After 'Public Enemies,' economy takes toll on local moviemaking

The local Illinois and Chicago film production offices are hoping that Johnny Depp's Tommy-gun-powered "Public Enemies" leads to a renewed burst of shooting - that is, shooting of movies and TV shows in and around the city.

"Public Enemies" poured a reported $46.7 million into the state's economy a year ago with its location shooting in Chicago and at other local sites, like the Palos Hills Forest Preserve in Willow Springs and Aurora's Paramount Theater. It was a record for a single film and a key part of the $141 million movies and television shows spent in Illinois last year, making it the second-most-profitable year on record for the state's filmmaking business, behind only $155 million in 2007 when "The Dark Knight" was filming in Chicago (at a cost of $40 million).

Yet "Public Enemies" was shot last spring and summer, before the economic crisis really hit in the fall. And, despite record box-office receipts early this year and an increased Illinois Film Tax Credit, which offers a 30 percent credit on movie money spent in the state, up from 20 percent last year, the economic downturn has made Hollywood producers skittish about costly location shooting.

"Considering the economy, I guess we're doing well," said Rich Moskal, director of the Chicago Film Office, "but I would have to say I think the industry, despite what have been great returns at the box office, is feeling the effects.

"It has proved to be a rather difficult time after the initial early optimism," he added. "But that's not to say we've been totally dry."

The new remake of "Nightmare on Elm Street," with former child star Jackie Earle Haley taking on the role of Freddy Krueger, is filming here, but it's the only big-budget Hollywood production in the area right now. That's after a boom in recent years that included "Public Enemies," "The Dark Knight" and the big-budget Angelina Jolie shoot-'em-up "Wanted."

"Far fewer projects are being greenlit, particularly projects that were on the fence, which have just been shelved," Moskal said. "Fewer pictures are being made. Fewer television shows are being produced. And those that are being made tend to be taking advantage of the most lucrative incentives out there."

The Chris Columbus-directed movie version of Larry Doyle's dark comic novel "I Love You, Beth Cooper," set in his own alma mater of Buffalo Grove High School by the Arlington Heights product, comes out July 10, but it was shot in Vancouver (spending cheap Canadian dollars). The cars in the movie were outfitted with Washington state license plates, and the location was renamed Buffalo Glenn.

That comes on a string of tough luck for local TV productions. The well-received A&E series "The Beast" is all but over given the health problems of star Patrick Swayze. NBC took a pass on the pilot to the Chicago-based comedy "State of Romance," and while ABC picked up the new Chicago-made pilot for "The Forgotten," from noted producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the series will not be shot here.

Betsy Steinberg, managing director of the Illinois Film Office, pointed out that union uncertainty contributed to the slowdown, as producers were leery of committing to projects until the Screen Actors Guild came to terms last month. "We're sort of on a lull," she admitted, "but we expect it to be picking up next month. People are just sort of regrouping after the SAG stuff got settled."

Moskal said the state's increased tax incentive has already positioned Illinois' film business for a recovery. "Once things rebound, I think that incentive will once again make us very competitive," he said.

What the area has in addition, he emphasized, is the technicians and facilities on hand to handle a big-budget production without having to import a lot of material, a point struck once again by the finished product of "Public Enemies," made by Michael Mann, not a director known for cutting corners.

"The look of that film and the quality of that film is a testimony to all the people who took part in making it," Moskal said. "That's part of the reason Chicago is such an attractive place for the industry."

"Frankly, people don't need a lot of reminding," Steinberg said, while quickly adding, "Having something that high-profile is wonderful."

She said the IFO never makes projections about how much will be spent on movies here in a calendar year, until the year is over and it's all added up, because it's such an unpredictable business, with its cycles of boom and bust, that things can change in an instant. The next Ben Stiller "Meet the Parents" sequel, to name one, is considering a Chicago shoot, and Steinberg just returned from a trip to Los Angeles to drum up business.

"We've had our busiest scouting season ever," she said. "(Chicago) is on people's minds, and it's in people's scripts. So it's a matter of riding out the lull."