ARIZONA FILM INSIDER - FEBRUARY 2025

ARIZONA PRODUCTION UPDATE

Goldwater Institute Lawsuit:

There has been no significant movement on the legal front in the past few weeks. Parties to the suit are unlikely to comment as the beginnings of what could be a long litigation effort begin to take form. The Arizona Film Coalition continues to monitor the situation closely.

INSIDE THE AZ LESGISLATURE

The deadline for Senate bill introductions was Monday, February 3rd, while House members had until February 10th. February 21st is the last day for bills to be heard in their committee of origin before “crossing over” to the opposite chamber. Any bills that don’t make it through committee by then are effectively dead unless they are revived through a few different procedural quirks of the legislative process. We always say, nothing is truly dead until the end of session!

A shake up at the State House: Long serving Chief of Staff Michael Hunter has indicated he is retiring from public service as of February 14th. Hunter served as Chief of Staff for over eight years and under four Speakers of the House. He leaves to step into a new role as chief operating officer for Christian Family Care. Deputy Chief of Staff Matt Specht is assuming the role of chief in the interim.

Sarah Brown, the Governor’s Budget Director at OSPB announced her resignation, effective February 12th. Brown has served in her role since Governor Hobbs assumed office two years ago. Governor Hobbs has named Ben Henderson, her current Director of Operations, as her new state budget chief. 

Building A Coalition of Support

In Arizona, the political landscape requires a gentle touch and a balanced approach. With a Republican-majority legislature and a Democratic governor, this dynamic makes bipartisanship a genuine necessity for progress.

For the Arizona Film Coalition and the broader film industry, this reality underscores the importance of building broad, diverse coalitions to protect and advance policies that fuel our industry’s growth—like the film incentive program.

The key to success lies in forging unique relationships that bridge divides. By uniting stakeholders across party lines, industries, and communities, we can create a powerful network of allies who share a common goal: ensuring Arizona becomes and remains a competitive destination for film production.

Here’s how we can start building those critical coalitions:

Identify Shared Goals

Bipartisanship begins with finding common ground. While political ideologies may differ, the economic and cultural benefits of a thriving film industry are undeniable. Job creation, tourism, and local business growth are goals that resonate across the aisle. Start conversations by focusing on these shared priorities.

Engage Diverse Stakeholders

Coalitions are strongest when they include a wide range of voices. Local businesses, tourism boards, labor unions, educational institutions, and even other creative industries all have a vested interest in the success of our industry and can amplify our message.

Be Ready to Mobilize When Called

Grassroots support is a powerful tool. In a politically divided landscape, the Arizona Film Coalition has an opportunity to lead by example. By building bridges and fostering collaboration, we can protect the film incentive program and other policies essential to our industry’s growth. Together, we can ensure that Arizona remains a vibrant hub for film production, creating jobs, inspiring creativity, and telling stories that resonate.

INSIDE FILM TUCSON

The gritty, authentic look of the Mescal Movie Set keeps bringing in more stellar projects. Their latest catch: Outriding the Devil, a forthcoming feature docu-drama directed by Raen LeVell and starring Eric Nelsen, star of the hit TV mini-series 1883. Film Tucson was proud to assist the producers with everything they needed, but we were even more proud to see Tucson's hard working local crew base and fantastic talent pool being utilized fully on the set.

Just like last month, Film Tucson once again brought in a large group of location professionals from Los Angeles to see the astounding amount of filming sights southern AZ has to offer. This time around, our guests were Paul Boydston, Jack Denny, Jordana Kronen, Ed Lippman, Paul Messana, Neal Prosansky, and Robert Yager. Most of them had never seen the charms of Tucson before, but after a five-day tour, they were all instantly impressed.

INSIDE PHOENIX FILM OFFICE

The Phoenix Film Office presented its 2024 Calendar Year Economic Impact Report at the Arizona Production Association’s Annual Membership Meeting in January. The report estimates a total industry spend of $29.1 million in Greater Phoenix, based on post-wrap surveys from productions and self-reported data from local production companies.

While it's too early to pinpoint the exact cause of the large increase over 2023 ($18.1 million), two key factors likely contributed. First, the Hollywood strikes in 2023 significantly impacted production activity, leading to lower-than-expected spending that year. Second, 2024 marked the first full year of the Arizona Motion Picture Program (MPP). While the Phoenix Film Office cannot confirm which projects directly benefited from the program, there is a clear correlation between its introduction and increased industry spending. Historically, during the previous iteration of the MPP (2006–2010), Greater Phoenix saw an average of $34.4 million in annual spending, followed by a sharp decline when the program ended. The recent resurgence suggests a similar positive impact, reinforcing the MPP’s role in strengthening not just feature film production but also other key film verticals in Greater Phoenix.

An estimated $1.083 million in taxes were collected by the state of Arizona and Greater Phoenix in 2024 if the following assumptions are made: 80% of the budget went to labor (2.5% Arizona withholding tax) and the remaining 20% was spent on taxable goods and services (8.6% sales and rentals).  This is a very simplistic calculation and does not consider higher taxable items such as lodging (12.57%) and vehicle rentals (10.6%) which are part of many projects.