Please tell Minnesota state Senator Richard Cohen that you support AMMP, the Association of Minnesota Motion Pictures, a new 501(c)6 organization. WHY? Minnesota’s feature film industry is dormant. According to the Minnesota Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were thousands of Minnesota residents in the 1990‘s whose occupation was chiefly in the feature film industry. Today, according to the same source, there are roughly 300 to 500 residents who make a similar claim. I know two of these people. I’d like to know who the other 498 people are. HOW can this be? First of all, Canada is eating our lunch in terms of bringing major film production there. They have a $375 million dollar film fund on the federal level, among other traditional tax and production incentives. The provinces, including British Columbia, also have multi-million dollar funds. It’s no wonder at all that producers are choosing Canada for production. It’s arithmetic. Clearly, holding out a sign that says “Get Your Rebates Here!” hasn’t worked. WHAT AMMP proposed to the Minnesota joint Legacy Committee on March 6th 2013 is a legislative mirror image of what the Canadians, the British, the Australians, the Chinese, and others, have been doing successfully for years -- financing film projects to bring production to the state. AMMP will literally go out to the studios -- the Sony Classics, the Focus Features, the production companies -- and find the projects, and bring them to Minnesota for production, where millions of dollars will be pumped into the economy. 

WHO will be tasked to do this? RALPH WINTER is one of our principals. Ralph has produced six films for Fox since 2000 that have proven to be some of the most profitable films in the industry, collectively grossing over $2.1 billion in worldwide box office. ROBERT SCHWARTZ, a former Minnesotan, is another. Robert produced IRON WILL for Walt Disney Pictures, ran the development and production of numerous mid-budget films, including the Lionsgate Films release of WOOLY BOYS, VIRGINIA’S RUN, and DAVE BARRY’S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS, produced the highly profitable MGM/UA direct-to-video releases KART RACER, and the award-winning movie, BLIZZARD. HOW is this different from traditional rebates, you ask? The difference is that the state, via AMMP, will also own a percentage of the film. Also, it’s not mutually exclusive. As in Canada, rebates can be obtained through the film commission. GRUMPY OLD MEN, FARGO, PURPLE RAIN, MIGHTY DUCKS. These are just a few of the major motion pictures that have been filmed in Minnesota over the past 30 years, all made for around or under $20 million dollars. Moreover, these pictures did well at the box office, returning millions to its investors – studios such as Warner Brothers, Paramount and Disney. Under AMMP’s plan, strategic investments will both spur film production, benefitting an extensive base of businesses throughout Minnesota, while eventually replenishing the Legacy Arts and Culture Fund as those investments are repaid. This new program will also add substantial film titles to the state’s cinematic legacy. PLEASE do your share and sign this petition today. We’re counting on you. Don’t let Minnesota’s legacy be that it blew this opportunity to revive its feature film industry.