Hello, everybody.
Thank you so much for coming, very much.
And it's showtime, finally, right?
Indeed.
So before I forget my lines, I first have to thank our host, Justin Pritchett, general manager, and also David McRae, owner of Arc Lodge Cinemas.
What a gorgeous space.
You know, you should walk around a little bit before you leave here.
It's a kind of a hassle to do this.
This isn't their business.
So I hope that if this is your first time, that you will come back again to see a movie here.
So thank you very much.
All right, so last year as a candidate, I promised that if I were elected, the first thing that I would do is start a film commission.
And it feels really good to finally be delivering on that promise.
Really good.
So you know over the last few months since getting elected by the way I am Sarah Nelson and I am the Seattle's newest citywide council member.
If you don't know me I sometimes assume that.
But in any case working on this since taking office in January A question that keeps coming up is, why a film commission?
Don't we have a lot going on?
Well, I probably don't have to tell this room why this is so important, but to answer that question, I give three reasons.
Number one, I am chair of the Economic Development Committee.
And film is a driver of economic growth, pure and simple.
I mean, it's the most commercially viable sector of the creative economy.
And it hires the greatest number of people in the widest array of professions and creative disciplines.
And so I like to show this infographic.
that my friend James gave me.
He's in the audience, hi James.
And basically this is the anatomy of a film production and all these boxes here represent about 200 jobs.
200 jobs in one production.
And so that's what we're talking about here.
We're talking about jobs and opportunity and I feel as a policy maker that Seattle really needs at this time when creatives are getting priced out of town Seattle needs industry experts to tell us what to do to retain those jobs and attract more film, because that's what's going to create opportunity for everyone.
And these are good living wage jobs.
Many of them, if not most of them, unionize.
And so that is why labor is such a fierce supporter of this endeavor.
So I want to thank.
Melissa and I forget your name.
But anyway, so good jobs.
And so that's what we're doing here today.
And I want to be clear that when I say film, I mean television and video.
And in this town, you can't separate video from music.
Now, we invited Macklemore here to say so himself, but he couldn't make it.
But he did send a statement.
So let me read the statement.
He says, Seattle is my home and I love making art here.
I've filmed so many music videos with exceptional crew and beautiful locations.
I'm excited to support Council Member Sarah Nelson's bill creating a Seattle Film Commission.
Now here's the good part.
This legislation will help pave the way for new and emerging artists to film their own music videos, documentaries, films, and TV shows.
It's time to give more support to creatives.
All right.
So again, that's my first reason.
Now, of course, I didn't think of this myself.
This is not my idea.
The film community has been calling for years on the city to do more to support Seattle's film industry and also advance equity within it.
And so what did we do?
Well, we created a task force.
And that's often where good ideas go to die, but not this time.
Not this time.
So are there any, who here in the audience was a member of the task force?
Raise your hand, please.
Wow, all right, good.
So we've got several in the house and two of the members will talk today about why a film commission was their top priority.
So I'm gonna let them say it in their own words and just let you know that it's my job to listen to my constituents and act on their behalf.
And so in short, the second reason is this is what they tell me to do.
And so that's reason number two.
All right, so, and then finally, finally, the time is now.
The time is now, right?
I mean, come on.
Okay, so.
Why is the time now?
Well, first of all, we've got $15 million of state film incentives, thanks largely to the work of Amy Lillard in the audience with Seattle Filmworks.
I mean, not Seattle Filmworks, but Washington Filmworks.
That's big.
That's up from 3.5.
And we've got King County, who's about to open Harbor Island Studios.
The first time.
Yeah.
The first time since 1996 that Seattle's had a cutting edge sound studio, and we have to thank largely Kate Becker Powerhouse that she is for that.
All right.
And then finally, we've got a new mayor and director of economic development.
And yeah.
And we're in this together.
And for the first time in years, I think, we've got a united front in the city.
And we have got to align our efforts, the city of Seattle, with what is going on at the state and the county so that we can build on this momentum, all right?
So let me just, I have a story that I want to tell you to drive this point home.
A couple weeks ago was the ninth annual film, Seattle Film Summit, and we have founder and organizer Ben Andrews in the audience.
Thank you.
And I was invited to be a keynote speaker and talk about the film commission, and that is where I met Tom Skerritt, by the way.
Anyway, so, After that panel, a woman came up to me with great intention, and she seemed like she was driven to tell me something really important.
And she is Montana's film office commissioner, all right?
Yeah, and what she said was, Seattle has to have a film commission to be taken seriously by producers who are looking for a location.
Why?
Because they want to see that government's got skin in the game.
They really do.
And this is a signal that local government is going to be supportive of the whole effort.
And so that was a new angle for me.
And that really, from the outside of the city, and mind you, Montana knows how to promote itself.
In two years, from July 2020 to June 2022, 195 productions.
in Montana.
All right, so I'm taking it from them that this is the right thing to do.
The stars are aligning and we are all here to take the next step and make Seattle the best filmmaking city of the country.
If not, if not the world, all right?
Okay, so we've got a great lineup today and I'll tell you I resisted saying cast because I've been having a lot of fun with these film puns, whatever.
Anyway, we've got a great lineup.
I'll just say quickly what we're doing here today.
We will have award-winning actor, writer, producer, director, Tom Skerritt, talk about what he sees for the future of film in Seattle.
Tom loves Seattle.
He lives in Seattle, and he's seen a lot, and he knows where we can go.
We'll also have two members of the film task force, Anthony Taggart and Suzanne LaSalle, and they both have bios a mile long, and they're veterans, and they've been in the trenches for years.
They'll talk about how equity was central to the recommendations that they put out.
And Susan will also talk about how hard it is to make film in Seattle and what could change with a film commission.
And then finally, we'll have Mark McIntyre, who is Director of Office of Economic Development.
He'll basically talk, I think, about how a film commission is reflective of and will further the department's overall mission, all right?
So while I have, so that's what we're going to do, and while I still have the stage, I want to take this opportunity and have everybody hear me thank my Chief of Staff, Jeremy Moen.
Yeah.
Because when you, thank you, Jeremy.
On day two, when we were dividing up duties and topics, and I said, We're going to do a film commission.
We want to focus on film.
And he said, that's mine.
And so he actually knows a lot about film.
And so thank you very much for all the work that you've done.
And I also want to thank Taman, our office's chief problem solver.
So he's been holding down the fort while all of this has been going on.
So thank you very much.
We'll answer questions at the end.
And now I invite Tom Skerritt.
First of all, I want to thank Amy Lillard and Kate Beck.
These two ladies are finally getting what they need.
Funding and support and the idea of having incoming flow of us, not out coming in from other places.
That's not going to happen anymore.
We've got to get that straight.
We are the new film industry, but it's not film anymore, it's video.
We have to lose the word video, or film.
It took a long time for me to get around to 30 years of being in it, and now we have our own video channel to begin with.
Julie Tokashiki, my wife, who runs this, runs my life in every way.
And it's all favorable.
I have to learn new things and get rid of the old things, old thoughts, old things that didn't work with me because I've had an extraordinary experience in my life and the people that taught me how to do this stuff, which are all filmmakers, not actors.
I never knew I was going to be an actor.
I wanted to be a writer.
And here we are.
talking about the future of film or video business, which we have to put in our heads.
That's a consciousness.
And we have to also keep in mind, money drives all of this.
There's no mention yet of the funds we need to have, apart from incentive, which is something that's a reward for doing the work on a screenplay, because that's the other thing.
If we don't put the money up, if we don't do the writing and the script, we don't have an industry.
And I want to point that out to you.
And I know I only have two or three minutes to say a half an hour of my going on about the beauty of this place, the enthusiasm of this place.
It's now coming together.
Thank you for that.
And thank you very much, my darling who led me here.
Yeah, I won't go on because it'll be far too long.
So thank you very much, Sarah.
Thank you for being here.
Bless you.
Anthony.
I'll move this so you don't have to look at my script.
Oh, in fact, I should probably put a little script myself.
Hello, everybody.
I'm Anthony Tackett, a local filmmaker for over 20 years.
I do a lot of things in the community and in the film industry.
I'm vice president of the board at Langston.
I served as co-chair of the film task force, which ignited this excitement, which is what I'm excited about.
I'm one of the filmmakers who had trouble in the industry, couldn't really find and navigate it.
And there are certain people that I love for bringing me in and giving me opportunities.
And a lot of those folks represented a former film commission.
And when it was gone, there was this big hole in my heart, mostly because a lot of people who follow my footsteps wanna know what to do and where to go, and I couldn't really give them an answer.
And so I formed a group called the Seattle Filmmakers of the African Diaspora, and where we focused on ourselves and what we could do, but a lot of what we were discussing were things that the city needs to help us with, right?
Help us with support, real estate, funding, a lot of things.
And those things were presented at the table of the film task force.
And according to Sarah, a lot of those things were held to the core of what will be the film commission.
And that is exciting, because it does give me hope for a new generation.
I'm teaching high school at Allen T. Tsukuyama High School, shout out.
And I want to see these students finish school and walk into an atmosphere that's welcoming, that's inviting, that's helpful, that can point them to resources, and bring in jobs, right?
We have to hustle for jobs without a commission, and that's hard, it's tiresome, it wears people out.
Some people have left the city and have threatened to leave the city if it doesn't change.
So I think this is a great opportunity for Seattle to step up and support these brilliant minds.
Yeah, that's really what I have to say.
I think when it comes to the future, what this can bring, I think Susan LaSalle is a great, presenter of that.
Thank you all.
Thank you, Anthony.
It has been such a wonderful ride to be a part of this film task force and to see this day finally here.
I'm looking at some of you.
We all spent many, many COVID hours together, so it's fun to see everybody in person.
Hello, my name is Susan LaSalle, and I've been living and working in the city of Seattle both as a creative and commercial producer, as well as a Director's Guild of America Unit Production Manager for over 25 years.
It's been my great pleasure to work with the talented crews and creative people that are attracted to this region and this city.
Thanks to corporations like Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, Amazon, Nintendo, and T-Mobile, many like myself who choose to live and work here in the film industry have been able to remain here.
In the now distant past, and I'm going to go into a little bit of history just to put some context to what's happening today.
Before government incentive programs, Seattle was often chosen as a location for big budget Hollywood movies and a few extremely successful television shows such as Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure.
The industry being a craft, these movies and TV shows created a highly skilled crew base that have gone on to train the next generation of excellent crew that Seattle is known for.
It has also allowed for a highly creative local film industry to evolve over time with support from organizations such as the Northwest Film Forum, the Film School, thank you Tom, Women in Film and the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, nurturing those creative voices that represent the diversity of the people living and working here in the city of Seattle.
Now, more than ever, there is even more opportunity for us to explore and expand our diverse and creative community through film.
But to do this, we will need to ensure that all voices are represented and heard.
So, on that note, in February 2020, the mayor's office invited 25 freelance crew, union representatives, non-profit film organizations, and festival representatives, as well as film educators, actors, small business owners, and employers to join together as a group to form the Seattle Film Task Force.
For those on the task force, this request came at an unprecedented time in the history of our city, and for that matter, the world.
Diligently working to ensure that diverse voices were represented and heard, we met regularly on Zoom during the pandemic and reached out to our community to ensure that we had adequate representation and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Always front and center for this task force of industry experts was to advance equity in the creative economy and grow the local film industry.
To that end, we determined that a permanent film commission was what was needed to carry on and complete the work of this task force.
It then became our task, with the leadership of Chris Swenson, who at the time was the acting director of the Office of Film and Music, to craft a document that clearly outlined the formation of a film commission.
A subcommittee was formed and a document was crafted and then revised by the entire task force.
This document, in turn, was submitted to the city as the blueprint for a City of Seattle Film Commission.
In this document, we emphasize that Seattle's film industry is not just about film jobs.
It's about the hundreds of small businesses and vendors which support film production.
As a producer and production manager, the spend is often a minimum of $60,000 per day representing employment and purchases within the city for a single production.
Not only will the Film Commission Advisory be centered in equitable support and growth of our local film industry, small businesses, and workers, it should always be the first entry point for any production that wishes to film here in the city.
It is often the first call that a producer or production manager will make to the city, and I know from first-hand experience it is that phone call that gives a feeling as to whether or not a production will be welcome or even feasible in this city.
As the county invests in Harbor Island Studios and the state ramps up its $15 million state film incentive for 2023, the City of Seattle Film Commission's input in development of the city's infrastructure to support film will ensure we're ready to take on new and different work that will be attracted by our state film incentive increase.
In conclusion, I'd like to add a short message from a fellow Film Task Force member, Mayor's Award winner, and former director of the Northwest Film Forum, Vivian Hua.
As the Seattle film industry gains new momentum, pipelines and support continue to be much needed for diverse communities, which have been historically underrepresented in film.
And we shouldn't fall victim to scarcity mentality, which might dictate that there isn't enough space for all communities to tell their stories.
There is enough space.
Thank you.
This is the task force report, and I've read it over and over again, so thank you.
We can get it to you.
I would ask, is it possible for the other task force members to come up and just be photographed with the report?
Is that awkward?
I don't know.
Okay, great, yeah, thank you.
Ditto Susan and then I just walk off Hi everybody, my name is Markin McIntyre.
I'm the director for the Office of Economic Development of the City of Seattle I want to start by we've made some thank yous, but I want to recognize Chris Swenson Susan mentioned in there Chris has been doing incredible work on behalf of the film industry at the City of Seattle for a long time, and at least as far as OED is concerned, he's been carrying water on this film commission idea for a long, long time.
So thank you very much, Chris.
At the Office of Economic Development, we're all about building an inclusive economy here in Seattle.
and where everyone can participate in and benefit from Seattle's prosperity.
What that means is we're all about quality jobs, supporting local businesses, trying to advance equity, and trying to figure out where we go next coming out of this pandemic because there's opportunity even as there's still pain out there.
And this film commission is a great example of how the city can bring people together, listen to our industry, listen to our filmmakers, listen to our supporters to design programs and policies that are both going to support the film industry but also support our residents.
So I'm really excited about this.
A couple speakers have mentioned the fact that the state's got the new film incentive and the county's bringing online the Harbor Island Studios.
And if you know me, you know I'm about alignment, because alignment leads to teamwork, teamwork leads to wins, and wins lead to more wins.
So I'm really excited that as we have the city, the county, and the state all working together, aligning our priorities, aligning our funding, aligning our strategies, we're going to be able to do more and better for the local film industry, but for the creative economy at large.
So this is an exciting moment this film commissions a great first step and I think we should celebrate more because celebration leads to more celebration and that leads to more wins as well.
So thanks everybody for coming and I'll leave it up to who's Leave it up to councilmember Nelson to wrap it up The vote is this afternoon, so we're almost there so council meets this afternoon and Hopefully it'll be a unanimous vote.
Anyway, thank you very much.
I think that there was a request for a photo with the, we'll open it up for questions after the photo, and then we'll just, you know, go home and have some popcorn or something like that.
But anyway, Susan, where are you?
Yeah, why don't you?
These are the film task force.
And Chris for sure.
So if you know who you are, if you're part of the report or part of the film task force, please join them through this picture and then we'll take questions.
There we go.
Who's taking the photo and where do we need to stand?
Okay.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
Anyone else want to take a picture?
Anyone want to look in that direction?
Look over there.
Oh, hi Lisa.
Are there any questions?
And then I'll just have somebody else answer.
Yeah.
Is this so far the Seattle Film Commission for Seattle specifically?
Or do you see this also going to like, I'm thinking Washington State Film Commission?
No, it's for Seattle because the county already has advisors, the state has film works, and so we're last to the party.
Yeah.
Speak to the number of projects the City of the State is missing out on before these upcoming incentives kick in, and what are other ways we hope to compete with other markets with these large film industries in Vancouver, in L.A., in New Mexico?
Well, it's hard to know what's not happening, but I'll give you one example that I know of.
Boys in the Boat, right?
I mean, that's about U-Dub's rowing team, and it's not going to be filmed here.
Kalumi is the director, and so we have to stop having that.
I actually have another laminate.
that I want to show you.
And this is a list of films set in Seattle but filmed elsewhere.
I moved here when Singles came out, 1990. But this is a lot of business that we missed out on.
And so the Film Commission is going to be able to advise, like I said, on best practices from other cities because they've been places and we haven't.
I was going to say bureaucrats.
The policymakers need some help from the people that know what they're doing, all right?
And they also have their own professional networks, everything from kind of formal conferences to just drinks, you know.
I mean, they talk and that helps promote That house promotes Seattle.
And it's really a lot of connections because otherwise how would I get a statement from Macklemore?
That was from a contact that is part of the film commission, I mean the music commission world.
So basically, What you're asking is, what will this do?
We'll be able to bring more production here.
And we've already got the talent, the passion, and it's now time to put ourselves on the mat.
I mean, again, as we need something to point to to say, we're here, we're serious.
What are some main draws to convince these projects to come here?
Is it the landscape?
What makes Seattle, Washington a great place to film?
Can we move him more in front of the microphone, too?
Sure.
Thank you.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Does anybody else, who's here that can answer that question?
I mean, obviously we've got the landscape, we've got trained, we've got so much trained people.
The labor is here, they are experienced.
Yeah.
And they've been, so, come on.
Throw me a lifeline here.
I mean, I feel like I am not the person that should be answering this question because I don't, I, yeah.
And Tom, are you raising your hand back there?
What?
how we phrase all of this, because we really are not an industry until we have the funding to create our own project.
So it's the funding and it's distribution.
Without those, we don't have much to talk about.
Right.
And let me mention distribution, because this chart does not have, that flowchart does not have distribution on it.
But we've got, we've got Tamara of SIF and we've got Tom and Julie who have a digital platform called Evergreen.
So part of what we're talking about is getting out, getting the art out, getting the stories of Washington out, of Seattle out.
And so that is also something that needs to happen and that will be represented on this 11 member commission as well.
We've got, yeah, a couple other folks
My name is Amy Lillard.
I'm the Executive Director of Washington Filmworks, which runs that incentive program that everyone keeps talking about, which we're thrilled to have an increase to $15 million a year.
For some context, under the former program at 3.5, we were able to financially support about three to four projects a year.
To give you an idea of what $15 million does, just for fun, it will allow us to support three episodic series, four sizable feature films, and three projects from emerging Washington State filmmakers.
So it's a game changer.
And you asked why Washington.
Washington is a place where you can make a film from start to finish.
You don't have to import talent.
You don't have to import crew.
You certainly don't need to import locations, because we have it all here.
So that's one of the reasons you should film in Washington.
Yeah, go ahead.
I feel like in the 90s Seattle was known for being just this creative hub musically with film, just so much talent.
Obviously that talent hasn't gone away, but it is nowhere on the map of what it was in the 90s.
Do you think this will get it there?
Yes.
Yeah, I'll just go ahead and say yes.
I mean, you're absolutely right.
Seattle has always been a center of arts and culture.
But as I said, creatives are getting priced out of town.
And we used to be on the cutting edge of film production.
But we lost our edge because other cities are out-competing us, other cities and states, because they have the money.
We've got the raw material, but like I said, like the commissioner of Montana's film office said, we have got to show the people who are choosing where they're going to go that we're serious, that local government is serious, and I'm meaning city of Seattle.
We've already got the state.
and the county, and here we have to say yes.
And so what I always say is, I start with yes, and then I have people help me figure out the how, and that is what a film commission will do.