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Link to the full August 2023 Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/mpau/august-2023-newsletter Letter from the President
Hello everyone, I hope this message finds you all well. As you may know, the recent SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and WGA writers' strike have been causing disruptions in our industry. Let's hope for a fair and quick resolution so we can all continue working. Additionally, I want to draw your attention to the upcoming legislative session, where we will actively advocate for the removal of the sunset clause on the Utah Rural tax rebate. This is a critical step in attracting more projects to the state and ensuring the continued flow of film and television work in Utah. We need the full participation of the film industry in expanding this legislation. Your support and involvement are vital as we lobby for the continuation of this program. Our lobbyists will be reaching out to all members to contact their legislators when the time comes. Please come to the membership-only meeting on Aug 17, 2023. We will have a legislator speak and hear from our lobbyist. Thank you for your dedication and support. Thanks, Jeff Johnson President, Motion Picture Association of Utah MPAU Membership Event - Thursday, August 17th 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM The Motion Picture Association of Utah cordially invites you to our annual membership event. Please come and enjoy light refreshments, socializing with local vendors and crew, and hearing from special guests about Utah's film incentive! Hosted by Enigma 3 & Mystery Box 197 East 1600 North Suite 101 Vineyard, UT 84059 Southern Utah Film Industry Meet-Up - September 26th The Utah Film Commission will be hosting an event on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at 7:00pm at the Utah Tech University - Dolores Dore Eccles Fine Arts Center Concert Hall Stage to connect with Utah's film community in Southern Utah. This event will be an opportunity to connect with Utah crew, vendors, students or others interested in learning more about working in Utah's film industry. Note from the Rural Utah Coalition In the past year, seven productions have been filmed across nine rural counties, creating over $80 million of economic impact. Most of these dollars have gone directly into the communities. On average, productions spend between $100,000 and $250,000 per day on not only lodging, food, and transportation but in construction, dry cleaning, security, police detail, location fees, and garbage/recycling. This activity is directly related to the new Rural Film Incentive Program that was created during the 2022 legislative session. This program set aside an additional $12 million per year for a 25% tax credit for productions that shoot at least 75% of their days in a rural county. We have seen the real benefits this tax credit has created through the economic and cultural impact of these films but this credit is only authorized for two years, which means it will expire on July 1, 2024. Sen. Winterton and Rep. Stenquist have added this program to the agenda of the Economic Development and Workforce Services Interim committee so they can discuss the impact of the film industry and the success of the new increase. Stay tuned as we follow this important bill through the interim session. Link to the full January 2023 Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/mpau/january-2023-newsletter Letter from the President MPAU Members, In 2022, 20 productions were supported by the Motion Picture Incentive Program with 45% filming in rural Utah. There were 2100 production days, and 2175 jobs created, which brought $124M into Utah’s economy. As the new legislative session begins, we want to take the time to thank our Legislative Supporters, and to educate them on the effectiveness of the new rural film incentive. This year, the primary goal in our lobbying efforts is to get the 2-year sunset clause either extended or removed entirely. The MPAU Board and our lobbying team will follow up with instructions on how to contact your legislators and the message we would like to portray. Be sure to RVSP for Film Day on the Hill on February 7th and come support Film in Utah at the Capitol Rotunda by wearing red. Thanks, Jeff Johnson President, Motion Picture Association of Utah Film Day on the Hill - Tuesday, February 7th 10 AM to 2 PM Cultural Industry Advocacy Day Come join us in the Capitol Rotunda and wear red to support the Utah Film Industry! There will be a press conference from 10:30 to 10:45 AM with President Adams and Speaker Wilson. At 11:00 AM we will have a group photo. This is a chance for us to foster positive relationships with elected officials and encourage them to support the Utah Film Community. It's also a chance to interact with other cultural industry sectors and meet up with fellow MPAU members. Note from the Rural Utah Coalition
As the 2023 Legislative begins, let’s remember our past accomplishments and those allies that have helped our cause. True, there’s still plenty of work for us to do to educate state leaders on the importance of the film industry and advocating for a competitive business climate, but let’s not forget to express thanks to those that have been so instrumental to our past success. Here at the start of the annual Session, please help us by reaching out to your local and state leaders. We sought the help of county commissioners, city mayors and councils last year to add their voice in support of innovative legislation. We coordinated outreach to State legislators in the House and Senate to get the Rural Film Incentive passed. They delivered. It was hard fought, but it worked. Think of your own experiences and how much more you’re willing to give for a grateful client, employee, or vendor that expresses their appreciation for your efforts. Let’s be that kind of group that remembers those that helped us and we will need to work with again in the future as we continue working to grow the film industry in Utah. -- Shawn Milne, Cache Valley Economic Development Director MPAU Members, I hope you are well and working. We want to invite you to an in-person event on Thursday, August 25th beginning at 6:30pm, where we can check in with each other, talk about our lobbying plans, and have some fun. This is a member's only event, so please make sure your membership is current. Get your friends to sign up before the event at MPAU.org and bring them along. There will be a Utah Women in Film meeting at 5:30pm before the main event begins. See attached invite with additional information and RSVP to info@mpau.org. As you know, our main goal is to try to get the sunset clause removed from our new Rural incentive. Susan Edwards from our lobbying team will update legislators quarterly on the state of the industry so we can educate them on how the film community impacts economic growth in Utah. Throughout the session we will continually ask you for personal stories to share your experiences with legislators either directly or through the MPAU so they can see the effect we’re having in these rural communities. Please email them to info@mpau.org. Thanks, Jeff Johnson President, Motion Picture Association of Utah  Members and Friends, After a long session with many late nights, wild testimonies, negotiations and nail-biting waits outside of closed door meetings… We are so excited to share this win with you. Thank you for your membership, partnership and efforts. Congratulations to us all! "S.B. 49 amends the state film incentive program to add additional tax credits available for productions that shoot at least 75% of their production days in a rural county. Rural counties are defined as counties outside those designated as 1st and 2nd class: Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Washington. The rural component of the MPIP will allocate an additional $12 million in tax credits each year for the next two years. The additional funding provided in the amended Utah Motion Picture Incentive Program will be available on July 1, 2022 Contact the Utah Film Commission at film@utah.gov for more information." - Utah Film Commission We would like to thank the following for their extra support in this watershed year:
Let’s take a breath and recognize the considerable accomplishment in our $24m. That is huge! We made big gains in passing this bill, but now it’s time to get back to work and remove the sunset clause. This is going to take even MORE lobbying efforts. Please be on the lookout for impactful stories of how this bill helps rural Utah, and supports you personally to continue building a career and life here. Additionally, we need to remember to thank our legislators throughout the year for their support, and back their re-election efforts. Going forward we will be identifying key races that we can support in the form of financial contributions as well as volunteering to help with re-election campaigns. This all takes time and money! This year was a fruitful one and we will continue to plant seeds and nurture these relationships that will continue to grow Utah’s film industry for many years to come. Please join us in July for an MPAU membership event to get together, celebrate our win, and make plans for the future. More info to come! Again, congratulations to everyone and as always feel free to reach out to the board with any questions or ideas. Best, Motion Picture Association of Utah Board Jeff Johnson - President Brooke Redmon - Vice President Kipling Hicks - Treasurer Mariah Mellus - Secretary Matias Alvarez Andrew Nelson Brad Wilson Hello Members of the Motion Picture Association of Utah.
We’ve been working on a lot at the MPAU and I wanted to give you an update. We will need your involvement to help the momentum on these various fronts, so I encourage you to please read below and click on the various links provided. UTAH SENATE BILL 49 The 2022 legislative session has begun, and we now have Utah State Bill 49 (SB0049), “State Film Production Incentives Amendments” being pushed through this session. As of today the Bill has not come to the floor to vote, We expect that to happen. In the next couple of weeks. If you would like to read or track the progress of the bill, click HERE VIRTUAL FILM DAY ON THE HILL IS TOMORROW- Thursday FEB 3 Due to concerns surrounding the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, our annual Film Day on the Hill will be online this year. We will be hosting a Zoom meeting to answer as many questions as we can, and provide a current update as to where we’re at with the lobbying efforts. Please register to attend this virtual Film Day via this link HERE This Zoom call will begin promptly at 12:00pm MST on Thursday, February 3rd. Film Caucus We had the 1st annual film caucus reception for our legislators on Thursday in the senate building of the capitol and we are getting Key Legislators to be a part of it. This film caucus is a long term play to educate our legislators and garner support for the MPIF. We want to thank Gary Crandall from the Utah Film Studios and Jeff Miller for sponsoring this event. We will be updating you more on this caucus in future newsletters. Kevin Costner Meets with Legislative leaders For those of you who follow the trades Kevin has a project that has just been greenlit and he wants to shoot it in Utah. There was a meeting facilitated with Kevin Costner and some key legislators regarding the film incentives in Utah. "I’ve dreamed for a long time about making my movie in Utah and scouting the state has been an incredible experience. My biggest hope is that the state backs Senate Bill 49 and that dream becomes a reality. I don’t really want to go anywhere else with these 5 movies. The beauty and power of the land in Utah is something I will never forget and hope at the end of the day I will be able to show the world." -- Kevin Costner This is a great thing for SB49 but we have to make sure that our legislators know that the local Utah Film Industry wants this as well. They need to hear from all of us who work and live in the state so please make sure you write to your legislators. It is more important that it comes from us. EMAIL WRITING CAMPAIGN The email writing campaign has started, and you should be receiving emails from Susan Edwards (one of the MPAU’s lobbyists) a few times per week. It is critical that we all contact our local senators & representatives to ask them to support State Bill 49. If you have not received an email from Susan yet, please let her know at sb.edwards.44@gmail.com There are a large number of people on the list this year and some of your emails may have gone to junk mail. ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY We have received the official financial study and you can read the full report HERE The financial talking points can be found here HERE Video Explaining Utah’s Film incentive Here is a video that is being shared to the legislative body on how the film tax rebate works and why it's good for Utah. Click here for Video Thank you, and as always, feel free to reach out any time, Jeff Johnson MPAU President president@mpau.org |
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