HOUSE MEMORIAL 79

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Stephanie Garcia Richard and Jeff Steinborn

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FEBRUARY 8, 2016 AS "FILM DAY" IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has been a film-set magnet since movies began, with its magnificent and unbeatable vistas, magical sunrises and sunsets; its usually benign, though dramatic, weather; its Indian pueblos and old Hispanic communities; and its major large modern city; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has been filmed as itself, as other states and as other countries, including Montana, Texas, Afghanistan and Indonesia, as other planets and even as the inside of earth itself, with the 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth and several other movies filmed in Carlsbad Caverns; and

     WHEREAS, in 1898, Thomas Alva Edison produced the first film in New Mexico, and one of the first ever in the American west, called Indian Day School, a black-and-white silent documentary filmed at the Pueblo of Isleta; and

     WHEREAS, in the early 1900s, New Mexico was the filming site of many movies, particularly those by Mack Sennett and Romaine Fielding; and between 1908 and 1915, fifty-six movies were filmed in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, while there were films made in the state in the 1930s, such as Billy the Kid, filmed in Gallup, it was not until the 1940s and 1950s that New Mexico really became a star again, with the rise of westerns like The Sea of Grass, Pursued and Only the Valiant and classics like The Grapes of Wrath; and

     WHEREAS, who can forget the 1969 film Easy Rider, the movie that defined the hippie generation, or The Milagro Beanfield War, the still-relevant story of the battle for water in northern New Mexico between traditional villagers and developers; and

     WHEREAS, a number of movie blockbusters have been filmed in New Mexico, including Young Guns, The Avengers, Armageddon, No Country for Old Men and Terminator 2; and

     WHEREAS, film production has reached every corner of the state, from the filming of Transformers on location in the dunes of White Sands national monument and Contact at the very large array, to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in Chama and Sicario in Albuquerque; and

     WHEREAS, while the New Mexico landscape has been showcased in the film industry for more than a century and includes more than six hundred productions, in more recent years television production in the state has also boomed; and

     WHEREAS, In Plain Sight, a dramatic television series developed around the professional and personal lives of the marshals of the federal witness protection program, filmed five seasons on location in Albuquerque; and

     WHEREAS, scenes for Longmire, a critically acclaimed modern crime drama that follows the story of a Wyoming sheriff, were filmed in Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Eagle Nest and Red River; and

     WHEREAS, the hit television series Breaking Bad brought renewed attention to New Mexico, exciting tourists to travel here from around the world specifically to catch a glimpse of the characters' houses, the iconic carwash and other show landmarks; and

     WHEREAS, the great audience following and success of Breaking Bad led to the filming of the spinoff series Better Call Saul in Albuquerque as well; and

     WHEREAS, the direct film and television industry has been a lucrative employer in New Mexico, and the industry has spurred film tourism; and

     WHEREAS, the film industry injected nearly two hundred ninety million dollars ($290,000,000) into New Mexico's economy last year; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico film office reported a record seventy-seven productions in the past fiscal year that ended June 30, and in 2015, New Mexico hosted twenty-five major productions in principal photography; and

     WHEREAS, a New Mexico film production tax incentive study reported that in fiscal years 2010 through 2014 the industry supported between two thousand five hundred and four thousand jobs for state residents; and

     WHEREAS, direct jobs created by the film and television industry included positions for key creative teams, performing artists, production offices, camera departments, technical trade workers and post-production and other support services; and

     WHEREAS, filming movies and television shows in New Mexico provides high-paying, creative jobs in the state's communities; and

     WHEREAS, film and television production in New Mexico provides the state's local talent of actors, models, designers and other artists with unique opportunities to develop their craft in major productions, opportunities to which they may not have access in Hollywood; and

     WHEREAS, many local businesses benefit as well from the patronage of film crews at restaurants and catering companies, hotels, travel agencies, building supply companies and local stores where props and wardrobe are purchased; and

     WHEREAS, film and television production in New Mexico boosts residents' morale, fostering excitement and pride in seeing our state or hometown on the silver screen;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 8, 2016 be declared "Film Day" in the house of representatives in recognition of the contributions that film and television productions in New Mexico provide to the economic and social landscape; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the governor's council on film and media industries.

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