Location Update Magazine Interview with Dan Kinkade

The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) may issue a film production company state income tax credits equaling up to 25 percent of the company's expenditures in Missouri necessary for the making of a film, not to exceed $250,000 in tax credits per project, according to the state's web site. Jim Leonis, with the St. Louis Film Commission, echoed Smreker's roundup and added his own disappointments. Cupid Tattoo, starring Tom Sizemore, was set to film the area but then lost its lead actor three days before going into production. "The whole thing fell apart," Leonis said.

Then DreamWorks was scheduled to come in with a Cameron Crowe picture and ended up canceling the St. Louis production. Leonis speculated that the filmmakers took a look at their schedule and decided to make some compromises, which included St. Louis. "They had already hired a local location manager and he was on for a few days before they pulled the plug," he said.

He blames runaway production on Canada and Australia, both of which offer lucrative incentives. "A lot of bigger features are going there and television series are going there. It seems pretty extreme going halfway across the world to save some money. I think in some cases, that's for very high-end commercial spots. It's even affecting that. I'm hearing a lot more people are going to Canada to shoot commercial spots, and that seems to be just starting. When X-Files left, they probably had three more series in line to take its place."

To stem the flow of runaway production, Leonis is part of a new organization called Film U.S., which comprises all U.S. film commissioners. The organization will explore tax incentives on the federal level and look into the fair trade agreement with Canada to see if it's in line. It will also work to make filming locally more appealing by targeting issues such as working with federal government, shooting at federal parks and shooting at military bases, for instance.

Leonis said filmmaking is a pretty young business in St. Louis. But the city does have a lot of offerings, including Old City, built in the 1800's, thus making it older than Chicago.

The area's recent big claim to fame was The Big Brass Ring, starring William Hurt, which shot last August. The production lensed the area for three weeks, shooting in front of the 630-foot Gateway Arch (at the verdant Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park), at Laclede's Landing (an old riverfront part of the city with cobblestone streets) and at city hall.

"At city hall the location fee[was] waived as a nice gesture that we're happy to have them filming in town. We didn't want to charge them for the properties under city control," he said.

But does that apply to all features that come to town?

"It's pretty much done on a case-by-case basis. But I couldn't see there would be a location fee for those properties," he said. Filming permits are $10 per day, per location, and off-duty officers charge about $21 an hour.

Dan Kinkade, location manager on Ring and A Will of Their Own, which also shot the area, said St. Louis has the period look nailed down. "For Will, which was a span of 100 years, we had no problems," he said.

The film stars Lea Thompson and used 87 locations, ranging from the public library and the soldiers' memorial to city hall and older downtown streets. And it didn't even take place in St. Louis. Instead it was set in Washington, D.C., California, Wisconsin, Connecticut and New York.

"I can use that one show to show how diverse we are," Leonis said. "It was a difficult production to pull off with all the locations. They found them all here, and that's why they made the decision to come."

Kinkade said the city's garment district easily doubled for 1930's New York with its tall warehouse buildings facing each other.

Kinkade, who has worked in Wisconsin, Illinois, New York and California, has been living and working in St. Louis for 10 years. "When film crews come here, it's so underexposed, it blows their minds. We have a really good strong union and we're starting to build a crew base. And I think the government is starting to come around and recognize filming as a viable economic entity."

He would, however, like to see a few issues addressed, such as the 1 percent city earnings tax levied while filming in Kansas City. Production companies are responsible for withholding an additional 1 percent earnings tax from gross salaries of al staff, cast and crew. This tax is levied for each working day while on location within the city limits. It does not apply to work performed outside the city limits. St. Louis also has a similar requirement.

Kinkade also pointed to transportation permitting. Trucks coming in from out of state must file for a trip permit before entering the state. "It makes it a little cumbersome. If they come at the last minute, they have to wait three days for a permit. It's just more of a nuisance than a problem. I think it would be great if the city would rebate that 1 percent. I think the city is working on that."

From his standpoint, the state is starting to take off as a filming destination. "We've really got some great talent in St. Louis. There are veterans who chose to live in the Midwest and they don't work as often as people in L.A. and N.Y., but we usually get two or three films a year, and that's enough to keep us busy."

Patti Watkins, with the Kansas City Film Commission, said they are busy with the premiere of Ride With the Devil and with national commercials, including Coke, Toyota and Ford "Hopefully, we're looking forward to our next feature," she said. "Right now it seems we're inundated with commercial work."

Watkins said that production figures for fiscal year '98-99 come to $4.7 million, with about 70 percent of that coming from commercials. Watkins was also excited by the IMAX Kansas City Signature film that includes footage of various locations and events that go on in and around the Kansas City area.