Tova LAITER has fallen in love with the backers of her new comedy, "Elvis Has Left the Building," which stars Kim Basinger as a Pink Lady beauty consultant who accidentally kills several Elvis impersonators and ends up on the run from the FBI.
"I've never dealt with people so polite and professional," says Laiter, a producer who began shooting the film Sept. 15 with director Joel ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") Zwick. "When we came to scout locations, they arranged for free hotels, restaurants and transportation. When we needed to shoot at the local convention center, we got to use it for five days -- gratis."
The object of Laiter's affection isn't a scrum of German tax fund accountants or a Silicon Valley zillionaire. It's the state of New Mexico.
A growing number of states offer tax credits as a way to lure Hollywood dollars. But New Mexico actually is investing in movies -- the state has established a fund of $85 million for the purpose. The money comes in the form of no-interest loans, repayable in two to five years. The state will invest as much as $7.5 million in any movie that passes muster with the New Mexico State Investment Council, as long as filmmakers agree to spend most of their shooting schedule in state and hire a crew made up of at least 60% New Mexico residents.
On top of that, New Mexico offers any film, whether financed by the state or not, a 15% tax rebate for every dollar spent locally. It also has a mentor program that offers an eye-popping 50% salary rebate for advancing the skills of crew members who are either hired for the first time or promoted to higher positions. The law also allows filmmakers to get their tax credits immediately, allowing the money to go directly into the film's production budget.
"I'm not sure we've stolen any film production away from Canada yet, but we're going to try. This is a way for us to compete with them for film dollars," says Greg Kulka, the alternative investments portfolio manager for the state's investment council. For a low-budget film such as "Elvis Has Left the Building," which was put together by London-based Capitol Films, producers of the upcoming "Sylvia," starring Gwyneth Paltrow, the state's investment represents a lion's share of the movie's $11.5-million budget. But more importantly, by giving the state a big rooting interest in the film's success, it smooths over the bureaucratic hurdles that often beset filmmakers in less welcoming environs -- hint, hint -- such as Los Angeles.
