A bill fails in the state legislature, but Colorado holds out hope it can offer incentives to lure filmmakers.

Majestic mountains, cloudless skies and sunny weather are coveted backdrops for filmmakers.

They once were the lure for Denver's thriving film industry in the 1980s and early '90s. Moviemakers and scriptwriters reveled in the Rockies, using the diverse landscape, plentiful resources and a user-friendly major city. Today, Denver has a world-class airport, restaurants with top chefs, a slick transit system and worldwide attention with the Democratic National Convention coming in August, so why don't movie production companies see the allure anymore?

As they say in the movies, "Show me the money."

While Canada has been offering tax incentives since the 1990s, and several states, including our southern neighbor, New Mexico, have followed suit, Colorado has been slow to take notice. But several interested parties, including Oscar winner Donna Dewey and Fort Collins resident and actor John Ashton, tried to convince the state legislature to help lure films back to Colorado.

Colorado Film Commission Executive Director Kevin Shand, with help from a bipartisan committee of legislators, helped plan a bill that would have given filmmakers a 25 percent transferable tax credit with a $25 million tax cap. But House Bill 08-1355 was killed in committee by a 6-5 vote on March 18.

An obviously stunned Shand said the group could try again next January, but the earliest the bill would take effect would be July 2009.

"I think it's going to be an uphill battle to keep it going," Shand said. "Basically the industry is in real trouble and we have nothing to attract the industry. How can you make a case to the people in the industry when you need to fund a film trade association that is designed to attract these films? We're going to continue to pursue it and see what comes up."

Three recent films where the script and the characters are supposedly set in Colorado give a glimpse of the state's predicament. The romantic comedy Catch & Release (2007) starred Jennifer Garner as a hip employee at Boulder's Celestial Seasonings tea, though it was filmed elsewhere, as was Resurrecting the Champ (2007), starring Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett. Nowhereland (to be released in 2009), starring Eddie Murphy, was set and partially filmed in the Mile High City. Murphy and crew shot a few of the scenes here last year. Nowhereland spent a mere 12 days in the Mile High City last year before finishing production in Canada. In less than two weeks, $12.3 million poured into Denver's economy with the hiring of 65 local crew members and 1,300 extras, who made $85 a day.

Ashton, known for his role in the Beverly Hills Cop films, was stunned the bill died in committee with little consideration.

"That's like the old saying, 'don't throw out the baby with the bathwater,'" said Ashton, who has lived in Fort Collins for 15 years. "The idea was good. We can fix whatever you think is wrong, but don't just kill it altogether."

It's too early to say Colorado's film commission plan is dead. Shand says he will "look at other options." Since 1997, Canada implemented incentives to lure the $60 billion entertainment industry. Financing for motion pictures was already in a volatile state, so equity investors justified Canada as a viable option to re-create a movie set in a U.S. city. Now filming anywhere in North America is no longer about what the script says, it's about what the government in any given city, state or country will give.

"The thing that bothers me (some of the Colorado committee members) asked why should the taxpayers give $25 million" to subsidize filmmakers, said Ashton, who testified before the House panel. "It's a tax incentive, not relief. It's not a subsidy, it's an incentive for films to spend money. A company would come in and spend $25 million (and get the tax incentive). But they poured $75 million into the economy. Douglas Bruce (a committee member who voted against the plan) and people like him better get a calculator."

Colorado'S PAST AND PRESENT
Woody Allen and Diane Keaton had audiences roaring in Sleeper (1973). City Slickers (1991) won Jack Palance an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Thelma & Louise (1991) won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. These are just a few examples of movies predominantly filmed in Colorado.

Shand helped convince Colorado community and bipartisan legislative leaders, including state representatives Tom Massey and Cheri Jahn and state senators Nancy Spence and Dan Gibbs, to introduce the bill. The proposal would result in $100 million in direct spending into the local economy, Shand said. In addition, the Film Commission would be renamed the Office of Film & Television in the hopes of providing incentives to more media outlets. It also will become a department in the state of Colorado's Office of Economic Development.

CANADA TAKES A SHARE
More than half of America's features are filmed outside the U.S., according to author Claire Wright, an expert on media trade laws. Blockbusters such as Independence Day, Brokeback Mountain and Chicago were all filmed in Canada. A favorable exchange rate and flexible qualifications for tax reimbursements give Canada a competitive edge. American production companies routinely shoot in Vancouver, Toronto and Quebec.

Wright says it's not too late for the U.S. to alter the trend. Some states are taking notice.

"Our media is something that the United States Trade Organization should hang onto," said Wright. States such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Louisiana and Colorado's neighbor, New Mexico, are offering or soon will offer film incentives to lure producers.

FILMS GO SOUTH
In 2005, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson developed the Media Industry Development Initiative, and implemented enticing film incentives including a 25 percent tax rebate. The result? Fourteen Academy Award nominations this year went to movies filmed in New Mexico, including best picture winner No Country for Old Men, 3:10 to Yuma, Transformers and The Valley of Elah. Producers bit hard in New Mexico, directly adding $1.5 billion to the local economy since 2002.

Lions Gate Entertainment is spending millions investing in studios and production centers in Rio Ranche, N.M. More than 90 television series have been shot in Albuquerque and Santa Fe the past five years. Richardson believes in organic growth to become the next "Hollywood," instead of just playing host. The government is now subsidizing a 50 percent wage rebate for on-the-job training for positions that support the film industry.

The average blockbuster spends between $40 million and $60 million. Generally, half is allocated to the talent, but the remaining $20 million and $30 million is spent wherever the shoot is located. The penthouse hotel rooms, the restaurant tabs, warehouse space, local camera crews, set builders, makeup artists, transportation – even the small stipend extras make – all comes from that cash. It's a win-win situation Richardson believed would be successful. We shall see if Colorado's plan is revived next year.