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Picture this: a film studio complex and public entertainment venue in Nashville that would capture the look and feel of Universal Studios Hollywood, only without the rides and with a project pipeline loaded with films targeted at heartland audiences.

 

That's the being made to redevelop the Tennessee State Fairgrounds by Woodland, Calif.-based Tower Investments and Nashville's 821 Entertainment,projects include a forthcoming film about the life of the Rev. Billy Graham, as well as a biopic on music legend Hank Williams.

 

But whether that studio concept turns out to be one of the four ideas selected by the fair board to revamp the site doesn't seem ultimately to matter to Tower Investments Senior Vice President Alex Marks and 821 co-founder Eric Geadelmann.

 

What matters most to the partners is being able to secure a suitable spot in the Nashville area that allows them to tap into what they said is intense interest from well-heeled potential tenants who want to see movies added to Music City's entertainment portfolio.

 

"This is about creating a whole new industry in Nashville," Geadelmann said of the proposal, which is going by the working title "Browns Creek Media Village."

 

While the state has always attracted films like the 2005 Johnny Cash movie Walk The Line, a package of film incentives launched more than a year ago put Tennessee in competition with other states giving tax breaks to lure projects from Hollywood.

 

For example, the state offered incentives that could be worth about $3 million, according to a Tennessean analysis published in June, to bring the $28 million Disney production of Hannah Montana: The Movie to Tennessee.

 

Perry Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Film & Music Commission, said that without a sound stage that's built to accommodate film projects, movies probably will continue to look to Tennessee primarily for its combination of incentives, locations and available crew.

 

That's where Marks and Geadelmann said their comes in.

 

By building what amounts to a film-studio lot - which would include retail, a hotel and a 5,000-7,000-seat indoor music venue, as well as an attached film school - the pair hopes to make Nashville as much of a destination for movies as it is for music.

 

"We really look at projects that make a difference in the community," said Marks, who is a member of the family that owns and runs Tower Investments, which has purchased significant real estate holdings in downtown Nashville and surrounding areas in recent years. While Tower Investments is based in California, Marks works out of the company's Nashville office.

 

Marks said his family seeks out development deals that typically involve some level of job creation or have some positive impact on the economic vibrancy of an area. He drew a comparison of the Browns Creek Media Village project to Tower's 2,300-acre mixed-use development called Elk Run in Pine Island, Minn., which is focused on the biotechnology industry and located near the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

 

"From the industrial view of things, you're seeing companies coming to states like Tennessee," Marks said, citing recent moves by automakers Nissan and Volkswagen. "When you look horizontally across industries, film is something that is sustainable and makes sense for a place like Nashville."

 

 

Marks and Geadelmann said the project would hinge on finding key anchor tenants to run the movie studio, the music venue and the educational component, all of which have drawn interest from legitimate parties, they said. But before any real discussions begin, the pair said, the project must secure a viable site and get some level of assurance from local and state leaders that an incentives package would remain in place.

 

Marks declined to say how much a 100-plus-acre facility would cost to build. Albuquerque Studios, a private development that opened after New Mexico passed one of the most aggressive film incentive packages in the country, built eight sound stages on 28 acres for more than $90 million.

 

Jeremy Hariton, senior vice president of Albuquerque Studios, said the investment has so far been worth it, as films such as Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, with a budget reportedly nearing $200 million, have helped keep the studio's pipeline full.

 

Hariton said it was New Mexico's commitment to keeping film incentives in place - including a "no sunset" clause - that persuaded the company to build the facility there more than two years ago.

 

"It wouldn't have made sense for us to invest that kind of money otherwise," he said.

 

Whether Tennessee can offer that same level of confidence about the long-term viability of film incentives is an open question.

 

Gibson, of the Film & Music Commission, said she has no way of knowing what the next governor will think of the project. "I don't know that there are any guarantees," she said.

 

Ideally, she said, the incentives program that's in place now would help foster a film industry that creates jobs and additional revenue for the state in areas ranging from construction to tourism.

 

"We want a long-term, systemic program that creates an industry," she said. "But it also has to be fiscally responsible for taxpayers."

 

Marks said he envisions state and local participation for the Browns Creek project that would involve a combination of an economic development package, typically used to attract business to the state, and film incentives.

 

There's also a question of demand. With states such as Louisiana, New Mexico, Georgia, Michigan and Utah, as well as Canada, offering aggressive film incentives to bring Hollywood projects to their areas, critics say more places are battling for a slice of the $40 billion movie industry.

 

James Spies, executive producer for Nothing But The Truth, a film starring Kate Beckinsale that was shot in Memphis and is scheduled to be released in December, said the first thing any producer asks these days about a location is whether it has incentives.

 

But there are other considerations, as well, such as the availability of trained film crews and sound stages. In addition, said Spies, who moved to Brentwood two years ago so his children could "escape the L.A. rat race," producers look at intangibles such as local scenery and such amenities of a city as hotels, restaurants and things to do, particularly when famous cast members are faced with the prospect of shooting on location for months at a time.

 

 

Beyond incentives, crews and amenities, Marks and Geadelmann envision having a "heartland" component to their Browns Creek Media Village concept, an identity meant to attract productions that roughly mirror the themes in country and Christian music.

 

"That heartland brand is extremely key for us," Marks said.

 

Geadelmann said the success of films such as The Passion of the Christ and The Chronicles of Narnia series presented a compelling business case for films that appeal to people who live in between the coasts. But it's not just Christian themes the brand would focus on.

 

821's list of active or pending film deals, representing as much as $250 million according to includes categories such as "Southern Drama," "Music Biographies" and "Inspirational Sports."

 

"Our goal is to plant the heartland flag, to dominate those niches and build a lasting brand," Geadelmann said. "Regardless of the actual site, this effort is a true legacy opportunity."

 

Source: The Tennessean, copyright 2008