|
State approves two loans for two movie productions of Robin Williams and Mel Gibson
26 October 2005 2:48 PM
The New Mexico State Investment Council approved Tuesday more than $27 million in guaranteed loans for two new movie productions.
The two films are Funny Farm and Seraphim Falls and both have star-packed casts.
The state will loan $12.42 million over three and a quarter years to the producers of Funny Farm, which is set to star Robin Williams, Annette Bening, Kathy Bates and Malcolm McDowell. It is a comedy-drama about a drug rehabilitation facility and the interactions of random people brought together by a common thread. It is scheduled to start shooting after Thanksgiving and will be filmed in either Santa Fe or Galisteo.
Seraphim Falls' producer, Mel Gibson's Icon Productions, will receive a $15 million loan over a two-year period. That film is set to star Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson. It is about a Civil War colonel hunting down a man with whom he wants to settle a grudge. That movie has already begun filming, says investment council spokesman Charles Wollmann.
Under the loan agreement with the studios, the state will receive 20 percent of the profits from Funny Farm and five percent of the profit from Seraphim Falls. Profit sharing includes revenues from movie ticket sales as well as video and DVD sales.
Seraphim Falls will employ 263 New Mexicans below the line while Funny Farm will employ another 70. Below the line is the film industry's designation for crew members who work behind the scenes.
The New Mexico State Investment Council's film program makes guaranteed loans to film producers. Loans are backed by a non-revocable letter from an accredited bank. The program is meant to produce investment returns for the state but it also has a double bottom line of economic development and job training.
|
