NEWS
Posted 22 March, 2008 in IA News
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — To make his movie, “South Dakota,” Bruce Isacson turned to Iowa.
The Los Angeles-based filmmaker has chosen the town of Earlham — about 30 miles west of Des Moines — as the setting for his new movie about a couple of high school students who end up with a surprise pregnancy.
“After visiting Iowa, I decided it was the perfect South Dakota,” said Isacson, a New York City native. “It has everything I envisioned.”
A portion of the story that takes place in Pennsylvania will also be shot in Iowa.
Not only is Iowa good at doubling as other places, it also offers large tax incentives that are attractive to independent filmmakers like Isacson. The state passed a law last May, offering 50 percent tax credits for films shot in Iowa with budgets of at least $100,000.
Half the credit amount goes toward helping film crews regain in-state expenses like hotel rooms and meals. The rest benefits the project’s original investors.
“When we found out (about the incentives), we almost called twice to make sure,” said Robert Gibson, production manager for “South Dakota.”
Gibson said incentives are a huge help for their budget, which is between $2.5 million to $3 million. The less they have to fork out for taxes, the more they can put toward the film’s content.
Isacson’s production team arrived in the state last week to begin auditioning Iowans for supporting roles. Producers are hiring local talent for supporting roles and using unknown California actors for title roles, which will also cut costs.
Iowa Film Office Director Tom Wheeler said the state’s large incentives are drawing people who wouldn’t otherwise come here. The rewards are so good compared to other states that it can sound “too good to be true,” he said.
“South Dakota” is the third project to use the new tax incentives. Others include Becky Smith’s “Duck Farm No. 13″ set in McGregor as well as Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “Sugar” that was filmed in Burlington and Davenport.
Wheeler anticipates more people will consider shooting in Iowa, as local production companies build up stocks of cameras, lights and other equipment and as local talent deepens. He plans to tout Iowa’s incentives at a trade show next month in Los Angeles.
The film incentives are also boosting work for Iowa actors. Deb Copeland manages Copeland Creative Talent, a talent agency in Des Moines. Last week she sent out a call for actors needed for about two dozen supporting roles in “South Dakota.”
“We’re getting more attention with the help of the film incentives,” Copeland said. “All of a sudden, we were getting lots of calls, and I thought, ‘My God, are we that much better than other states?”‘
For now, a buzz is building in Earlham. Producers have met with local school board officials to discuss plans for filming.
“There are going to be ancillary economic benefits for the community, even if it’s people buying gas or stopping to have lunch at the places downtown,” said Superintendent Michael Wright.
Isacson, the writer and director, said it’s the ideal setting for his story.
“It’s that perfect Midwestern small town that Americans have fantasies about,” he said.
Posted 3 November, 2007 in IA News
From the Des Moines Register
LA Company Moving to Iowa
October 25, 2007
(no byline)
Los Angeles-based Grasshorse Technologies said Friday it would move and
expand its animation production studios to Iowa, thanks to new tax
incentives Iowa is providing the film industry.
Grasshorse said will expand its studios to full-scale film production of 2-D
and 3-D animation. It did not say where it would locate.
The Iowa operations provide a “viable and affordable American alternative to
production services that are increasingly being fulfilled overseas,”
Grasshorse said.
Grasshorse clients include Disney, Warner Bros. and the Cartoon Network.
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