Expanding business
LIFT had initially made low-budget feature films for limited theatrical release, like the cult classics Evil Remains and Freshman Orientation. However, in 2004 it expanded aggressively into the movie-of-the-week market producing dozens of films for Lifetime, CBS, and A&E, including Christopher Reeve's last picture, The Brooke Ellison Story, and the critically acclaimed mini-series Elvis, which earned Emmy nominations for the LIFT Founders.
By the end of 2004, LIFT had over 500 employees on payroll and had entered into long-term production and distribution contracts with independent powerhouse Lions' Gate Entertainment. The partnership gained immediate box-office success with major releases, such as the comedy-classic Waiting..., and critical acclaim with art-house offerings such as Bug starring Ashley Judd, which earned legendary director Billy Friedkin the coveted Director's Award at the Cannes Film Festival. That year, LIFT had produced almost $75,000,000 in locally financed production and was on track to double that in 2005 with more than 30 productions.
Meanwhile, LIFT continued to expand the scope of its distribution outlets, releasing Mr. Brooks, starring Kevin Costner, through MGM, and Factory Girl, starring Sienna Miller through the Weinstein Company.
While in 2001, movie production in Louisiana had an impact of just $30 million, by 2003, estimates were in excess of $100 million. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the motion picture industry in Louisiana grew by 22% per year between 2001 and 2007 with wages increasing 8.2% per year during that same period. A report released by the Economic Research Associates for Louisiana Department of Economic Development in 2007 found that the industry supported 6,230 jobs in Louisiana (3,310 directly and 2,920 indirectly), generated $203.7 million, and an average income of $32,700 per job. The "...$429.2 million of direct in-state spending for 2007 amounted to $763 million of economic benefit to Louisiana, when things like rents, royalties, profits, dividends, property taxes and various indirect benefits are factored in."
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Wages within the state's motion picture industry increased 8.2 per percent per year between 2001 and 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In calculating the impact of the motion picture industry on the states economy, the report noted that $429.2 million of direct in-state spending for 2007 ultimately amounted to $763 million of economic benefit to Louisiana, when things like rents, royalties, profits, dividends, property taxes and various indirect benefits are factored in.
The "Film Factory"
The Friday before Hurricane Katrina hit, LIFT purchased 18 acres (73,000 m2) of land in downtown New Orleans, west of the French Quarter (intersection of St. Louis & Galvez Streets) to build a $200,000,000, state-of-the-art production complex. The 320,000-square-foot (30,000 m2) Film Factory was to be built to withstand extreme weather events and to international standards for essential facilities. The plans included: Seven Class A sound stages (two devoted to film school productions), movie and television production support spaces, production offices, central wardrobe and props, a full service film and media education center. It was also designed to house two digital media incubator labs, one for development of gaming and artificial intelligence and the second for the development of animation productions. It was to be the first facility in the United States to house a state-of-the-art training institute on an active motion picture studio lot. Within five years the school would have been training 750 residents a year for careers in the Louisiana production market.
Film Factory was not just a building, but a massive attempt to build the first Hollywood studio outside of Hollywood, in the history of motion pictures. It included major strategic partnerships, like one with Lions' Gate which had agreed to move many of its core operations to Louisiana and house them at the Film Factory, as well as top vendors and suppliers, such as Panavision and Kodak.
According to third-party studies 1,200 motion picture production jobs were projected in Louisiana in 2009–2010. The Film Factory was to create 5,000 jobs in its first year, and 20,000 jobs by the time it reached its peak of operations. Located in the Treme area abutting downtown New Orleans—the poorest census tract in the country—the Film Factory was an ambitious effort to revitalize one of the poorest cities in the United States. Similarly a Tulane study estimated that when the production studio and film institute came online in 2008 it would create nearly 2,253 direct and 1,517 indirect jobs and adding $131 million in payroll.
On October 19, 2006, Film Factory officially broke ground, with a golden shovel ceremony officiated by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, and his political opponent Lieutenant Governor, Mitch Landrieu. Completion was scheduled for the last quarter of 2008. The vertically-integrated business boasted a $180,000,000 development deal with Element Films (the movie division of billionaire club impresario Sam Nazarian's SBE Entertainment empire) and a $50,000,000 revolving line of credit with Merrill-Lynch to distribute films through Lions Gate and MGM. If successful, the Film Factory would have transformed LIFT into a major studio, and catapulted New Orleans' economic standing well past its regional competitors, putting it on an economic footing with New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Within five years the development’s 12-month vocational school was to train 750 local residents per year for the high-paying jobs in the Louisiana production market. "From carpenters to hairdressers; from electricians to graphic artists; from visual artists to caterers, there is a career in the Film industry for every ambition and natural talent," announced CEO Petal at the Film Factory ground-breaking. "And what's more these are union jobs, with pension and health benefits, and starting salaries from $20 to $45 per hour. These are careers that will allow the people of Treme to build dignified lives on single salaries, own homes, pay for college." The City's Executive Director of Arts and Entertainment, Ernest Collins, and Rep. Steve Scalise R-Jefferson expressed the importance of this infrastructure development to the sustainability of the film industry in Louisiana. Petal stated at the time, "We've brought a lot of the industry here with cash. The trick is to not have that be the sole reason people come here. We have to try to leverage the tax incentives to build a more well-rounded industry... This will show people that they can build a career here. People have to feel that it's real to invest time in it."
