Variety: Thinking about making a film? NM may be your answer.

Just a few short years ago New Mexico’s film community was "…a loosely organized wisp of film professionals…many of them refugees from Hollywood who’d taken to the more relaxed New Mexico way of life," according to Variety in a six part feature. But now, it’s composed of 1,800 film professionals, with the largest crew base outside of Los Angeles and New York, and a community "deep enough" to support up to six productions. Governor Richardson claims the state has made 1.8 billion in revenue.



Half of them live in Santa Fe, where the film office is shifting its focus, according to this Variety article. First, the Santa Fe Studios are in the works, a six-stage, 600,000-square-foot facility that will be just south of the city. Apparently, the eight-stage Albuquerque Studios is pretty much booked these days. Plus, there’s an effort to provide non-stop air service to Santa Fe so that busy film professionals can trim some time off their commute:

"American Airlines and Delta are in the process of getting clearance from the FAA," claims Eric Witt, head of Gov. Bill Richardson’s media arts development initiative. "They’re looking to direct 70- to 100-seat passenger jets from L.A., Denver and Dallas."

(Well, with the price of fuel inching ever higher, we’ll see)

Variety notes the high caliber of the movies that have been filmed in New Mexico, including 14 Oscar-nominated movies last year, such as No Country for Old Men, 3:10 to Yuma, In the Valley of Elah, and Transformers, and also lists the most recent productions.

New Mexico has invested a lot of money in the film industry, giving 25 percent rebates plus other incentives to film companies to help cover their costs. According to Variety, the groundwork for building the industry was laid by former governor Gary Johnson, but Richardson took it on immediately upon entering office.

And he isn’t shy about taking credit for it either, along with other industries as well:

"I’m an unusual kind of Democrat," Richardson told the magazine. "I am for tax incentives and tax cuts, and I did this not just for film, but we did it with renewable energy, we did it with manufacturing. That’s why we’re getting all these companies moving in here."

The film industries incentive package was the first of its kind, but is being copied around the country now. Some other states offer sweeter deals, Variety reports, but folks here aren’t worried:

Richardson and his advisers adopt the philosophy that there’s enough work to go around, relying on New Mexico’s strong infrastructure and striking locations to attract such major productions as the "Indiana Jones," "Terminator" and "Transformers" sequels…. Earlier this month, Richardson and Witt traveled to Spain and France to court companies eager to take advantage of the weak dollar. Others, including a Bollywood musical that approached Hendry about shooting in the state, are proactively reaching out to New Mexico.

Variety also takes a look at the landscape of homegrown films, and says it’s a work in progress. For instance, Karen Koch of Luminaria films, says New Mexico’s loan program for films isn’t geared to the "little local guys." But there are efforts to foster homegrown "above the line" talent, such as directors, producers, production designers, and directors of photography. For one, the 25 percent rebate is available to everyone, there are state-sponsored short-film competitions and awards, and a new mentorship arrangement on the Crash T.V. series seeks to provide local aspiring film makers with hands-on experience.

As it turns out, the state has big plans for smaller, independent film. Banking on that aspect of the film industry picking up steam, Richardson says he’s nudging Robert Redford to look south:

"I’m trying to lure him to come establish a Sundance 2 in New Mexico," Gov. Bill Richardson says. "We’ve even purchased an old historic ranch in northern New Mexico for him to bring his seminars.

There’s more, be sure to check it out.