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Where the action is

Most people don't immediately think of the South Sound -- or Washington for that matter -- as the hot bed of film making. But the coals are getting a bit warmer, even for communities outside of the Emerald City.

Examples include Tacoma's Dead Gentlemen Productions recently opening shop for its new movie operation and another South Sound production company's film, "What The #$BLEEP*! Do We Know!?," is proving to be a sleeper hit around the nation.

Dead Gentlemen Productions started in the summer of 2002, when more than a dozen Pacific Lutheran University students decided to shoot a movie about life as a role playing gamer. They used volunteers and donated items as much as possible to make their limited dollars stretch far enough to cover expenses.

"Demon Hunters" was born. It has since spawned the making of a sequel. The film is sold on-line, where the company's web site receives some 200,000 hits a month, and at gaming conventions and trade shows.

The group's short film, "The Gamers," was shot with a budget of $500. and has become a bit of a cult classic in the world of role-playing games, with orders coming from across the globe for the $18 short film. It has grossed some $70,000 so far.

"We keep waiting for sales to drop off, but it never does," says Mike Bottorff, director of operations.

A straight-to-DVD sequel will be shot locally this summer with distribution set for next year. "The Gamers" sequel will have a budget well beyond the original film. It's pricetag will range in the five figures and even have a paid staff this time around.

All of the movies so far have turned profits, making the search for investors a bit easier since the production company's return on investment so far has been solid.

"That's almost unheard of," Bottorff says.

Although the company is seeking investors to front the money to make the sequel as well as other film projects, Dead Gentlemen has no plans to seek fame in Hollywood. They would just like to be able to make enough off their films to quit their day jobs and concentrate on movie making.

"No one in the company is interested in being part of the main stream market," Bottorff says. "It's all vanilla and corporate."

That idea holds true for many South Sounders in the film industry. They might like making films, but they hate Los Angeles.

"What The #$BLEEP*! Do We Know!?," was produced by filmmakers William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente and started its run at the Grand Cinema in Tacoma after nearly 20,000 people reportedly lined up to see it in its first six weeks in Portland.

The movie combines a live-action dramatic narrative starring Academy Award-winner Marlee Matlin, with documentary interviews of 14 top scientists and mystics and visionary, as well as state-of-the-art animation, as it sets out to explore life, physics and how all things are connected.

The group hails from the film mecca known as Yelm.

"It's much easier to make films here and not be in LA," Chasse says. "We didn't have to sit in Hollywood to make this film. There are a lot of film makers making movies who don't have anything do to with Hollywood."

Although some of the film was shot in the Pacific Northwest, it required shots from around the world. Those arraignments were done over e-mail messages, phone calls and faxes that didn't demand a 90210 zip code. The rise of those communication technologies helped push film making out of California as did cost. Film making in Los Angeles is extremely expensive with mandatory union workers, high rental rates, stiff permitting fees and long governmental review processes.

The production cost of "What the Bleep" was about $4 million, Chasse says. That price tag could have added a zero if it had been shot in California.

Put in the rise of affordable broadcast-quality cameras and Internet distribution centers on top of rising costs of filming in California and even Canada, and Puget Sound starts looking like a more logical film location. The area also offers a wide range of settings within driving distance. From mountains to oceans to dense forests and prairies, Puget Sound between the Olympics and the Cascades has geography on its side when it comes to making movies.

Even the area's weather makes it a likely movie shoot.

"Overcast skies are wonderful for filming," say Anne de Marcken of Wovie, Inc., a two-person filmmaking house in Olympia. "We have lots of great outdoor locations. Before I lived here I knew about the Northwest as a place to film, but I didn't realize that it has such incredible weather. And also, what an amazing state in terms of variety of geography, from mountains to the coast to high desert."

Marilyn Freeman and de Marcken of Wovie make feature films, as well as provide film, video, and graphic content for clients. Their latest completed work is Group, a film shot entirely in Olympia with local talent about a women's therapy group. The film was distributed theatrically and is still making the rounds of various film festivals. Wovie has just signed a television and video distribution deal for the film.

Freeman and de Marcken are the writers and directors of their films, and their company was supported by proceeds from Group. The success of the film has prompted them to look at two other projects.

In the Way of Intimacy is another art house feature, this time dealing with the crossing from childhood sexual abuse into adulthood and redemption.

"This is a small film with a low budget, but we're building," says Freeman. "We have one feature under our belt and it has performed reasonably well. ‘In The Way of Intimacy' is the next step."

And the step after that is already being planned. Wovie is working to get backing for a film titled "Sophisticated" which is a fictionalized account of the life of Dorothy Arzner, the only woman to have a successful directorial career in the 1920s and 1930s in Hollywood.

"‘Sophisticated' is very different in scope from the other films," says Freeman. "It will require a multi-million-dollar budget with lots of different sets and locations."

However, as much as they can, Freeman and de Marcken hope to film in and around Olympia.

"People ask how it is to make movies in Olympia; they think it is harder than in, say, New York," says de Marcken. "But actually it's not harder. I don't know how we would have made Group if we weren't here. The community is so supportive of creative endeavors and is so rich with filmmaking talent."

The two women credit The Evergreen State College's media arts program and faculty with producing that talent, which combined with the music community provides plenty of resources to create good films. In addition, being from Olympia can be a selling point all on its own.

"We stood out from the crowd because we weren't New York or LA," says de Marcken. "Film distributors recognize the value of that. What Olympia needs to be an ever more vital film community is increasing respect from the establishment. There are lots of people making good movies in Olympia and so many who have stories to tell."

All this movie talk is becoming increasingly important since the economic impact of the film industry on the state is on the rise. A report issued late last year shows spending by film crews amounts to more than $316 million a year in the state.

The production of films, videos, television movies, commercials, and commercial still photography in Washington had the following impact on the economy of Washington State:

* Film and video production supported 8,033 jobs in the state.

* Washington enjoyed over $656 million in additional economic output because of film and video production.

* Local labor income was $260.9 million higher in 2001 than what it would have been in Washington without film and video production.

* State and local communities in Washington collected $18.4 million in additional taxes due to film and video production.

What is critical to understand about this analysis is that these are net impacts. The report shows how much better off the state was because of the activities of the film, video, and commercial photography industries.

They are net benefits because without these industries, Washington businesses would have hired firms in other states and even other countries to do filming and other related work, thus, causing an economic drain to Washington.

Without these industries in Washington most production companies who came to the state because of great locations and quality workforce would have gone elsewhere to shoot, thus, spending their money elsewhere.

Film and video production is a labor-intensive, high wage economic activity that responds quickly to a favorable business climate and does so with minimal impacts on infrastructure, according to the state Community Trade and Economic Development report.

It employs skilled workers, many of whom are trained in creative arts and technical skills that are not readily transferable to other industries.

Without a viable and significant domestic industry, Washington would lose much of this productive segment of its labor force and do so at great long-term economic cost. Students graduating from local high schools who are interested in film and video production would be inclined to move out of Washington to pursue their careers. In a sense relegating Washington to having its schools educate and train future film and video production professionals for California, British Columbia, New York, and other places with favorable business climates for this industry.

By Steve Dunkelberger, Business Examiner Staff

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