BOZEMAN — Lights, camera, action! A popular phrase that when most people hear it, they think Hollywood. But did you know there's actually hundreds of film workers here in Montana? But right now, most of them are currently at risk of losing their jobs and being displaced.
“The last movie I worked on was called Needle Man. It was written and directed by a guy who was born and raised in Gallatin Gateway. It’s surprising how big the film community is in Montana,” says Mallory Regan.
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If you ever have questions about Montana’s film industry, Mallory is the person to talk to. She moved to Bozeman 10 years ago to be a wedding photographer, until?
“A friend of mine approached me and said, ‘If you’re crazy enough to like weddings you might be crazy enough to want to work on movies with us,’" she says.
Now Mallory is the owner of 40 Watt, a Bozeman-based production company. Mallory’s worked on a number of film sets around Montana, mostly taking on producing roles.
“I have worked on movies that have a budget of $3.5 million or more, where everything is coming from Montana. So that’s all of the technicians, the camera people, the lighting people, the location staff,” Mallory tells me.
By keeping productions local, that money gets filtered back into Montana’s economy; in fact, according to The Montana Legislature, in the last two years, film production in Montana has brought in over $312 million to local economies statewide. But this industry is in jeopardy.
“When a production comes to Montana the money that gets spent here stays here, right? When they bring crews in from out of state, they’re spending money that’s going to leave when they leave,” Mallory explains.
In 2019, The Montana Legislature passed the Media Act to provide an income tax incentive applicable to any media production—including those coming in from out of state, which has been successful. But maybe a little too successful.
“Because of the success and the huge amount of productions that have come through, we’re actually out of tax credits until 2029. So, we’re in this place where we’re looking at hundreds of Montana filmmakers who are looking at getting displaced,” Lynn-Wood Fields tells me.
Lynn-Wood is the executive director of the Montana Media Coalition, which created the Media Act. She tells me here in Montana? There have been 167 productions in the last year and a half alone, most of which were created by Montana filmmakers. But it’s been the few large productions, such as Yellowstone, that bring in out of state crews and dry up the tax credits. The result for local crews?
“We’re looking at about 75 million dollars in lost wages for Montana. We pretty much will lose our industry in the state, potentially” Lynn-Wood fears.
So, what is being done?
“In 2025 we want to amend it. We want to reserve 60% for Montana businesses and productions. So that it benefits those of us who are Montana filmmakers,” says Lynn-Wood.
To help keep the film industry in Montana alive.
“We want this to be for Montana filmmakers, to tell Montana stories. So, by Montana for Montana,” explains Lynn-Wood.
Lynn-Wood says the best way to help the film industry in Montana is to simply spread the word about amending the Media Act with Senate Bill 326. Because if this bill is passed, it would not only save thousands in economic revenue but hundreds of workers from being displaced.
“To see people be out of work, or have to leave, or have to choose a different career because we can't understand why this is so important? Is heartbreaking,” says Mallory. “So yeah, I want the money to stay in Montana. But more importantly? I want the people to stay."
For more information on how the Media Act works, watch this video.
To learn more about this issue and the Montana Media Coalition, click here.
