Meeting Summary
Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council (FFEAC)
Ritz Carlton, Sarasota, FL
June 11, 2002

Ron Castell, Council Chair at 2:15 pm, called the Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council meeting to order.

ATTENDANCE:
Chair: J. Ronald Castell

Members present: Jeff Peel/Dr. Lew Klechek/Hollis Batchelor/Jeff Peel/Arlene Herson/Leslie Bartlett/Michael Anapolsky/Daphne Boyd/Mary Hinton/Jay Ballance/Patrick Keating/Bob Allen (tele-conference)/Frank "Bud" Nocera/Rebecca D. Mattingly

Members absent: Paul Meena (Excused)/Don Ungarit, Ph.D (Excused)/Barry Plans (Excused)/ Dawn Guzzetta (Excused)/ Bo Taff (Excused)/Lucia Fishburne (Excused)

Staff: Audrey L. Anderson/Robert Grimm/Susan Simms (Los Angeles Liaison)

Guests: Todd Roobin (Jacksonville Film Commissioner/President of Film Florida)/Alexis Edwards (City of Miami Beach, Film & Print Coordinator)/Rick Pamplin (Filmmaker, Pamplin Film Co.)/Bill Whitacre (Ent.Ahy, WM Whitacre, Assos.)/Leslie Krensky (Assistant Florida Executive Director, Screen Actors Guild)/Robert Drake (Operations Manager, TFN Lighting)/Bill Ferguson (Rental Manager, Laststage Out of Town)/K.Laughlin (Casting Director, Independent Castings)/S.Schwabinger (President, Alexa Model & Talent)/Steve Benz (President, Benz M&T)/Denise Ronecker (Owner, DK M&T)/Glenn Newland (Vice President, Continental)/Carole A. Ferrill (State President, FMPTA)/Laurie Anton (Attorney, Executive Council Florida Bar Entertainment, Sports Art Law section)/Joseph Humphreys (Business Manager, IATSE Local 477)/Carter Lord (President, Ocean Entertainment Corporation)/Susan Sihein (President, Entertainment Industry Incubator)/Meagan Pava (Program Director, Entertainment Industry Incubator)/Alec Colley (Operations Manager, Panavision Florida)/Douglas Miller (Vice President, The Miller Agency)/Sandi Bell (Owner/Agent, The Sandi Bell Talent Agency, Inc.)

OLD BUSINESS
R. Castell asked for an approval of the February 7, 2002 meeting minutes.

M. Hinton motioned for approval.

Leslie Bartlett seconded.

Motion carried.

Year-End Travel Expense Reminder:
OFE Administrative Assistant, Audrey Anderson reminded members that when making travel arrangements for meetings, please follow the State of Florida guidelines for travel on State of Florida business. Pursuant to Section 112.061, Florida Statutes, please forward all receipts relative to travel within ten (10) days after travel has been completed to the Governor's Office of Film & Entertainment.

Election of New Chair/Vice Chair:
Mr. Castell stated that it has been a pleasure to serve as Chairman of the Council and he thanked Rebecca D. Mattingly, State Film & Entertainment Commissioner and her staff for all of their support. With that said, he opened the nominations for the new offices of the FFEAC.

B. Nocera nominated Hollis Bachelor for Chairman

M. Hinton Seconded.

Motion Carried

The Chair asked if there were any other nominations. There were no further nominations and nominations were closed for an open vote by hand.

The vote for Hollis Bachelor to serve as Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council's Chairman was unanimous.

The Chair asked for nominations for Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council's Vice-Chairman.

J. Peel nominated Dr. Lew Klechek

A. Herson Seconded

Motion Carried

The Chair asked if there were any other nominations. There were no further nominations and nominations were closed for an open vote by hand.

The vote for Dr. Lew Klechek to serve as Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council's Vice-Chairman was unanimous.

R. Castell (Chair) turned the post over to the new officers.

The new Chairman, Hollis Bachelor thanked the Council for their votes and stated that when he was the President of Film Florida some felt that with him being an Executive at Screen Actor's Guild that he would take positions that would be pro-labor and anti-producers and create some problems. Through the years everyone saw that didn't happen. He stated that as Chairman, he would advise the Governor and the state on the film industry and he would be completely nonpartisan.

R. Mattingly stated that By-Laws for the FFEAC can be download from our website www.filminflorida.com. The FFEAC By-Laws state the responsibilities of the FFEAC, and its role in terms of advising the House, Senate, and the Governor. R. Mattingly reminded attendees that members of the Council were not all appointed by the Governor, same Speaker of the House, or the same Senate President so there are representatives here from all three branches of Government.

H. Bachelor stated that since there are new members, he will give himself a couple of weeks to appoint members to the various committees and he would like to revamp the committee restructure.

R. Mattingly stated that some members did ask to serve on boards and that she would forward those request to the Chair.

Honorary Council Membership:
H. Bachelor stated that if any member of the board knows someone who would like to serve on the Council as a "Member of Distinguished Honor" please let R. Mattingly know.

A. Herson stated that at the last meeting we talked about Burt Reynolds being the first "Member of Distinguished Honor" and he was contacted and he accepted; is this official?

R. Mattingly stated that Mr. Reynolds is the board's first official "Member of Distinguished Honor."

M. Hinton stated that she recently conducted a survey to see what actors lived and worked in the State of Florida and would like to make sure the council gets a copy of her report.

NEW BUSINESS

Recent DGA Decision to Eliminate Orlando and Miami as DGA Production Centers
R. Mattingly stated that the Director's Guild of America (DGA) removed both Orlando and Miami from its list of DGA production centers, to go into effect July 1, 2002. Other areas no longer considered production centers July 1, 2002 are Dallas, TX, Boston, MA, and Atlanta, GA. DGA production centers effective July 1, 2002 will be Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, Wilmington, NC, Vancouver, BC Canada, and Toronto, ON Canada. Rick Pamplin, President of Pamplin Film Company, provided the OFE with this information.

R. Mattingly proposed an action plan to address the issue, which would have to have the complete support of Florida DGA membership in order to effectively implement it.

The proposed 10-point action plan calls for DGA production center reinstatement. A Florida DGA database of electronic emails as well as hard copies addresses and the first thing we would like to do is originate a poll for the DGA membership on this issue to ascertain their opinion and get their feedback if reinstatement is something that they want. We have also initiated a call with DGA President Martha Coolidge who is a director who has filmed here. This call is to learn more about the way the DGA determines what a production center is and how often they measure. The propose is a letter writing and communications campaign to have Miami and Orlando both reinstated as DGA production centers with the DGA support in Florida. If this is going to be effective, industry needs to be involved.

J. Peel called for discussion.

J. Peel stated that DGA members in the Miami area came to the conclusion that it is a perception issue and that the change in the rule is beneficial to the members of DGA who work in Florida. It gives them the option of working as a local at home or working as a local at one of the production centers listed. His recommendation is that we let it go and take no action.

M. Hinton raised the question: What are the criteria for being a production center?

R. Mattingly stated that there is no rule as to how many times a year this decision is made, the level of DGA entertainment activity between the last between two and five years (entertainment activity to the DGA is tele-production and feature films activity that were DGA product not music videos or commercials)

J. Ballance raised the question: Did AMPTP and DGA agree on these being productions centers?

Rick Pamplin (Pamplin Film Company), and DGA member stated that the purpose of the DGA designating Miami and Orlando as production centers had to do with the members themselves. They were travelers in the area that said they were local so that they would be hired as a local. The DGA put together the thirteen regions so that they could establish a home base that they could always work in and then pick your production center where you can go and work as a local. Then you couldn't just change different locations and say you were a local, but you could change every six months.

J. Ballance raised the question again: Was this done by the AMPTP and the DGA through a collective bargaining agreement?

Rick Pamplin stated that he could not answer Mr. Ballance's question.

Joseph Humphreys (Business Manager, IATSE Local 477) stated that this is nothing more than a housekeeping issue. It's the DGA attempting to be cost efficient in how they spend their money and the fact is that there are not that many resident DGA members in the State of Florida. It's important for us to know how we got to this point, but it is not all that important to put a lot into.

Rick Pamplin stated that he spoke with Dan Moore, DGA in Chicago who stated that the DGA is trying to create some public relations awareness to the fact that they do not like to see productions being pulled out of Florida and going to Canada. The concern is Canadian Runaway productions and they would like to see Florida draft legislation like California's to get the state involved to stop "Runaway productions." That's really the concern of the DGA. A committee within the DGA is who makes the decisions about production centers. This committee is not open to public input and it is based on the amount of production done in an area.

D. Boyd stated that the airwaves of the Orlando and Miami DGA offices being shutdown do hurt the state and it makes it very difficult to go out and raise money for productions. I would like to see this body take this to the next level by drafting a letter to stop this motion.

A. Herson made the point is this just from a public relations point of view? Is this really important to us? And is there really anything we can do about it?

R. Mattingly stated that the most active step that we can take and have already taken would be to develop and lobby for incentives.

Richard Seres (DGA Production Manager) stated that he sees the DGA decision as a benefit for him and fellow Florida-based DGA members. Having a DGA center there and being a local means that you can work as a local in Miami. This decision by the DGA really does not affect the rest of the state.

J. Peel stated that DGA members in Florida are in favor of this change. That would mean that we do not have any of our own constituencies supporting any action that we would want to take to try and turn the DGA decision around. It's unlikely that the DGA would reverse their decision and the more we put this in the press and emails, the more people talk about it, the more negative a perception it becomes.

J. Ballance stated that as a DGA member, you have to register in one of the seven locations to be considered as a local center. There is no effect on Florida because whichever area you choose to register in, you can work there as a local. So there really is no reason for any letters.

Department of State Historical Video
R. Mattingly stated that the Department of State division of Historical Resources hired a company from Washington, DC to do their video. Letters were sent to the FMPTA and to Secretary of State, Katherine Harris. There is no law that states that the state has to spend their money in Florida. We just have to continue to educate and enlighten and try to get them to use Florida based companies. Every quarter we send Division head gets a letter and a production guide. We are constantly telling them about our resources and everything that Florida has to offer.

Legislation - Verbal presentation by Robert Grimm:
The Office of Film & Entertainment's budget remained to same as last year.

Senate Bill 2242 by Senator Saunders died in committee. This was an incentive bill that would have provided a 10% rebated on all Florida-based production expenditures. The bill would have required $10 or $20 million appropriation. House Bill 1647 by Representative Davis passed off the House floor and died in the Senate messages.

R. Mattingly stated that we received feedback from both chambers about what their issues were so that we could find something that we could address some of the issues in a new bill and try to get passed next legislative session. Some of the issues raised were: The need for more detail in the bill in terms of how the program will be implemented, where the money is going to come from, how much would go to each tax project, they had concerns about the money going to big name stars, how much would actually be spent in Florida, what types of projects would be included, minimum amounts to be spent to qualify.

R. Grimm stated that the next session starts March 6, 2003 and will go for sixty days.

H. Batchelor ask if anyone had any language, questions, or issues that they would like to address in the legislation.

J. Peel asks about the $1million qualifying expenditure in the State of Florida equally applying to not only motion pictures and television, but to commercials and music videos. The discussion was that neither commercials, nor music videos would never able to meet those minimum criteria. If the intent is to encourage all forms of production to take place here, then there should be a scale of qualification for the smaller projects that come to the state.

H. Batchelor stated that we may want to put a threshold level of the productions in, but not making it too low because you will have too many people taking advantage of it and it will be gone in a couple of months.

R. Mattingly stated that this is not limited to productions coming into the state, this is for anyone who has a production in the state. R. Mattingly reminded everyone that the bill is subject to appropriation.

M. Hinton stated that Palm Beach County has an incentive for companies that relocate to the county. They give $100 - 150 thousand incentives grants for companies who relocate here for the last five years. This would be something good to put in the marketing kit for legislature to take a look at.

H. Batchelor requested that Industrial or Educational films be included in the new bill.

H. Batchelor stated that an ad-hoc committee would be appointed to look over the bill and report to the full body at the next FFEAC quarterly meeting.

Next steps are for OFE staff to revise the bill language according to feedback and input shared by the FFEAC and has a full and final draft for final FFEAC review and approval by the next meeting.

Office of Film & Entertainment Year End Business & Production Report-Rebecca Mattingly
R. Mattingly stated that the report captures the quantity and quality of business development activity performed by the Governor's Office of Film & Entertainment (OFE) during the Fiscal year 01-02. The fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30 of the next year. The OFE has a goal of increasing production revenues by 5% each year as a result of OFE facilitation and support.

In 2001, a total of 641 new projects were opened, 257 existing projects were worked, 19% of the new projects were lost, 19% of the existing projects worked were lost, 355 leads were generated, 520 New project leads, 218 Existing projects worked, 165 Tax Exemptions for new projects, and 420 Tax Exemptions for existing projects worked.

Discussion of Potential License Plate Project-Robert Grimm
The OFE is exploring the creation and distribution of an entertainment-specific specialty license place. Funds collected from plate sales could be used for an industry financial incentive to lure new production and infrastructure to our state. The funds generated by such a place could also help supplement efforts to attract new industry as well as, expand the indigenous production industry in Florida.

R. Mattingly stated that the license plate could also generate funds and grants for specific programs that can be utilized by indigenous industry.

In an effort to more effectively market and raise awareness of this vital Florida industry to Floridians and Florida visitors, the OFE proposes that in conjunction with the FFEAC, Film Florida, Inc. and other industry organizations, that we launch an initiative for the adoption of an entertainment industry specialty license plate.

R. Grimm stated the application fee for the License plate is $60,000, which will need to be accompanied by a survey with the signatures of 15,000 people saying they would purchase the plate. The $60,000 cannot be taken out of office funds, it will have to come from outside via fundraisers and donors to raise the initial $60,000.

A.Herson asked whether or not we would get the $60,000 back if the application is turned down.

R. Grimm stated yes, Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle would give the $60,000 back if the plate is turned down.

H. Batchelor (Chair) asked what does the OFE need to get this program started?

R. Mattingly stated that if we are going to make this happen in the upcoming legislative session, she proposed that it would be a great project for the FFEAC to take on to help the OFE with this.

D. Boyd motioned that we accept the license plate idea and start completing the surveys of 15,000 people that would purchase the plate.

Leslie Bartlett seconded.

R. Castell moved the question.

M. Hinton seconded.

No further debate all in favor.

Unanimous.

All in favor of authorizing the initiation of the license plate project.

Motion carried

RFP (Request for Price) Bi-Annual Economic Assessment- Rebecca Mattingly
The Economic Assessment is a biannual motion picture industry assessment. The OFE is directed to develop and implement a five-year strategic plan, develop methodology for working with local entertainment industry promotion offices in providing service to the industry, and serve as a liaison between government and the entertainment industry and labor interests. As the state's agency for the economic development of the film and entertainment industry in Florida, the OFE provides "wholesale" services and support to a variety of customers/constituents, with a variety of needs. Whether its facilitating a request from a production entity to film on a state location, speaking before a local governments body to support local film efforts, engaging in a sales and trade mission to recruit production entities to Florida or solving a labor relations crisis, the OFE strives to be the one-stop shop for film and entertainment industry support in the State of Florida. R. Mattingly thanked Jeff Peel and Lucia Fishburne for their help and input in completed the RFP.

The goal of the 2001-2002 assessments is to assess the industry's growth and trends, by picking up where the previous study left off via the requirements of the RFP.

B. Nocera raised the question: What's the deadline for response?

R. Mattingly answered June 14, 2002.

J. Peel raised the question: In the state of Florida, is it limited to firms that are already registered with the state?

R. Mattingly stated that any vendor in the world might bid on a state contract. The RFP is on the web. We are prohibited from doing too much outreach. If a firm is selected and we did outreach, then other firms can say the Governor's Office showed preference. The review policy is that only one person from the Governor's Office can be a part of the view of the proposals.

J. Peel suggested that we have a representative from the Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council serve as one of the reviewers of RFPs.

Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) Talent Agent Regulation Update-Verbal Hollis Batchelor
At the last FFEAC meeting H. Batchelor was asked to look into the matter of state agency's regulations of Talent Agents and come back to the FFEAC with a report. Mr. Batchelor started by apologizing to the Governor for the mistake in a newsletter stating that the Governor asked Mr. Batchelor to look into this matter, but in fact the article should have read the FFEAC that had made this request of Mr. Bachelor.

H. Batchelor's report is as follows:
"In 1986 the State of Florida re-instituted regulations for the operation of talent agencies. It is important that a state maintains these types of regulations because without them people can run many scams. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) administer talent agency regulations. The DBPR has an application process and they will license a talent agency and they will also enforce the regulations. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation has gone to the Florida Legislature to try and get rid of these regulations based on the fact that they were losing money enforcing them. They were also unable to adequately enforce the regulations.

Last Summer I had a meeting with Kim Binkley-Seyer, Secretary of Department of Business and Professional Regulation to discuss the matter. Hollis said, "I was told by the Secretary the DBPR that if I can come up with a plan to make this process work better; she is willing to try it. The current processes of the DBPR are not tailored to regulate a small industry like that talent agents. I propose that we enlist the help of the local Film Commissions around the state to help and take a new stance on this. I am recommending that the DBPR consider hiring an independent contractor to handle this matter. The local Film Commissions can contact their local State Attorneys and advise them that these laws exist and if someone is violating these laws, they should be prosecuted because there are criminal penalties under these laws. I would ask that on an annual bases, the local Film Commissions send a copy of the yellow pages to the independent contractor so they can check to see if all of the people listed as talent agents in the state are licensed and if they are not licensed then take the necessary steps to get them licensed.

Further, I am also recommending that we hold town meetings for the industry and those who are interested in this part of the industry in several places throughout the state and get their opinion and see if they agree that this is the way to go. It is very important for the State of Florida to maintain these regulations."

L. Bartlet motion the H. Batchelor's report be accepted and that the board authorizes the town meetings throughout the state.

R. Castell seconded.

M. Hinton called for discussion.

Motion carried.

M. Hinton asked to hear with members of the gallery had to say about the town meetings and called for a quorum.

Members were counted and it was determined that there was a quorum.

Sandi Bell (The Sandi Bell Talent & Agency, Inc.) Sandi Bell stated that she was at the FFEAC meeting to speak for the licensed talent agencies. She stated she read an article in their Screen Actor's Guild paper that stated Hollis Batchelor had been asked by Governor Jeb Bush to review the existing talent agency regulations and make recommendations on how they plan to enforce these regulations. When she read this she sent an email to the Governor, and R. Mattingly extended her an invitation to speak before the FFCAC.

Sandi Bell Said, "I found that the Screen Actor's Guild couldn't regulate agents who are franchised, because there is no longer an agreement. The agreement expired in January of this year. SAG representatives in New York, California, and here are trying to get their Rule 16G and use it with the state regulation. A lot of talent agents do not want to be SAG franchised agent and they do not want to have those Rules or codes on them. They are following the state rules and there are no complaints, but they are being forced to abide by somebody else rules because they can't get the SAG franchised agents to go by Rules anymore. I propose that a reputable agent from the state not on your committee should investigate these regulations, not someone who is a SAG representative."

H. Batchelor stated that Ms. Bell was talking about SAG franchise agreements that have nothing to do with the state regulations. He states: "I am looking at the State Talent agency regulations. They have nothing to do with the SAG regulations. This is an attempt to enhance the enforcement of existing state agency regulations. There is no attempt to add any other regulations that have already been on the books since 1986. That's what the report was about. This is about the enforcement not adding new regulations. This has nothing to do with SAG business."

Douglas Miller (The Miller Agency) stated that he doesn't know what Rule 16G is, but he stated that his concern is the regulations of certain aspects of the industry by unions have not served me as a nonunion individual very well. When the enforcement and the development of regulations for the business that I am in are being brought to the table by union members it is inappropriate and people who are not union should have an opportunity to interject our thoughts and participate in the process that is going to develop as a regulatory entity.

R. Castell stated that the purpose of the "town meetings" is to get the input from the people that are evolved in the industry. He also stated that the Governor asked the FFEAC for recommendations as to what should happen, because DBPR does not want to handles the regulations. Mr. Bachelor requested that we have town meetings. There have been no recommendations by this group. This group is an Advisory group, that's all.

J.Peel stated that the recommendation is that we get feedback from the talent agency through "town meetings." There is no intention of moving forward with any recommendation to do any changes to the state regulations of talent agents without the talent agent's input.

R. Mattingly stated that there is no effort on behalf of the Governor's Office of Film & Entertainment to keep anyone in this industry "in the dark." We go out of our way to send out all information that we come across to broadcast meetings, to make it available on the website, to share what we are given so that everybody knows. Email or call me, I will write you back. We post everything on our website.

Steve Benz (Benz M & T) stated that a committee of Talent agents or a small portion of talent agents at each "town meeting" would be a good idea.

Film Commissioner's Handbook - Verbal Presentation by R. Mattingly
The Guide to Florida's Film Commissions handbook was the result of the research that we conducted in 1999-2000 to get a better understanding of what our clients expect from our Film Offices when they come to Florida with productions. The study found that Florida needed to improve the service, response and support provided by its film commissions. The OFE, with the help of an ad-hoc committee from the film Florida Film Commissioner's Council led by Jeff Peel (Miami-Dade), created a document that set a very high standard for the way film commissions would operate in the State of Florida, how the OFE would operate, how the local offices will interact with the State Film Office and how -all Florida film offices will all interact with our clients. This handbook has been published. Everyone will receive one in the mail.

Public Comment
Steve Benz (Benz M & T) stated the he applauds the Film Commissioners for producing the Film Commissioner's Handbook. He also stated that it would be good for local Film Commissioners to set-up meeting between their local production people and the talent agencies and work together and get feedback of what is going on.

Dr. Lew Klechak stated that the Jacksonville area have a industry wide event where all of the people involved in the industry come together and exchange information. Dr. Klechak suggested, "Maybe it would be good for you to suggest the Film Commissioner in your area do something like that."

Joseph Humphries (New Business Manager, Local 477) stated that it is important that industry communicates. "Thank you for invited me to the meeting. There is no reason why Florida shouldn't be the third largest center of productions. Given geography, crews, locations, equipment, and talent agencies. My base in Miami, I live in Orlando and I will be all over the state."

The next meeting date:
Will be held in Jacksonville, September 2002.

A motion was made by Dr. Lew Klechek to have the next meeting in Jacksonville.

J. Peel seconded.

Motion carried.

A motion was made by M. Hinton to adjourn.

Seconded by L. Bartlett.

Meeting Adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted-Audrey L. Anderson

* For a detailed account of the discussion, please contact Audrey L. Anderson.