After just a few weeks on the job, Jill Lindstrom, film resource coordinator at Nevada Film Office, finds the biggest challenge is knowing where everything is.
Not in her Carson City office adjacent to the Nevada Commission on Economic Development, but in the entire state.
When film producers call seeking a location, they want to know everything a locale offers, from cafes to brothels. It's Lindstrom's job to find out.
The spring grad holds a bachelor's degree in film from Montana State University and has lived in Nevada all of a month. She replaces Robin Holabird, who retired after 22 years at the film office.
"I grew up around film," says Lindstrom. "My father was a film commissioner."
The film office also operates in Las Vegas, from whence it casts a long shadow.
"I would like people to realize the rest of the state exists, not just Las Vegas," says Lindstrom. Another item she plans to address: a state incentive package for production.
However, she's aware of other states that encountered headaches when they provided aid in the form of loans.
"They find they're not being paid back," the Nevada official says.
Meanwhile, Lindstrom offers service. Filmmakers call for help finding that perfect location, or extra employees such as camera grips, and perhaps most importantly, help in identifying and satisfying permit requirements.
Marketing the state to film and television producers comes through advertising in trade magazines. Several times a year two of the film office's staff of seven man a booth at trade shows such as Slamdance, an alternative to the Sundance Film Festival.
In the northern parts of Nevada, Reno and Tahoe are popular locales, she says. "The roads at Tahoe are car commercials."
The rurals weigh in for period pieces set in old Western towns. But when recommending a location, Lindstrom must also consider the size of the film crew and the number of days on site, because rural folk don't always welcome an invasion of Hollywood types.
"Virginia City is popular with film makers due to its look," she says, "but the locals aren't keen to have them. They're afraid they'll ruin historic locales."
To acquaint rural residents with the idea of film crews in their midst, film office staffers recently tagged along with Nevada Commission on Economic Development staff on a trip to Ely.
If money talks, attitudes may change; on average, the film commission estimates the economic impact of a film crew at $100,000 a day.
Yet that expense is proving a drag on the industry, says Lindstrom.
But cost is a relative term. In recent years, Canada had been aggressively recruiting the film industry.
However, due to the bargain prices created by the weak dollar, the film industry is returning to its U.S. roots.
