us, and literally not one of them has not gone unanswered."
The Robinson Film Center and the Northwest Louisiana Film Alliance, an advocacy group, often tout the region's strengths through local meetings and national advertising.
A local advertising agency led by Pam Edwards published the Louisiana Film Industry Guide, the region's first directory of industry-related businesses.
Combined, the efforts appear to be paying off in name recognition.
Teri McGuire, owner of Stage West facility, hosted a Louisiana reception party at the American Film Market trade show in Santa Monica, Calif., in early November. There, she and industry advocates worked to lure more productions to Louisiana.
"I was just shocked to learn about so many people who knew about Shreveport," McGuire said. "They may not know where we are on the map, but they know Shreveport, and they all speak highly of it."
