There may not be a more Minnesotan scene in a movie than Jack Lemmon scooping slush out of his ice fishing hole in "Grumpy Old Men". Now, a movie like that has a chance to again be shot on a Minnesota lake.
The 1990’s are often referred to as the glory days of moviemaking in Minnesota with films like “Grumpy Old Men”, "Fargo", "A Simple Plan" and "Jingle All the Way" to name just a few. Now there's a real chance that golden age could be replicated with a new tax credit that came out of Minnesota’s legislative session.
Melodie Bahan is Executive Director of Minnesota Film and TV. She told WCCO’s Susie Jones the tax credit has the potential to bring in a lot of money and create jobs.
“Not just those that are direct jobs like camera man or electricians, that kind of thing,” Bahan says. “But also, you know, there's the indirect economic benefits. So restaurants and hotels and you know, catering and equipment and construction supplies. All of those things are going to benefit.”
Bahan says Canada was the first to create incentives for movie making a move, which she says cost the state tens of millions of dollars. Other states in the US followed, but Minnesota had only a rebate program, which Bahan says was not competitive.
Over the years, entertainment unions led by SAG/AFTRA have lobbied lawmakers to create a tax credit, arguing that films about Minnesota are currently shot out of Minnesota.
Looking ahead, there will likely be a film made about the murder of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer last year sparked nationwide protests.
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Minnesota lawmakers said during this session, without an incentive movie producers could take that project elsewhere.
Behan says the $5 million credit is much smaller than they would have hoped for, citing that other states have credits of $50 million or more. She explains, though, just how it will work.
“They do their production, whether it's a film or a television series, they spend their millions of dollars,” according to Bahan. “They pay taxes on all of that spending. Payroll taxes, sales taxes, et cetera. Then when all of those expenses are audited and approved, they get a credit for a future tax liability.”
Bahan says the hustle and bustle of movie making in Minnesota may not be far off.
“We're already having conversations with different producers and filmmakers and studios about what they have in development that might work for Minnesota,” Bahan tells WCCO.
Minnesota, she says, has quite a lot to offer as well.
“Beautiful locations, geographic diversity, great crew, great talent, weather,” Bahan says confidently about film crews showing up here. “So we know that those productions are going to find Minnesota and we're going to find them.”
One thing's for sure according to Bahan. It will not cost taxpayers a thing.
“The state is not writing anybody a check. Nobody gets a check. It's a tax credit.”