mdpeter

http://clevelandfilm.blogspot.com/ G.I. Pictures is a side company that was started two years ago by Nehst with the approval of current and former members of the U.S. military. It was pitched as a complete production operation and a way for creative members of the military to submit their film and television ideas in hopes of getting made. Three individuals with ties to the military were involved at the outset: Richard H. Breen, Jr., APR, Retired U.S. Army Major Benjamin C. Frazier and Gary Bishop, in addition to retired marine Cary Abbott. Since service men and women are being CHARGED MONEY to submit projects to Larry Meistrich, Breen, Frazier and Bishop have disassociated themselves from G.I. Pictures. They are still featured prominently on Larry's website even though they no longer participate. This is a method for Nehst to make some additional money from the unsuspecting public, similar to Screentest and Pitchnehst. G.I. Pictures is basically inactive, although it is still accepting money. There have been submissions in the past, and no refunds have been sent out. Nehst has kept this money, even though it had no film funding to actually produce these projects. Meistrich keeps implying that he has a $250 million film fund which does not actually exist. G.I. Pictures is a way for Nehst to make a little extra money on the side. Jeff Silverstein is the President of Access & Development for Nehst who worked to get this project off the ground. An article from Reuters first published on May 29, 2009: GI Pictures isn't Meistrich's first effort to discover and groom talent. Nehst seems constantly to be seeking out amateurs through contests and such. GI Pictures, in fact, is modeled after Pitch Nehst, whereby budding filmmakers make pitches for $10 apiece (just enough to weed out the unserious). Meistrich said 40 projects have been acquired and are in various stages of development through Pitch Nehst. Two have been released already, and two documentary films are headed for theaters this summer: "Article 32" and "The Mayor of Strawberry Fields." "The Mayor of Strawberry Fields," 38 minute short film documentary, and "Article 32," a 64 minute documentary, have never received a theatrical release by Nehst except for the ocassional screenings organized by Nehst.

Quotes from the Film Commission head Ivan Schwarz on what will happen to the Cleveland film industry. The reality has been very different from his promises: October 27, 2008 "Nehst Creations is committed to spending $125 million in Northeast Ohio if the state legislature passes a proposed tax credit for filmmakers, said Ivan Schwarz, executive director of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission". February 23, 2009 "In an interview with Crain's Cleveland Business, the Nehst chairman said he's prepared to bring production of $80 million to $100 million of moviemaking — two years' output — to a production center at the Cleveland Convention Center if, as expected, the Ohio General Assembly passes a film tax credit bill". February 23, 2009 "Mr. Meistrich estimated the operation he envisions could employ the equivalent of 1,500 full-time workers when it's in full swing. Mr. Schwarz, who was a location manager for film companies before coming to Cleveland in 2007, said that estimate was a realistic figure because a production center with two or three movies in production typically would have 1,000 people working at a time". http://clevelandfilm.blogspot.com/2010/09/film-industrys-impact-in-northeast-ohio.html

Clarifying the level of film production in Northeast Ohio Two recent articles from the Plain Dealer that detail the success of the Cleveland (and Ohio) film industry: http://www.cleveland.com/movies/index.ssf/2010/09/ohios_motion-picture_tax_credi.html http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2010/09/ohio_film-tax_credit_has_broug.html "In the motion-picture tax credit's inaugural year, the state attracted nine films that are expected to spend a combined $33 million in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Development". 9 films have qualified for the tax credit program, but only 5 are expected to have been completed by the end of 2010. "Unstoppable” filmed some scenes in southern Ohio but it mainly used crew members from Pittsburgh. "25 Hill" has a budget of $500K and it shot many scenes in Akron. Jeff Nichols shot his latest film in Lorain and his budget was around $900K. "Freerunner" with Sean Faris shot in Northeast Ohio on a $2M budget. Larry Meistrich's first completed Ohio film, "Lilith," was budgeted at $300K with a crew of less than thirty people. That means the total budget for all films that shot at least some scenes in Northern Ohio this year is approximately $3.5 million, and not all of this was spent in Ohio. In terms of the film industry north of Columbus, the progress has not been as promised The figure of $33M included 4 movies (totaling $16.3 million) that apparently won’t be filmed in 2010. 3 of those 4 are Nehst Studio film projects. Here is a quote from 2 years ago (November 17, 2008) that predicts the effect Nehst Studios will have on Northeast Ohio: “Nehst is committed to spending $125 million in Northeast Ohio if the state legislature passes a proposed tax credit for filmmakers, officials say. The deal would grant the company occasional use of other areas of the convention center, provided the areas aren't rented out at the time. Comparable space in Detroit could fetch more than $1 million in rent a year, the mayor's chief of staff said last month”. Increasing the number of film projects shot in Northeast Ohio is beneficial to all of us, but it is essential that the statistics and updates provided by the film commissions, prominent members of the local film industry and the local media are correct. Too often the meager information that is provided to the public is reminiscent of glorified press releases and overly optimistic portrayals. http://clevelandfilm.blogspot.com/2010/09/clarifying-level-of-film-production-in.html