By GARY PERILLOUX
Advocate business writer
Published: Sep 16, 2009 - Page: 1A

It isn’t as though the same light bulb hasn’t gone off before when the Baton Rouge Film Commission brainstormed ways to make the Capital Region a premier place for making movies.

But Tuesday, at the commission’s final 2009 quarterly meeting, the idea burned brighter: Yes, cash and tax credit incentives may woo filmmakers to Baton Rouge, but the bigger point is this: Well-trained movie crews will keep producers here, commission members agreed.

One Baton Rouge studio now is partnering with a real estate firm to wave house-buying money at union movie crew members who live elsewhere. Partnering with C.J. Brown Realtors, the Celtic Media Centre will offer $2,000 in closing costs for skilled union movie crew personnel to buy a house within a 30-mile radius. Toss in a federal first-time homebuyer tax credit for those who qualify and Celtic’s willingness to pay initial union dues and the package value could top $10,000 in some cases.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of mass relocation out of California,” said Patrick Mulhearn, director of operations for Raleigh Studios at Celtic Media Centre in Baton Rouge. “By comparison, Louisiana is looking a lot more competitive. What we think can happen is we can double our crew base in one year.”

That’s vital for Baton Rouge, because fewer than 100 union movie crew veterans — the kind coveted by major studios — are based in and around the city, Mulhearn said. A major production can require 100 skilled workers, from electricians to set-building carpenters to costume and camera specialists. Louisiana has the equivalent of about 10 union crews.

As long as skilled workers remain in tight supply, other incentives may be necessary. Jefferson Parish and Caddo Parish officials have dangled cash incentives worth 3 percent to 4 percent of a movie budget, capped at $100,000 to $150,000 depending on the jurisdiction. That’s on top of the 30 percent state film tax credit and another 5 percent credit on Louisiana-based labor.

The Metro Council agreed in August to give $175,000 in cash to entice the Sony/Columbia Pictures release, “Battle: Los Angeles,” to Baton Rouge — largely because of in-state competition. One local film leader at Tuesday’s meeting said he longs for the day cash incentives won’t be needed.

“The incentive worked in this case,” said Bob Bayham of Celtic Media Centre, where “Battle: Los Angeles” is filming through the rest of the year. And Baton Rouge needed to offer the incentive to win the project, he said.

“We appreciate the support from everyone in the city (but) I would like to see all of the local incentives go away,” Bayham said.

How willing the city-parish will be to offer cash incentives in the future will depend on city finances and the film impact, such things as how much money will be spent directly in Baton Rouge, said John Carpenter, an assistant chief administrative officer to Mayor-President Kip Holden.

“We’re looking project by project and we’re looking at return on investment,” Carpenter said.

Film impact also will depend on the viability of the production. With “Battle: Los Angeles,” for instance, Columbia Pictures had secured worldwide distribution rights, considered a credibility builder in the industry. Film commissioners have estimated that the total budget of “Battle: Los Angeles” could reach $60 million, with at least $25 million spent in Baton Rouge.

That deal is considered the baseline for future films to gain a cash incentive from the city, and the Baton Rouge Film Commission is courting multiple projects in that category, said Amy Mitchell-Smith, the commission’s director. Winning “Battle: Los Angeles” is helping the effort, she said.

“It is night and day — the level of A-list projects our office is scouting,” she said of the increased studio interest. “They’re now paying attention.”

District 2 Metro Councilman Ulysses “Bones” Addison said he’s interested in major motion picture companies keeping a permanent presence in Baton Rouge, “not that they just move here temporarily.” He said he’s not sure cash incentives will accomplish that, and he returned the focus to work force.

Bayham agreed, saying that if filmmakers can tap qualified talent living in Baton Rouge they won’t have to pay per diem expenses to move people from across the state.

In 2008, major productions filmed in Baton Rouge but tended to maintain shorter presences. Thus, $25 million was spent on 40 projects after 2007 totals of $36 million and 19 projects, Mitchell-Smith said. For 2009, she said the Baton Rouge region is headed toward $40 million, possibly more. More than $400 million in production occurs annually throughout the state.

One small step toward completing the work-force puzzle is a pilot program in which Sony Corp. and Columbia Pictures are willing to hire 10 paid production assistants, based on referrals from LSU, Southern University and Baton Rouge Community College, Mitchell-Smith said.

“Sony agreed to take on these interns: That’s a huge, huge boost,” said Sterling Studios executive Joe Traigle, a member of the commission’s advisory board.

Mitchell-Smith said her office is working to cement that program by October, when filming in Baton Rouge begins in earnest for the “Battle: Los Angeles” project.

The state’s economic development department also is funding projects that train and place entertainment workers in Louisiana jobs, part of a $2 million pilot work-force program.

Film commissioners disagreed about the need for one more asset that could make Baton Rouge more marketable to filmmakers: Direct flights between the Louisiana capital and Los Angeles.

Commissioner Paul Arrigo, president of the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the one-hour, 20-minute trip between New Orleans and Baton Rouge isn’t significantly out of step with travel times when filmmakers touch down in Los Angeles.

Mulhearn said daily direct flights may not be necessary, but direct flights between the two cities at least two to three times a week would be a critical advantage. He acknowledged that some subsidy might be needed to entice an airline to offer the flights.

“The simple fact that you can say you have a direct flight from Los Angeles to Baton Rouge is huge,” he said. “And we don’t need to give up on this.”