And the story begins...
Phoenix, AZ, February 13, 2013 – A little slice of Hollywood is coming to Scottsdale, AZ and unlike previously proposed studios to be built in the Valley of the Sun, this one isn’t waiting for lawmakers.
Working with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Gaia Global Holding LLC is finalizing plans to create an entertainment mecca in Scottsdale, AZ. “We’re not waiting for incentives, we’re moving forward,” says +Jen Miller-Bender, CEO of Gaia Global Holding Corp.
This project is being bootstrapped by Miller-Bender and is fully funded through her extensive business and entertainment contacts. A true Arizona project, this $100 million investment will provide more than 100 permanent staff not to mention help create more than 1,000 new industry related positions.
“This state-of-the-art production facility will incorporate green design, renewable energy technology, and an earth and community-friendly approach to film making,” says Mrs. Miller-Bender. To be built in the entertainment corridor on the SRPMIC just minutes away from Talking Stick Resort, Golf Course, and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the campus will not only be a destination for business in the area but throughout Arizona. “Arizona has a wealth of beauty and variety of locales that make our state the unique place to reproduce just about any location in the world,” continues Miller-Bender, “and our studio will provide an anchor to film and television production in the state.”
But it doesn’t stop there. GGHC is working with British Columbia’s Arcana Studios to bring their catalog of hundreds of existing properties and create to create a state of the art animation and visual effects studio as part of the development in Scottsdale. Arcana Studios already has successful films and television programs produced in Canada and they look forward to coming to the southwest.
The close proximity to Sky Harbor Airport, Scottsdale Airpark, and freeway access help bring the studio even closer to Hollywood. Hollywood in the Desert is just an hour by plane and six hours by car away from the California studio system. It plans on becoming a destination for not only Hollywood, but the world.
The motion picture production industry has deep roots in Arizona dating back to statehood. Thousands of Arizona residents have been employed as crews, technicians, actors, and numerous Arizona vendors have profited from the industry. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into the Arizona economy via film and TV production and from tourism that has resulted from Arizona’s portrayal in countless films and numerous TV series.
State Senator Al Melvin introduced SB 1242 earlier this month. Known as the Multimedia Production Tax Incentives bill, he argues that the bill could create hundreds of high-wage jobs connected to movie, advertising and TV production. That would, in turn, stimulate other areas of the state’s economy, including the tourism, construction and the hospitality sectors. Arizona lawmakers just passed this bill today. The next stage is to the finance committee, then the House.
If the bill passes, it will allocate $70 million in tax credits to benefit production companies filming in Arizona, provided they meet certain qualifications. To receive the credit, the studio must submit specific details of the production (such as relevant members of the cast, crew, and a script or synopsis of the film) and must spend at least $250,000 here in Arizona to be eligible to get cash back. Additional items are proposed, including an additional 5% return when using qualified production facilities within the state of Arizona instead of going back to Los Angeles for studio space.
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Debbie Elicksen, Transmedia
@HollywoodGaia
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