2013 Board of Directors

PRESIDENT 

Michael Ketcher

michael_ketcher@yahoo.com

VICE PRESIDENT

Jennifer Salci

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PAST PRESIDENT

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Just when many in our film community had pronounced the Missouri film industry dead, as our film tax credit disappeared into the legislative sunset, a major studio film, Gone Girl, produced by 20th Century Fox, started gearing up for production in Cape Girardeau. Once again, the naysayers have been proven wrong, and to paraphrase Mark Twain, the death of the local film industry has been greatly exaggerated.

The film is based on the best-selling novel Gone Girl, by Kansas City native, Gillian Flynn. Published in June 2012, the plot centers on the difficult marriage of writers Nick and Amy Dunne and whether Nick was involved with his wife's disappearance on their five-year anniversary.
The book is partly set in a Missouri town on the Mississippi River. The film adaptation will be directed by
David Fincher, an Oscar-nominated director of films such as "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Ben Affleck
will play the role of Nick Dunne, with Rosamund Pike portraying his wife, Amy Dunne. Neil Patrick Harris
and Tyler Perry also have supporting roles in the film.

This could be the biggest-budget film to shoot in Missouri -- at least the biggest in a long time. I get contacted several times a year by independent producers who want to shoot in Missouri. Not all of them end up coming here, but they are still taking a close look at our state, despite the disappearing tax credit.

While tax incentives remain an important factor in film financing, the number of states offering tax credits has declined. North Carolina, which is the #5 state in film production, following only California, New York,
Louisiana, and Georgia, might see its film tax credit reduced or eliminated in 2015, when the law is
scheduled to sunset.

On the other hand, in Illinois, the state senate just passed SB 1816. It is intended specifically for actors working in front of the camera in Illinois and does not contain state residency requirements. The bill will allow actor salaries, up to $1 million per actor, to count towards the Illinois tax credit. Previously, only salaries paid to Illinois residents counted towards the tax credit. The bill still needs to be voted on by the Illinois House of Representatives, and it could become law later this fall,
when the Illinois legislature reconvenes. Last year, the Illinois economy took in a record $184 million in production revenue; it is expected to be even higher this year. And if this new law passes, it could boost Illinois production even higher -- and perhaps even encourage more film and television production in the Metro-East area.

But even without tax incentives, with the number of states offering tax incentives declining, we could see film and television become more location-driven, rather than tax-incentive-driven in the years to come. That would be a boon for Missouri production -- and particularly for location-rich St. Louis. Let's not write our industry's obituary prematurely.

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