ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Last year, Missouri reinstated a tax incentive program for film and TV production in an effort to lure more productions in not just the St. Louis-area but the whole state.
In October 2023, after the reinstating of the tax incentive program in the state, St. Louis Film Office made a very big hire, naming Kelley Hiatt the film office's manager.
Hiatt has had two decades of experience in the film industry, working as a location manager for many shows like "The Apprentice", "Chicago Fire", "This Is Us", and "Station 19".
"I'm a bridge," Hiatt said Monday during her appearance on Total Information A.M. "I'm bringing my production background into the more city background and I'm working with big productions and working with the city of St. Louis to make it all happen and bring production into the area."
Hiatt says what makes St. Louis unique to her from a production standpoint, it has a "anywhere USA aspect", which is a big advantage from a budgetary standpoint.
"You can film multiple regions right here in St. Louis," said Hiatt. "Although I would love to have a St. Louis-centric film obviously, but you can find New Orleans, Boston, Baltimore. The city, you can change a couple of street signs and it be downtown LA, Chicago, New York, so that's really lends itself."
Hiatt says that while there are benefits to film in St. Louis and Missouri, there is still a reality that the infrastructure for big filming is not yet in place, and for the foundations to be in place, the office needs collaborations from the likes of the police departments, the parks, the streets department, the Office of Special Events and more to help create the path for safe film production in the area.
"We all need to get on the same page and those things are what makes an efficient and safe film production, which is a lot to do with the location you are in," said Hiatt. "So yes, we are absolutely working on that and at some point, I hope I can get some sort of permitting process together so that the production is protected, they have gone through all their due diligence and make sure it is a safe and effective filming space."
