Film industry record has local ties

Location(s)

By Kahrin Deines
Medill Reports - Chicago

Early counts suggest the new tax credit for filmmakers reached a wide audience in 2007, with both Illinois and Chicago preparing to report record spending by production companies.

Although the numbers have not been officially released, the Illinois Film Office anticipates they will soon announce that 2007 was a record-breaking year for film in the state, said Betsy Steinberg, managing director of the office.

The exact amount of revenue created from production company spending will be released in the next few weeks when the state completes its audit.

Included in the long list of films shot in Chicago last year is "Root of All Evil," a psychological thriller starring British actor Sean Bean ("Troy" and "The Lord of the Rings"), which filmed in Chicago last fall and right here in Beverly in October at 101st and Damen.

The Illinois Film Production Tax Credit, signed into law in 2006, offers credits to production companies that meet certain spending requirements in the state. The spending includes labor, services, products and all other expenditures.

Asked whether it was the credit or the weak dollar behind the increase, Steinberg gave credit to the credit. "I would say overwhelmingly I attribute it to the tax credit," she said. "I'm not an economist but we had a lot of business that committed to coming here before the dollar began to fall."

Last year's biggest film production was the upcoming Batman sequel. "'The Dark Knight' shot here for almost four months," said Rich Moskal, director of the Chicago Film Office. "They hired a ton of people and probably rented every piece of production equipment in town."

"Somewhere in the neighborhood of $175 million was spent locally in 2007," Moskal said. "While (the tax credit) certainly drew the interest of the industry in 2006, it really didn't bear any fruit until 2007."

Previously, 1999 was Chicago's record year for film revenue at $126 million, he said. Film and television productions were responsible for approximately $145 million, while spending by commercial productions accounted for approximately $30 million, Moskal said.

In addition to job creation, production company spending benefits Illinois businesses, Steinberg said. "All sorts of local businesses are involved in filming that don't immediately pop to mind," citing security companies, caterers, hardware stores and florists.

During the month of March alone in 2008, Moskal said, three major motion pictures are being filmed in city, including "Humboldt Park," a movie named after that Chicago neighborhood.

Ernie Malik, the film's publicist, said he could not comment on how much the film has spent locally. Aside from wages and purchased services, though, Malik said some benefits are never measured. For example, he said, all of the food in a bodega erected for the film would be donated to an area food pantry. Likewise for the holiday decorations used to make it look like the film is set at Christmastime, which will go to the Chicago Park District.

Areas featured in major motion pictures also often see a spike in tourism after the film is released, Moskal said. "We can't put a price tag on it, but we can certainly see the benefit of having Chicago featured in films."

In fact, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Activity has a travel Web site devoted to movie-themed getaways in the state.

Chicago's popularity with filmmakers has ebbed and flowed over the years. "In the mid '80s, Chicago was very much the destination of choice," Moskal said, pointing to the trio of teen blockbusters, including "Sixteen Candles," shot here by writer/director John Hughes.

"Then things dropped off somewhat dramatically because, frankly, Chicago almost out-priced itself," he said. Film business came back big time in the '90s, but the city fell off the map again after 2000.

"One thing that we've witnessed is the growth of the independent industry," Moskal said. While there were only a handful of independent productions in the '90s, he said, now there are 30 or 40 filmed in Chicago every year.

"Most never find distribution, but the numbers make us a little less susceptible to the whimsy of whether or not Hollywood thinks this is a good place to film."