Request for you to support our Sask movie: WolfCop

My director friend Lowell Dean is part a Canadian filmmaking competition called Cinecoup. Competitors make the trailer for a feature film to give audiences an idea of what the movie would be like before it's made. Lowell is a talented Saskatchewan director who's on the verge of moving to another province due the Saskatchewan Party Government cancelling the film tax credit.

A tax credit is necessary everywhere these days to spur filmmaking, even in California. We had built a thriving industry here that produced feature films and hit TV shows like Corner Gas. One year ago, the government cancelled the self-sufficient program and the many talented people who grew an industry here left the province that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives in.

Lowell recently had the chance to direct a multi-million dollar feature here called 13 Eerie. He did a terrific job and the film has received positive attention from fans of the zombie/gore genre. In my opinion, it's becoming one of the most well-received feature films ever made in Saskatchewan. Lowell is going places, literally.

If Lowell wins the competition to receive $1 million in funding to make Wolf Cop he sadly may not even be able to make the film here due to the lack of workable tax credit for our province. We're hoping he will find a way but it's uncertain. Either way, though, Saskatchewan talent will benefit from this film being made.

Currently Wolf Cop is in the top 40 films on Cinecoup and the selection for the top 15 starts now. We need people to register on Cinecoup.com and vote for Wolf Cop. I ask that you consider spending a couple minutes doing so. Thank you.

It's a campy film about a werewolf cop and it's going to be great. The title on the marquee alone will make back the filim's budget when shows in cinemas across Canada next year!

http://cinecoup.com/wolfcop

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Director Terry Gilliam's Letter to Premier Brad Wall

March 27, 2012

Dear Mr. Wall,

As a film director who has filmed in Saskatchewan I am quite shocked to be hear that The Saskatchewan Film Employment Tax Credit has been cancelled.

In 2004 our company shot Tideland, starring Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Tilly, Janet McTeer, Jodelle Ferland and Brendan Fletcher in Regina and the Qu'Appelle Valley. We were there for many months. We provided considerable employment for local professionals. We brought in many skilled people from Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal to work with and train the local crews who were keen to learn new skills and improve their old ones. We left behind new talent that had been given a chance to enter the industry. We spent large sums of money renting studios and living quarters, buying supplies, hiring equipment, and dining in some fine restaurants. All of this added considerably to the local economy and brought a fresh vibrancy to the communities we worked in.

And, please, let's not forget the taxes that the government received from all this increased activity and employment.

It was a wonderful experience for all of us, one I will remember for a long time. I continue hunting for other projects that will provide a chance to return.

But, beside the beautiful country and hardworking crews, the reason we chose Saskatchewan, rather than other possibilities, was the tax credit offered to us. Without that encouragement, very simply, we would not have shot in Saskatchewan.

I have watched over the years other cities and countries that have made the mistake of reducing or eliminating tax credits. After a few years they are usually reinstated by the next government. Not only does film making provide work and taxes but, films are a tremendous advertisement for the locations where the film was shot. There are an awful lot of tourists who want to walk where the stars roamed.

I hope you will reconsider the decision and not wait until the next government gets the credit for doing so.

Yours,

Terry Gilliam

Director: Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Brothers Grimm, Tideland, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

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