Canada cited as example for TV production

Phil Levine

Monday, June 5, 2000 | 11:07 a.m.

One of the highlights from this year's Academy Awards presentation was the musical number "Blame Canada."

That same theme dominated much of the discussion last week at the 2000 Plug-In gathering of film industry leaders held at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. The day-long event was sponsored by the Entertainment Development Corporation of Las Vegas.

America's northern neighbor assumed center stage time and again during the discussion by film industry experts on ways of attracting more television and film production to Las Vegas.

The EDC is a non-profit group promoting Las Vegas to Hollywood; Thursday's gathering was the second annual meeting sponsored by the organization.

For much of the morning seminar -- dubbed Bringing Television to Las Vegas -- panelists repeatedly referred to the successful methods used by the Canadian government to lure American film production.

"They (Canadians) use a very clever government policy that understands the transportability of entertainment," said Len Hill, president of independent production company Leonard Hill Films.

"Most of the growth in Canada's film community has occurred in the last three years. If you are truly interested in attracting production to Las Vegas and Nevada, people (here) need to recognize the Canadian strategy and adapt it as your own."

That "strategy" was defined as being a combination of generous tax breaks and successful marketing, along with the cost benefits derived from a weak Canadian dollar.

Panelists spoke in unison on the lessons Las Vegas should learn from Canada if it hopes to attain its share of the lucrative film production industry.

"We would much rather film at Mount Charleston than in Vancouver, if that's possible," said Nora Reynolds, vice-president of production for NBC Studios.

"But we need to address the incentives to do so. If a (film's) story is about Las Vegas, we will likely come here. But we also need community support, and the support of the hotels, offices and such. We also need to have a streamlined permitting process."

Aaron Sorkin, creator and executive producer of NBC's The West Wing, said Las Vegas has many positive factors working in its favor as a production site.

But, he cautioned, there are also "any number of distractions here" that could prove problematic.

"If we tried shooting our show here, I wouldn't get a single script done," he said with a smile.

Sorkin added that while Las Vegas' Strip is not easily duplicated, indoor production shots "can be done anywhere;" that's another reason why local civic and business leaders must be willing to provide an array of incentives to attract more production, he said.

During his keynote address, MGM Television President Hank Cohen was succinct in offering his advice to those seeking to attract more film production to Las Vegas.

"Make it easy for us," he said.

"We are a relatively small community, but you need to get to know us and make us more aware of you. And you should also recognize that show business is as much a business as it is a show.

"It's a natural, and logical, progression for Las Vegas to attract more film, but you must know that the competition for (production dollars) is fierce."

Cohen said MGM Television filmed about 600 hours of television in Canada over the last several years.

"If Las Vegas had attracted even half of that amount (of production), I can tell you we would be talking about a very substantial amount of money," he said.

"What Vancouver and Toronto have accomplished (in attracting film) is really a role model for Las Vegas."

The current efforts of the EDC and others interested in attracting more production to Las Vegas is well-timed, said Cohen.

"Your timing is really impeccable," he said. "The industry is growing and changing rapidly, and new avenues of communication are opening up with the expansion of digital channels and the Internet."

Still, Las Vegas must offer producers more than the Strip; local business and government must work together to build the necessary film infrastructure if the city ever hopes to reach its full potential, Cohen said.

"(With the Las Vegas Strip) you have built your field of dreams, now you need to build the production facilities to make those dreams come true."