New Mexico Entertainment Magazine January 2020

New Mexico

Entertainment

V8 / Is1

JANUARY 2020

A still from A Love Song for Latasha (© Sophia Nahli Allison), an official selection of the Shorts Programs at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. ® Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

THE

SUNDANCE ISSUE New Mexico Entertainment is heading back to Park City, Utah, to cover the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Cirque Mechanics

Little Chief

Meet Your New Location

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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LET US ENTERTAIN YOU

Cirque Mechanics in 42ft - A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels

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COVER STORY

TURN IT UP

2020 Sundance Film Festival

Jewels presents “No More Tears”

The singer releases her new single and celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pieces of You.

Your first look at this year’s festival and the films that are causing a buzz.

Nubiya Brandon appears in All Kinds of Limbo by Toby Coffey, Raffy Bushman, and Nubiya Brandon an official selection of the New Frontier Exhibitions program at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of ® Sundance Institute.

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MAKE ‘EM LAUGH

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live Join the team on a hilarious tour of the cheesiest films ever made.

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Welcome to New Mexico

Why you should consider New Mexico for your next film project.

17 NOW SHOWING Little Chief A look at a film short that packs quite a punch.

19 BEHIND THE SCENES Welcome to New Mexico - Your New Location Spot Why you should consider the Land of Enchantment for your next television or film production.

33 EXTRAS A Voice for New Mexico Background Actors Background actors in New Mexico raise their voices to make a difference in the filming community.

37 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Events happening around the state.

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January 2020 Volume 8 Issue 1 Editor-in-Chief Teresa Robinson-Ewers NMEntertains@gmail.com Staff Photographer M.T. West Contributors Teresa Ewers M.T. West NME Board Teresa Ewers Ariel Bisbee Darlene Esquibel Winter Elise Eddie Robinson Subscriptions New Mexico Entertainment magazine is $24 a year within the Continental United States. Please place your order online at www.

NMEntertains.com. Please note the first issue will take 4-6 weeks.

All events submissions can be placed at NMEntEvents@gmail.com 4200 Silver Avenue SE, Suite C Albuquerque, NM 87108 505.450.4706

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WORDS FROM THE PUBLISHER

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appy New Year! I am so excited about this publication and what we’ll have to share for another year of events and entertainment.

New Mexico Entertainment is heading back to Park City, Utah to cover the Sundance Film Festival for another year. This year’s event has increased its number of entries from last year with 118 feature films representing 27 countries.

We talked to filmmaker Erica Tremblay who’s Sundance Official Selection, Little Chief, is just one of many upcoming projects that reflect her love of her Native heritage and the issues they face.

New Mexico will be featured in this issue as we share with this prestigious festival how our beloved state is the perfect location

spot for filming. Doubling for many other cities and countries, New Mexico is a great resource for a filmmaker and Amber Dobson of the Albuquerque Film Office shared with us what they have to look forward to, including the 250 million dollar tax credit!

Enjoy our January issue. We’ll see you in February!

Teresa RobinsonEwers Editor-in-Chief, New Mexico Entertainment

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LET US ENTERTAIN YOU

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tep right up ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to the Cirque Mechanics world of gears and canvas, pulleys, and sawdust. Inspired by modern circus, this company finds its roots in the mechanical and its heart in the stories of American industrial ingenuity.

Their show, “42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels,” displays a quality rarely found in modern circus.

Cirque Mechanics’ signature style is wrapped in acrobatics, mechanical marvels, and a bit of clowning around.

It was founded in 2004 by Boston native and German Wheel artist, Chris Lashua, after his successful collaborative project with the Circus Center of the San Francisco Birdhouse Factory. His shows, rooted in realism, display a raw quality rarely found in modern circus, making their message timeless and relevant.

The props on stage feature larger than life mechanical marvels, transforming the theater into a circus. The show features a rotating tent frame for strongmen, amazing

acrobats and aerialists, and grandiose galloping mechanical metal horse.

The stories within the performance are wrapped in circus acrobatics, mechanical wonders, and a bit of clowning around. In this intense and engaging act, performers tell stories full of theatricality and a modern sensibility.

Cirque Mechanics performances provide audiences with a new view inside the circus ring, immersing the viewer into the timelessness of the evolving art form. In addition to 42FT- A Menagerie of Mechanics Marvels, the troupe has created three extraordinary productions; Birdhouse Factory, Boomtown, and Pedal Punk.

Spectacle Magazine hailed 42FT as “the greatest contribution to the American circus since Cirque du Soleil.”

Cirque Mechanics comes to Popejoy Hall on Friday, January 31st at 7:30 PM. Tickets may be purchased online at popejoypresents.com. NME - Courtesy of Popejoy Hall

The Book of Mormon is making a miraculous return to the Popejoy stage, by popular demand, for a limited engagement on February 4th-9th. Winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score, the musical is a hilarious romp of a musical, not holding back on the language and living up to the works of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the infamous television show, South Park. To purchase tickets, visit popejoypresents.com.

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TURN IT UP

Jewel Presents

No More Tears S

he made a lasting impression with her debut album, Pieces of You. Now, Jewel is back with a new single, No More Tears. The single was written for the document, Lost in America, which hits theaters in 2020.

Lost in America takes an in-depth look at the issue of youth homelessness in America, highlighting the main issues that surround it: sex trafficking, the failure of the foster care system, and the rampant rejection of the LGBTQ youth. Jewel is no stranger to the topic, living in her car at a young age. “It is a subject that is so dear to my heart.” shared Jewel. “I was homeless for a year when I was 18 --I started living in my car because a boss withheld my paycheck when I refused his sexual advances. When my car got stolen things got more difficult from there. The issue of homeless youth is important, misunderstood and overlooked.” She also found it an honor to be an Executive Producer of the film, alongside Halle Berry, Rosario Dawson, and more. It has

been a fulfilling experience to be a part of and offered inspiration. “It is a subject that is so dear to my heart.

I was homeless for a year when I was 18 --I started living in my car because a boss withheld my paycheck when I refused his sexual advances. When my car got stolen things got more difficult from there. The issue of homeless youth is important, misunderstood and overlooked.”

No More Tears is the start to an exciting year ahead for Jewel, who is celebrating 25 years of her iconic Diamond RIAA-certified debut album. It still remains one of the bestselling debuts of all time. No More Tears is available now across all digital streaming platforms via Jewel’s Words Matter Media/The Orchard.

Visit jewel.lnk.to/nomoretears to listen to this touching song. For more information on Lost In America, visit lostinamericafilm.com. - NME - Teresa Ewers Photos credit: Brendan Walter

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MAKE ‘EM LAUGH

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t’s time to “laugh your tail off” at Popejoy Hall! Catch Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live: The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour with show creator Joel Hodgson, and the world’s greatest movie-riffing robots – Tom Servo, Crow, and Gypsy – as they embark on a hilarious tour of the cheesiest films ever made. The tour is based on the original show that aired for 11 years starting in 1988.

Mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester and his crony, TV’s Frank, forced him to watch bad movies as part of an evil experiment. To keep his sanity, Joel built a cast of lovable robot sidekicks: Crow, Tom Servo, Gypsy, and Cambot. Together, they watched bad movies and through their wisecracks, quips, and friendships

made it through never-ending terrible cinema while entertaining audiences with gut-busting hilarity, jokes, and commentary. The show won over fans and became one of the most beloved cult TV shows of all time. This tour will be the last chance to see Hodgson perform the unique comedic art form he created on his final live tour, with Popejoy transforming the stage into a circus-themed party with non-stop humor, spirited sketches, songs, and jokes riffed on a “So-Bad-It’s-Good” Feature film. Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live: The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour is on Friday, February 14th, 2020 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available online at popejoypresents. compopejoypresents.com. NME - Courtesy of Popejoy Hall

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COVER STORY

A still from My Trip by Bjarne Melgaard, an official selection of the New Frontier Exhibitions program at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

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very It’s January, which means snow and films are in the air in Utah. The Sundance Film Festival is back with a new round of films - 118 to be exact. The festival includes dramatic and documentary features and short films and series and episodic content. New Frontier showcases emerging media through multimedia installations, performances, and film. Along with daily filmmaker conversations, panel discussions, and live music events. Festival’s Director of Programming, Kim Yutani, is very excited about this year’s entries. “Authenticity and independent voices resonate across formats – and that’s evident across the full spectrum of this year’s Indie Episodic and Special Events slates. Defined by distinctive voices and enlightening viewpoints, these are riveting projects that find inspiration in the urgent stories and extraordinary individuals of our times.”

Sundance continues to show the diversity of its entries. 48% of the entries were directed or created by one or more women, 33% were directed or created by one or more filmmakers of color, and 19% by one or more people

who identify as LGBTQIA. 7 were supported by Sundance Institute in development, whether through direct granting or Labs. 74 short films will screen at the Festival from 27 countries and chosen from 10,397 submissions - 4,992 from the U.S. and 5,405 international.

The Institute’s support for short films extends internationally and year-round, with select Festival shorts presented as a traveling program at seventy-five theaters in the U.S., Canada, and Europe each year, and short films and filmmakers taking part in regional Master Classes geared towards supporting emerging shorts-makers in several cities.

Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Shorts, is excited with the variety of entries, “With an unprecedented number of 10,397 submissions, we had so many great shorts to choose from.

It is thrilling to share so many unique visions and new talents from the burgeoning world of shorts.” Among the shorts the Festival has shown in recent years are Fauve, Aziza, Ghosts of Sugar Land, Thunder Road, Whiplash and The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.

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Shane Paul Mcghie and Richard Jenkins appear in The Last Shift by Andrew Cohn, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Mott Hupfel.

2020 Sundance Entries Here are just a few selections that caught our eye:

LITTLE CHIEF The lives of a Native woman and a troubled young boy intersect over the course of a school day on a reservation in Oklahoma.

Lily Gladstone and Julian Ballentyne ARE YOU HUNGRY? A single mother struggles to connect with her adopted teenage son, whom she believes is gay.

Pirjo Lonka, Matvei German, Tommi Korpela, Sanna Kaisa Palo A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA A dreamlike archive in conversation with the past and the present to

reimagine a more nuanced narrative of Latasha Harlins by excavating intimate and poetic memories shared by her cousin and best friend.

Tybie O’Bard, Shinese Harlins UNTITLED PIZZA MOVIE How do you remember somebody in a disposable world? Weaving an abandoned film about pizza (NYC in the early 90s), a stunning, physical archive (thousands of objects) with a remarkable triple portrait, this series traces three lives over thirty years, three continents, and the faultlines of class, dreams, and memory.

Michael Tubbs, T. Griffin Photo by ® David Goldner

Keira Chansa, David Oyelowo, Reece Yates and A still from The Go-Go’s by Alison Ellwood. Courtesy Jordan Nash appear in Come Away by Brenda of Sundance Institute | photo by Paul Natkin.

Chapman.Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

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Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz appear in Nine Days by Edson Oda, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Wyatt Garfield.

THE GO-GO’S In their early days in the Los Angeles punk scene, Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin were inspired, ambitious, and determined. They formed an all-girl band, called themselves the Go-Go’s, learned to play their instruments, and wrote their own songs. Their ascent in the early 1980s coalesced with great group chemistry, the birth of MTV and the music video, and their charttopping album, Beauty and the Beat.

However, as the pressure of fame and success grew, a familiar story set in, and hard drugs and alcohol, infighting, and resentment began taking their toll on them.

and Fish. His last weekend takes a turn while training his replacement, Jevon, a talented but stalled young writer whose provocative politics keep landing him in trouble. The men are worlds apart. A high school dropout who has watched life pass by his drivethrough window, Stanley proudly details the nuances of the job. Jevon, a columnist who’s too smart to be flipping patties, contends their labor is being exploited. But a flicker of trust sparks during the long overnight hours in a quiet kitchen.

Richard Jenkins, Shane Paul McGhie, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Birgundi Baker, Allison Tolman and Ed O’Neill

LANCE This deeply personal examination of one of the world’s most controversial figures examines a man who’s both winner and loser, saint and sinner.

With unprecedented access to Lance’s world, this psychological portrait is a powerful study of that 21st-century phenomenon: the celebrity who falls spectacularly and publicly from grace.

NINE DAYS What if being born is not the beginning but the goal? In a house distant from the reality we know, a reclusive man named Will interviews prospective candidates— personifications of human souls—for the privilege he once had: to be born.

Five contenders emerge. During the course of nine days, Will tests each of them, but he can choose only one.

The victor will be rewarded with a coveted opportunity to become a newborn in the real world, while the others will cease to exist—nine days is everything they’ll ever experience.

Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Bill Skarsgård, Tony Hale, and David Rysdahl

MCMILLION$ McMillions is the definitive, real-life account of the McDonald’s Monopoly game scam, which defrauded the American public throughout the 1990s, as told by the “prize winners,” criminals, government officials, and FBI agents, whom eventually took the crime ring down.

THE LAST SHIFT Stanley, an aging fast-food worker, plans to call it quits after 38 years on the graveyard shift at Oscar’s Chicken

CRIP CAMP No one at Camp Jened could’ve imagined that those summers in the woods together would be the beginnings of a revolution. Just down

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the road from Woodstock, Camp Jened was a camp for disabled teens.

Directors Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (a former Jened camper himself ) deliver a rousing film about a group of campers turned activists who shaped the future of the disabilityrights movement and changed accessibility legislation for everyone.

DREAM HORSE The film tells the true story of Jan Vokes, a Welsh cleaner and bartender, who decides to breed and rear a racehorse. She persuades her neighbors and friends to contribute financially to the scheme. The group’s unlikely investment plan pays off as the horse rises through the ranks and puts them in a race for the national championship.

Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Anthony O’Donnell, Owen Teale, and Di Botcher THE 40-YEAR-OLD VERSION Radha, a once-promising playwright, is barreling toward the stigma of being single and a struggling artist at the age of 40. Facing nonstop rejections from the theatre community while teaching a motley group of teens, she becomes creatively re-invigorated when she returns to rapping, her long-forgotten passion. When her play finally gets

going, however, she puts recording a rap demo on the back burner and must navigate the awful tension of compromising her voice for career success.

Radha Blank, Peter Y. Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Reed Birney, Imani Lewis, and TJ Atoms COME AWAY Before Peter became Pan and Alice visited Wonderland, they were siblings living in an idyllic country home with their parents and their older brother, David. In this magical place, they are free to play and let their imaginations run wild as they romp around the nearby forest. However, change is in the air as their priggish aunt, Eleanor, who is extremely critical of how the children are being raised, has arranged for David to attend a prestigious boarding school.

Angelina Jolie, David Oyelowo, Jordan Nash, Keira Chansa, Reece Yates, and Michael Caine NME - Teresa Ewers Find a full list of films at www.sundance. org.

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NOW SHOWING Lily Gladstone and Julian Ballentyne appear in Little Chief by Erica Tremblay, an official selection of the Shorts Programs at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Marshall Stief.

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n exhausted schoolteacher who does her best to provide for her classroom keeps the world at an arm’s distance.

A child struggling to find acceptance both at home and at school. These two individuals find that they provide something that the other needs. That is what Little Chief, a short film by Erica Tremblay, is about. In less than 11 captivating minutes, Tremblay draws you in to learn more about these characters who are forced in the end to break down the walls they’ve built in order to be more for one other. Tremblay, a member of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation in Oklahoma, is extremely proud of her heritage and with every film, she creates take the opportunity to share the stories and experiences she has witnessed or learned of as a child. Little Chief was inspired by stories she heard when she was little. “There are certain stories I find myself telling over and over again, and I love talking about my mother and the work she does in our Native community,” shared Tremblay. “She has been an educator for most of my life, and she has sacrificed so much to provide safety and knowledge to our youth. Growing up, these sacrifices

were just the reality that I knew and it wasn’t until I was much older that I realized the unique set of challenges she faces as an Indigenous woman teaching Indigenous children. There is a real lack of understanding about modern Native America, and Little Chief offers a simple exploration of one reality set against the complicated constructs in which it exists.”

Tremblay conveyed so much emotion in such a short piece. The actors who portrayed the characters of Sharon (played by Lily Gladstone) and Bear (played by Julian Ballantyne) were perfect in their performances.

With this story being so captivating as a short, “When people watch Little Chief I want them to feel like they are being dropped into the ongoing lives of these characters. The issues Sharon and Bear are facing today are the same ones they dealt with yesterday.

This is how the cycle of survival plays out in my community and I wanted to explore that cadence in the film.

Sharon will wake up tomorrow with the same challenges and a new kid to console. There aren’t plans to expand Little Chief into a feature film but I do want the audience to question what happens next so that we can continue

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the important dialogue around how corrupt systems are impacting our youth. The impacts of colonization don’t stop when the credits roll.”

Tremblay, currently living on the Six Nation Reserve in Ontario, grew up near her trust land in Oklahoma where her family was forcibly moved.

She is currently studying her native Indigenous language. Her heritage is a badge she wears proudly and works hard to have it reflect in her work, even hiring Native actors and production staff into the process. She hopes that it will lead to a real discussion of Native struggle and what we all can do to make a change. “I am inspired by the vibrant matriarchs in my community that are fighting so hard to secure our future as a people. I want to showcase the spirit that exists in all aspects of our lives and explore those moments where we connect to one another. As a two-spirit Haudenosaunee woman, I am drawn to stories that actually drive change. There’s a huge responsibility that comes along with having access to make films and media. It took me a while to figure that out, and

it inhibited me as an artist and an activist. I was desperately trying to mimic what already existed and fit into this mainstream form that was actively working against me and the authentic stories I wanted to tell. I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but I am no longer interested in working on things that don’t have a direct and positive impact on my community.”

Tremblay is honored to have Little Chief as a Sundance Official for this year. She was chosen as a Sundance Indigenous Lab Film Fellow back in 2018. She recognizes that having the backing of the Sundance organization is incredible, but the focus is always on the work. “It was incredible to be chosen as a Sundance Native Film Lab Fellow last year and premiering at the festival feels like coming full circle.”

To see a sneak peek of Little Chief visit youtube.com. NME - Teresa Ewers

www.NMEntertains.com

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Welcome to New Mexico: Your New Location Spot

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art of the filmmaking process is finding the perfect location that reflects the story a filmmaker is trying to convey. Experiencing conflict in wartorn Iraq? Looking for that amazing party spot in Las Vegas? Zombies in California?

It would surprise many that each of these scenarios has all been achieved in the state of New Mexico. The Albuquerque and New Mexico Film Offices have been working hard to spread the word about this asset we call “The Land of Enchantement” to many in the movie world that are not aware it exist. Amber Dodson, Film Liaison of the Albuquerque Film Office shares why New Mexico is a hot spot for film and emerging media.

NEW MEXICO’S $110 MILLION FILM PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT This is the keystone to consider New Mexico for your next film project. As Dodson shared, *New Mexico offers one of the most competitive incentives for film, direct to streaming, gaming, music videos, post-production and more, which includes a 25-35 percent credit for qualified expenditures that are subject to taxation in New Mexico. Qualified expenditures include; wages and fringe benefits for New Mexico residents; payments to

nonresident performing artists; and, 15% of wages paid to the qualified nonresident below-the-line crew.

Expenditures associated with producing digital media and entertainment products, including video games, also qualify. Last spring, the State of New Mexico more than doubled the cap on rebates from $50 million to $110 million.

Specifically, New Mexico offers a 30% refundable tax credit on qualifying TV projects, and a 25% refundable tax credit on film projects. A similar 25% refundable tax credit applies to standalone postproduction projects, and that number increases 5% if done in a rural area. As defined by the state, the production tax credit is meant for production companies that have direct production and direct post-production expenditures that are subject to taxation by the State of New Mexico.

New Mexico recently created the “Film Partner” designation, which allows a production company that has made a longterm commitment to produce films, TV, or digital media and entertainment products in New Mexico and has purchased or executed a 10-year contract to lease a qualified production facility, to be exempt from the annual Film Production Tax

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We love our indie filmmakers. We want those up and coming artists and creators to come here as well and take advantage of the world-class infostructure and get that rebate.

Credit cap.

The rebate isn’t just for the major film companies. This incentive applies to indie and student filmmakers as well and they are strongly encouraged to apply. “We love our indie filmmakers,” said Dodson.

“We want those up and coming artists and creators to come here as well and take advantage of the world-class infastructure and get that rebate.”

BIG PLAYERS ARE NOW IN THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT New Mexico has been recognized as a powerhouse to some heavy hitters.

In less than two years, both Netflix and NBCUniversal have seen this state’s potential and has put New Mexico on the radar worldwide as a premier production hub. They also put their money where their mouths are, providing a large production spend and creating jobs for the state.

Netflix has agreed to a one billion dollar production spend over 10-years and 1000 jobs per year minimum. NBCUniversal is 500 million over 10 years and 333 jobs over 10 years. “We call them our ‘New Mexico Studio Partners,’ shared Dodson. “They have a long-term commitment - investing in the community with the amount of production spend. Plus, as a deal, which I think is brilliant, as part of Senate Bill 2,

they are not subject to the cap. So they can produce loads and loads of content, get the rebate on all of that and not eat up that cap of 110 million for everyone else who wants to come here and take advantage of the incentive.”

NEW MEXICO IS A CHAMELEON Need that perfect location to represent Burbank, Las Vegas or Afghanistan? New Mexico is the right spot to create the storyline you’re looking for. Our locations and landscapes offer wonderful options for production, a benefit that Dodson hears all too often. “I hear this a lot from production executives when they come that they didn’t realize we had such a wide array of looks - we have everything from rural, suburban urban desolate, forested, New Mexico has doubled for Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Juarez, Afghanistan, Mars,” shared Dodson. “If you go to Taos you can double it as Switzerland, Colorado or Montana. We have a lot of different looks and landscapes that are in close proximity to each other, so that really helps producers save on the bottom line when a unit can get two different looks in one day. They can move a unit 30 minutes away and have a totally different look on the same day. That you can’t find many places.” With the many productions that film here, New Mexico has doubled

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for post-apocalyptic Burbank, California, in Daybreak, New York high society in The Goldfinch, and ground zero for a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas in Army of the Dead.

New Mexicans make jokes about how if you don’t like the weather, just wait, it will change to something you like in 5 minutes. Well, that is a major benefit for productions. The weather in New Mexico offers the ability to plan accordingly for a certain shot and know that there won’t be an extreme change in the process.

“Hollywood is here for a good reason, lots of sunshine not a lot of extreme weather.

We have on average 310 days of sunshine every year. We have four seasons, but they’re mild, so that’s actually a win because you can get four different seasons - four different looks. Very little rain and low risk of natural disasters are very appealing to other companies.

NEW MEXICO CREW AND BUSINESSES SUPPORT IS SECOND TO NONE When it comes to creating a project, you need the right now. New Mexico crew members are knowledgeable in their field and some of the hardest working people in show business. Dodson has nothing but high praise for them. “Our crew base is world-class,” says Dobson. “Look at the content that has been produced here in Albuquerque - Breaking Bad, El Camino, - Netflix shows NBCUniversal, Disney - we’ve had every studio here. We can produce and create world-class content here because of our world-class crew.”

According to the New Mexico Film Office, it is the deeper crew [pool] between coasts (with Atlanta counting as a coast). Between New York, Atlanta, and L.A, we have the deepest crew base in the United States.

“And it’s growing,” shared Dodson. “There is a lot of effort - spanning educational institutions to the film offices to our local union - 480 to grow our crew base - we’re scaling our crew for this growing demand. There has been a migration of New Mexicans who have had to leave New Mexico due to the previous administration and the effect on the incentive. They are

actually coming back now for work - so it’s exciting to see that migration happening.

We also have production support businesses that are world-class. We have Panavision here, Production Resource Group. We’ve got all kinds of vendors that support production - light and grip houses, supply houses of all kinds like catering and craft services, special effects and makeup supply - everything you would need to make a 100 million dollar movie.” If we don’t have it here we are in very close proximity to locations that do and it’s just a quick plane ride or drive to pick them up, saving on the bottom line and time. “It’s a 90-minute flight for these executives and talent to go back and forth.

The fact that we have a lot of direct to LAX flights here, in theory, a production executive could fly in the morning, work on their show and be home that evening,” explained Dodson.

NEW MEXICO HAS A RICH FILM HISTORY New Mexico has been seeing the bright lights of film since 1898. Over time, The Land of Enchantment has been the backdrop for many films including The Man Who Fell to Earth with David Bowie (1976), The Muppet Movie (1980), Natural Born Killers with Woody Harrison (1994), and The Avengers (2011). The film office is working hard to keep productions coming, developing record-breaking numbers in the process. “New Mexico has had a long history of television and film productions going back to 1898 with the first-ever documentary that was shot that was documented called ‘Indian Day School,’” shared Dodson. “But over decades and decades, we’ve had a lot of production here. Fiscal year 19 was a record-breaking year. $525 million done statewide in production spend and approximately $225 million of that was spent in Albuquerque.”

To learn more about the incentive and all that New Mexico has to offer, visit nmfilm.com and cabq.gov/film. - NME - Teresa Ewers

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EXTRAS

A Voice for New Mexico Background Actors

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hey are sometimes the unsung heroes when it comes to film and television production.

Background actors are necessary at times to make a scene work. But in terms of treatment, the community felt they needed to speak up. A new initiative was proposed in October of last year by The New Mexico Background Community to provided New Mexico background actors SAGAFTRA-like provisions. Some of the points of the campaign and what was being asked included have the right to a living wage and a reasonable time of payment, providing a safe and free environment from harassment and protection from the elements, supplying a secure place to store their belongings and access to clean water and restrooms, and the right to organize.

Braden Anderson, speaking on behalf of The New Mexico Background Community, informed New Mexico Entertainment magazine that they received word that the top casting

agencies in New Mexico, as well as the New Mexico Film Office, have agreed to adopt the Bill of Rights. “It will always come down to individual productions to adhere to the rights, but, the intermediary players, like the casting companies and Film Office, are on-board, so it’s a New Mexico industry standard, at least in theory, as of now,” shared Anderson. “We’ll be keeping on eye on things and see how it goes, but currently, we’ve set a standard for Background Actors working in NM, while avoiding, for the time being, any involvement with a union. That means no dues, for the same or similar protections.

For now, we feel it’s a big win, but we will continue to monitor the progress of implementation, and encourage feedback from the local industry.”

To learn more visit thepetitionsite. com. NME - Teresa Ewers

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

January 12, 2020 THE PEKING ACROBATS Popejoy Hall

popejoypresents.com

JANUARY 12TH The Peking Acrobats 3:00pm Popejoy Hall 203 Cornell Dr Albuquerque, NM 87131 popejoypresents.com

JANUARY 25TH The Price Is Right Live - Stage Show 4:00pm Route 66 Casino Hotel 14500 Central Ave SW, Rio Puerco Albuquerque, NM https://tickets.holdmyticket.com

JANUARY 17TH-FEBRUARY 2ND The Merchant of Venice The Swan Theater 1213 Parkway Dr b Santa Fe, NM 87507 theatresantafe.org

JANUARY 26TH The Ska Parade 30th Anniversary Tour Launchpad 618 Central Ave SW Albuquerque, NM 87102 https://tickets.holdmyticket.com/

JANUARY 19TH & 26TH Don’t Call Me Young Lady! OneWoman, Stand-Up Comedy with Carolyn Meyer 4:00pm Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie Santa Fe, NM 87507 theatresantafe.org JANUARY 25TH The NMPhil Presents “Mozart & Beyond” Fundraising Special 6:00pm Popejoy Hall 203 Cornell Dr Albuquerque, NM 87131 unmtickets.com

JANUARY 31ST Cirque Mechanics 42FT in Albuquerque Popejoy Hall 203 Cornell Dr Albuquerque, NM 87131 popejoypresents.com JANUARY 31ST 15th Annual HUMP! Film Festival 7:00pm Guild Cinema 3405 Central Ave NE Albuquerque, NM 87106 https://btt.boldtypetickets.com/ events/100880084/2020-15th-annualhump-film-festival-albuquerque-nm

Submit events and photos to NMEntEvents@gmail.com • View full calendar at NMEntertains.com Ne w Mex ic o Ent ert ainment I

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