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MEMORANDUM
To: Board of Directors From: Amy Lillard Date: March 7, 2013 Re: Bi-Weekly Update
March has arrived and I’m heading to SxSW tomorrow. We have dinners planned and meetings arranged, and we’re looking forward to Austin!
Incentive Projects New Applications Pat Peach, Line Producer, and three Producers associated with the Hallmark TV pilots scouted Washington locations last week. We expect their application shortly, and when I receive their paperwork, I will update the Board.
We are still waiting for the complete application for the feature film Tokarev (Hannibal Pictures). Amy and Julie had a conference call with the Production Attorney and the Director of Development from Hannibal Pictures. We remain optimistic that their finances will be secured, however they do not have their financing complete at this time. Once the funds are secured, we will post the project for the full board’s review.
Amy spoke with Nick Morton and Rick Rosenthal from Whitewater Films, about the feature film, Seven Minutes, which they want to begin filming in May. We expect application paperwork shortly.
Current Projects Laggies Amy spoke with Anonymous Content about a new start date for Laggies. The delay is due to talent availability, and when I have more details I will update the Board.
Lucky Them Lucky Them wrapped principal photography on 2/28. Staff invited Tacoma legislators to visit the set, but they all declined due to the current legislative session.
Past Projects Safety Not Guaranteed The 28th Independent Spirit Awards named Safety Not Guaranteed, the year's Best First Screenplay. This film was shot in Washington in 2011, and has received multiple awards over the last year, including the ALMA Award for Favorite Movie Actress, the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Overlooked Film of the Year, The Sundance Film Festival award for Waldo Salt Screenwriting, and also received multiple nominations for other awards.
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______21 and Over WF staff, Board Members and friends of WF, including our contributors were invited to attend the cast and crew screening of 21 and Over held on February 28. It was a happy crowd in a nearly full theatre. Pat Peach spoke about the producers’ gratitude to WF for making it possible to make this film in Washington. Opening weekend box office was $8,754,168, coming in 3rd behind Jack the Giant Slayer and Identity Thief.
Eden Eden is booked at three theatres, screening in New York, LA, and Seattle in March and April. For Seattle: SIFF Cinema Uptown April 3rd - April 9th Website: http://www.siff.net/cinema/index.aspx
Additional promotional materials for Eden include a new trailer on iTunes http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/eden/ and a new website just launched http://www.edenthefilm.com/index.html
Eden VOD launch is April 20, DVD will be available on June 11.
Reviews Julie is currently reviewing American Family Insurance (Production / Post Production). We expect to receive Green Mountain Coffee (Production / Post Production) shortly, and we have approved extensions for Different Drummers (Production) and Middleton (Post Production).
Communications Panel Discussion – Women in Webseries, March 3, Emerald City ComicCon Amy joined a panel presented by and about women on both sides of the camera, covering their experiences and thoughts on the processes of planning, producing, and promoting web series; discuss the shape of this emerging industry, and show brief teasers of their current projects. Amy also toured the ComicCon convention as guest of Producer Tony Becerra, and was introduced to many Washington based content creators and entrepreneurs who contribute to the creative economy.
Presentation 253 Tacoma Amy and Krys traveled to Tacoma where Amy spoke to a new film collective group on 2/26. They were also given a tour of a new sound stage.
Promotion Krys Karns spoke to students a Seattle Central Community College about the services of the film office. Krys also attended Renton’s Film Frenzy event and was on hand to network and promote WF’s programs.
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______Newsletter Staff published the February Newsletter on Tuesday, February 26. http://conta.cc/XYPNPK
Location Newsletter The March location newsletter will be published on March 12 and will feature the San Juan Islands. The April newsletter will feature Ocean Shores.
Take 2 Blog The Blog is busy promoting WF business this month. Staff contributed two blog posts this week titled, “Help Us Help You (2012 Jobs Survey)”, “Innovation Lab Deadline Extension”, and “Film is Brewing in Tacoma”. http://blog.washingtonfilmworks.org
Programming Innovation Lab: Film Cycle Staff has completed one-on-one meetings with each of the five filmmakers who received funding assistance. We have received signed production agreements from all filmmakers except Destiny Gowdy / Sassy Friends. Tony Fulgham and his Box Walk team are currently in production in Cle Elum, and will wrap filming at the end of this week. We have connected Ken White, Sean Scott, and Gevin Booth with producing mentors who are helping them with budgeting and fundraising issues.
Innovation Lab: Innovation Cycle The deadline for submissions for the Innovation Cycle has been extended to Friday, March 8. We have received eight (8) applications and are expecting upwards of a dozen more. We will present a final number after the application window closes. Additionally, we have confirmed Kraig Baker, attorney from Davis Wright Tremaine, Sue Corcoran, filmmaker, and Matt Vancil, content creator, for our jury. We expect to confirm our fourth juror very soon.
Save these dates! Our Finalists will pitch to the Jury and interested Board Members on Friday, May 10, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, followed by a cocktail party with the Finalists, Board Members and Staff. The Jury will present their recommendations to the Board on Saturday, May 11, 10:00am - Noon. Both of these sessions will take place in the conference room on the 6th floor of our building.
Fly Filmmaking Challenge The 2013 Fly Filmmaking Program Challenge continues … and continues to take an exorbitant amount of time! Scripts are written and casting is underway for all teams. Our first team of filmmakers is scheduled to begin filming on March 25.
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______Film Office Division Locations Krys Karns is busy organizing and uploading photographs of Bremerton into Reel Scout. She has connected with a very proactive Bremerton resident who is helping us to identify potential filming locations. Krys is also aggregating data for the annual report. Krys and Amy will travel to Walla Walla on April 4/5, where they are scheduled to conduct some location scouting, and meet with elected officials and members of the creative community.
Administrative - Office SxSW In addition to hosting Filmmaker Dinners, cocktail events and additional meetings, we will be supporting Director Dayna Hanson and her team, for the feature film Improvement Club, that will premier in the competition, as well as Producer Steve Schardt, who will be promoting a short film that he produced.
Budgeting Amy and Julie are scheduling a meeting with Don Jensen to discuss budgeting the fiscal year 2013/14. We expect to present the budget at the June Board of Directors meeting.
Annual Jobs Survey We launched our first-ever Annual Job Survey! To date, we have 268 responses. We expect to hold the response window open until March 15, at which point we will begin analyzing the data. We are pleased with the response so far.
Lance Rosen Amy has contacted Lance Rosen about an inquiry we received from Robert Mair of Studio Trucks.
Contacts Database As part of Cris Walters’ work plan, she will be rebuilding our contacts database so that it is adaptable and works more efficiently. She has completed phase one and merged data from the previous ‘Hate-a-base’ into a new system.
Administrative – Board of Directors Board Accountability Survey Amy has contacted facilitator Steve Boyd who is excited about the possibility of working with us to develop a Board Accountability Survey and to help us implement what we learn. As disclosed previously, he is unavailable until mid-March, but we will re-connect then to discuss moving forward.
Board Committee Meetings The Advocacy Committee meeting scheduled for 3/6 was cancelled due to a lack of agenda items. Amy and Don spoke with Cody Arledge about the Governor’s intention to eliminate tax preferences that meet specific criteria. Staff is working on aggregating
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______jobs data that will position WF and the Incentive Program in a positive light. When the data is available, we will update you.
The Community Committee met on Wednesday, January 23. Minutes are being drafted and will be circulated once the committee chair approves them.
The Board of Directors met on Wednesday, February 20. Minutes are being drafted and will be circulated once the Board chair approves them.
*Save the Dates: Innovation Cycle: pitches to Jury and Board 5/10, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Cocktail Party for Finalists, 5/10, 6:00 – 8:00 pm Jury recommendations to the Board, 5/11, 10:00 am - noon Announcement tbd
April Board of Directors Meeting – at MOHAI, 4/17. Time: tbd
*** Happy Birthday to Board Members Norma Straw and Craig Schafer. ***
Media The following articles may be of interest to you, the links are provided for you below.
Seattle Times: Alki, Capitol Hill, Belltown to star in new feature film A feature film starring Toni Collette and Thomas Haden Church is being shot in several Seattle neighborhoods. Director Megan Griffiths (“The Off Hours”) is at the helm. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2020439302_luckythemxml.html
Hollywood Reporter: Nielsen expanding definition of TV viewing http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nielsen-agrees-expand-definition-tv-422795
Move Maker's Top Cities to Be a Moviemaker in....we came in at #3. http://www.moviemaker.com/news/top-10-cities-moviemaker-2013/
-- I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
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