Shot on Location

Lead Story — By admin on September 6, 2009 2:28 pm

Shot on Location

By Pat Fream

Photography by Neville Palmer

Dear old Alberta has something filmmakers want: pristine Rockies, sculpted ranchlands, colossal sky, haunting badlands, contemporary cityscape, and a whole slew of directors, producers, technical crews, actors, and wranglers ready and willing to lend their expertise to the movie making business. So why is Alberta’s filmmaking industry in rapid decline?

“The government has no appetite whatsoever for developing the film industry in Alberta,” says Ben Owens, locations manager and member of Directors Guild of Canada. “It’s like we’re in this sea of oil and cows, and those are the only two resources worth investing in.”

Owens has been in the filmmaking business for more than a decade, and he has worked on numerous movie and television productions. His tone is buoyant and optimistic when the topic is about scouring the province for potential filming locations. Flip to a snapshot of Alberta’s film industry over the last decade, and the pitch turns unmistakably grim.

“We are definitely on a downward trend,” says Owens woefully. “We had a $450-million industry in Alberta in 1999, then for a couple of years we levelled out at around $250 million. This year, we’ll be lucky if we see $100 million.”

Owens blames the plummet on factors unrelated to the sagging economy. “Sure, the recent recession has played a role in the decline, however, historically during recessions film production increases because statistics show more people go to movies and watch TV when times are tough.”

While circumstances affecting the slowdown in movie production do include such factors as the inflated Canadian dollar and the long dispute involving the Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood, Owens insists the biggest reason for the decline in Alberta is the government’s paltry incentives.

“Our incentive program is simply not competitive with other jurisdictions,” says Owens. “Primarily, it works for a certain size of production, generally the $4-million to $7-million production, which is of the TV movie size. Once you hit the $7-million mark in production, the current incentive program tops out and stops being a benefit, so we are less likely to get the larger budget productions such as A-list TV productions, TV series, and feature films.”

Owens goes on to explain that Alberta’s incentive program is structured differently than those in other provinces and in the U.S. Other jurisdictions offer a tax-based incentive program where the government gives a percentage back to the production after it has collected the taxes. In Alberta, the province lays out the money before taxes are collected and then slaps a cap on it.

Chad Oakes, who co-chairs Calgary-based Nomadic Pictures Corp. with Mike Frislev, is another industry player sad to see the Alberta advantage slipping away. “Alberta offers 14 to 23 per cent of all monies spent on a movie production in the province, which, at one time was the best incentive offered in the country,” says Oakes. “Now, all provinces across Canada have increased their rebates, and have far surpassed what Alberta is offering.”

Based on the 2009 International Film Incentive Report compiled by law firm Borden Ladner Gervais, Saskatchewan now offers 45 per cent to 55 per cent of all qualified Saskatchewan labour, and Manitoba offers 45 per cent to 65 per cent. In addition, some 30 American states offer tax incentives to keep U.S. producers at home, a strategy that’s working.

“Most producers are now choosing a different province or staying in the U.S. to shoot,” says Oaks. “I do know that our premier and Alberta Culture minister Lindsay Blackett are aware of the issues our local film industry is facing, and are looking into what can be done for us to be competitive again.”

Rancher and film production company owner, John Scott is also a vocal advocate for changes to Alberta’s film tax incentive program. Scott owns a 2,000-hectare ranch near Longview and runs Calgary-based John Scott Motion Picture Animals. He has supplied horses, land, wrangling expertise, stunt co-ordination and talent scouting services for more than 150 films over four decades. In addition to his concern regarding Alberta’s capped tax incentive program, Scott maintains that Alberta needs to build a filming studio. To date there have been numerous failed attempts to get a studio off the ground.

Alberta does have a readily available western town set, located at CL Ranch near Bragg Creek. Built for the Lonesome Dove TV series, it has been used in many westerns, including Shanghai Noon, The Claim, Into the West, and the Little House on the Prairie remake.

“This kind of setup is ideal,” says Owens. “There are fewer people to disrupt (when filming) and fewer people have a say in what you’re doing.” Owens agrees that a studio would be an asset to Alberta, but he believes that even without one, producers would come if the tax incentives were competitive.

In fall, 2008. the province doled out a one-time cash injection of $14 million to the film industry. The funding was split into $5 million to cover a backlog of approved film financing and $9 million for new projects. While stakeholders concede anything is better than nothing, most say that without a competitive incentive program behind it, this is not enough to put Alberta back on the radar for American productions.

“When it comes right down to it, there is no downside to making movies here – it’s an economic multiplier,” says Owens. “The worst case scenario I’ve ever heard of is a 1.36-cent rate of return – for every government dollar spent, you get $1.36 returned. That’s the worst case scenario. The government itself did a study of the financial investment and it concluded that the returns can be as high as six times (the investment). That sounds high to me, but either way, when films are made here, it’s nothing but good for Alberta.”

*Many thanks to CL Ranch for allowing Routes magazine access to the western town film set for this photoshoot.

The State of the Alberta Film and Television Industry – An Open Letter(4)

Alberta has been the backdrop for numerous Hollywood movies, TV programs and TV series, dating back as far as the 1920s. Some of the more famous productions include:

Superman (1978)

Bye Bye Blues (1989)

Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Unforgiven (1992)

Legends of the Fall (1994)

The Edge (1997)

Shanghai Noon (2000)

The Claim (2000)

Open Range (2003)

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

The Assassination of Jesse James (2007)

Passchendaele (2008)

TV productions filmed in Alberta include Lonesome Dove (mini-series), North of 60 and Heartland.

Tags: Alberta movies, CL Ranch, John Scott, Routes Magazine