Selkirk has movie mania
Posted By Brian Bowman
Posted 2 months ago
Selkirk may not be Hollywood just yet, but the city is always looking to attract the bright lights of the movie industry.
Local councillor Duane Nicol said the city continues to throw its name into the ring of cities interested in hosting major film crews. After playing host to several big name movies in recent years - including the Don Cherry movie back in May - Nicol said Selkirk is a city that is a perfect fit to host movie filmmakers.
Selkirk did a great job taking care of Frantic Films of Winnipeg and Entertainment One of Toronto, both of whom co-produced the two-part, four-hour mini-series about Cherry to be broadcast on CBC Television.
"We're hoping to attract more movies because its a very cost-effective way of promoting the community and its a great way to bring in thousands of dollars to our community," Nicol said earlier this week. "It's good for Selkirk business and it's good for our residents."
Nicol said the economic impact from the Don Cherry movie to the area this past summer was significant. The purchases of local good and services, combined with money paid to extras, makes a tremendous impact on the area.
"One of the benefits for our lower dollar in Canada was that we were seeing a lot of movie productions here in Canada," said Nicol.
"But in Manitoba there's also a tax credit, with support from the provincial government to attract movies. And once you leave the perimeter, there's even more dollars invested from the province."
That, combined with the prestige of hosting a movie and some of Hollywood's famous people, is simply too good to pass up.
In fact, Nicol said there was an excited crowd at the Garry Theatre when the movie New in Town - starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. - was shown there. The movie, based in a small Minnesota town, was a perfect fit for Selkirk.
"It's just a huge boost to community pride to know Selkirk is in major films," Nicol said.
"We're a unique community, an older community, and a lot our stores can pass for midwestern and American community. We pass for Minnesota quite well."
Nicol estimated there have been around five movies shot here in town in recent years and he hopes that trend continues in the near future.
The city has even promoted itself with a DVD, delivered to both the Toronto and Los Angeles Film Festivals.
"The more we promote ourselves, the more people will know about our community," he reasoned.
Nicol said Selkirk does a great job letting producers know what is expected of them when they are in our area filming. Whether its just a couple of days or as long as a few weeks, filmmakers leave Selkirk happy with the experience of shooting here.
In the past, Selkirk council has reduced the rates for production companies in return for special movie credits and other credits that can be used to advertise the city as an ideal movie location for future film productions.
"We're very movie-production friendly," Nicol stressed.
"We go out of our way to provide them with costs, such as if they need to use a grater or have to move some things around - they know exactly what it will cost them up front."
