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ARIZONA FILM INSIDER - JANUARY 2025

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ARIZONA PRODUCTION UPDATE

2024 Arizona Motion Picture Production Program Annual Report

According to the report by the Arizona Commerce Authority, the program has made significant strides in fostering the state’s film industry, issuing $264,635 in tax credits that supported $1.66 million in production costs and generated an estimated $14.38 million in economic impact. Despite industry-wide challenges, the program facilitated 121 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, setting the stage for future growth and expanding Arizona's role in film and digital media production. Read the full report here.


Goldwater Institute Sues Over Film Incentive Program

On January 15th, the Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit against the State citing the Motion Picture Production Program is not Constitutional. This is fairly standard procedure from the Goldwater Institute here in Arizona as relates to tax policy and incentive programs. To date, we are not aware of any successful challenges, along these lines, to these sorts of state programs. That being said, we will monitor this legal challenge closely and keep our readers informed on any further developments.


INSIDE THE LEGISLATURE

Governor Hobbs Releases Her FY26 Budget Recommendations

Today, Governor Hobbs outlined her budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2026, initiating the first step of negotiation between the Executive and the State Legislature as to what Arizona’s final budget will be. This year finds us in a better position than last year when $1.6B ultimately ended up cut. Projections anticipate FY26 with approximately $560M in surplus. While the Governor’s budget didn’t see any major investments in the Arts, we are pleased given last year’s stark cuts to see the funding remain in the Arts Trust Fund. The one-time appropriation of $2M was removed, but the baseline remains steady at $4.5M.


INSIDE FILM TUCSON

Edwin Lee Gibson, the actor who plays Ebraheim on the hit TV series THE BEAR recently directed a short film in Tucson which he also wrote and starred in. Film Tucson was proud to assist him and his staff with everything they needed--from permits to local crew to tracking down vintage cars. Details on the project are being kept under wraps for now.


Right before the holidays, we brought in a group of location professionals (and one producer) from Los Angeles to see various filming sights southern AZ has to offer. (Over the last 12 months, we've brought in 17 of these folks.) This time around, we took Joe Rusin, Alex Dominguez, Scott Trimble, John Paul Lorello, Erik Keeling-Torrez, and Kim Crabb all over our region. We are flying in 8 more location scouts in just a few weeks.


Created three years ago by local film professionals John Marrs and Travis Mills, the Tombstone Film Festival showcases a wide array of Western features, short films, panels, and parties, all taking place in America's most iconic Western town: Tombstone, Arizona. Running from January 23rd to the 26th, this year's event gives us a chance to market directly to indie filmmakers seeing the wide open spaces, rugged terrain, and authentic western locales which this genre needs.


INSIDE PHOENIX FILM OFFICE

Starting in January, the Greater Phoenix region sees a large increase in commercial and still photo requests as corporations are ready to launch their spring and summer product lines. Needing to get the footage “in the can”, they seek warmer weather climates with blue skies thus making Phoenix a natural choice. Filming a commercial or still shoot for patio furniture with snow on the ground and actors with goose bumps isn’t ideal!


Aside from these projects, we are also inundated with Major League Baseball! All the sponsors are getting their ads ready for the season and needing the players who just so happen to be in Phoenix during this time. Between Spring Training and other forms of advertising coming to Phoenix due to the climate, we tend to get a little thin with available crew (meaning everyone is working which is great!). So if you are looking to get into the business, make sure to list yourself with the Arizona Production Association (non-profit membership organization) or the Arizona Production Directory (State Film Office).


To give perspective, between January and April of 2024 the Phoenix Film Office issued a total of 55 permits which amounted to 40% of all the total permits issued last year. When looking at inquiries during this time, the Phoenix Film Office received 93 unique applications which, again, accounted for 40% of all inquiries for the year (not all inquiries developed into a Phoenix Film and Digital Media Permit for various reasons).

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