Kung Fu Phoenix? Exactly midway through the state’s motion picture tax incentives program, the Valley is still far from producing its own A-list movie studio. To anxious investors, even a Kung Fu grindhouse lot is starting to sound good BY JIMMY MAGAHERN Published by: Phoenix Magazine, June 2008

The rumor itself practically screams out to be made into a quirky indie film. Aging villain from a million Kung Fu flicks – 70 years old but still flexing pecs that could crush Jack LaLanne – retires to West Phoenix and decides to build his own movie studio. Investors, mostly aggressive Arizona businessmen with a shared affinity for Bruce Lee action flicks, opt in early, attracted by the state’s generous tax incentives for movie-related enterprises. Before long, Peoria becomes the new Kung Fu capital, drawing all the veteran Asian cinema stars to Sun City and cranking out a whole new form of Western wushu. Enter the Phoenix!

Unfortunately, say those in the local film community, the tip claiming Bruce Lee nemesis Bolo Yeung might be scouting for investors to help him build a West Phoenix film studio sounds, typically, more B-movie fantasy than fact.

“We hear that kind of chatter all the time,” says Phil Bradstock, program manager for the Phoenix Film Office, “about people who are going to build sound stages and ‘bring Hollywood to Phoenix.’ In a way, it’s like how people get ideas for movies. Everybody talks about their great ideas, but not too many actually get made. Because it takes a lot to turn the idea into an actual product.”

Big dreamers eager to make a splash in the fantasy industry face a harsh reality this month, as the state’s Motion Picture Production Tax Incentives Program, initiated in January, 2006 to give five years of generous tax breaks to any Arizona-based movie-making enterprise, reaches its half-way mark.

The program, which offers tax credits of up to 30% of a company’s investment here and state tax exemptions on everything from construction and equipment to catered food and hotel expenses, has already boosted the Valley’s movie-biz economy. In the first year of the program alone, the state received 33 applications from 16 production companies, and several of the resulting products, including the blockbuster The Kingdom, the short-lived CW television series Hidden Palms and the Oscar-nominated film The Savages, have boosted the Valley’s long sought-after image as Hollywood’s cheaper suburb.

But the other part of the program, which grants big tax credits to anyone constructing a physical infrastructure within the state (such as a movie studio or sound stage), has been under-utilized – and the clock is ticking on that kind of undertaking.

“The incentives sunset on December 31, 2010,” says Bradstock. “That means if you’re starting to dig right now, by the time you’re ready to operate, you’ll only have about a year and a half to make back your money. And I haven’t seen any groundbreaking ceremonies yet.”

Not that some interesting people aren’t trying. Gay Gilbert, vice president of the Arizona Film and Media Coalition, the lobbying group that pushed for the incentives, says she’s heard of at least seven would-be studio moguls who’ve applied for the tax break.

But building a studio is a major investment – something Gilbert herself can attest to. The long-time Scottsdale casting director once planned on building her own world-class studio east of Apache Junction, but fell short of funding – even after accumulating $75 million in escrow.

“Everyone wants to be the first to bring a major studio here,” she says. “But that can take a lot of money.” Gilbert warns potential investors not to be wooed by aging character actors and second-assistant-director-types angling to build their own beautiful downtown Burbanks in the desert.

“I think the incentives are making people more anxious as we approach the sunset on the program,” she says. “And some people are talking bigger than they should be.”

The coalition is lobbying to get the program extended, and Harry Tate, director of the Arizona Film Office, feels there’s enough legislative support to keep the momentum going. “Just about every law starts with a sunset clause,” he shrugs.

But Denton Hanna, a Mesa photographer and film location director who scouted out the definitive Sun City shots that open “The Savages,” worries the Valley may lose an even greater asset to filmmakers before the tax breaks run out: its photogenic face.

“There’s a lot of good looks in Phoenix,” says Hanna, who says he still likes cruising the stretch of east Main Street in Mesa where Used Cars was filmed and visiting the little shop near Apache Junction that appeared in Raising Arizona. “But it’s quickly becoming more homogenous.

“I’d hate to see the Valley lose its character,” Hanna adds. “After all, that’s really what makes people want to film here.”