What Warner Brothers, Sony, and Howard Hughes want in order to turn Las Vegas into Hollywood 2.0, plus... -That is a bomb.

-Do you think the cops did it?

-A new movie highlights the talented filmmakers already in Southern Nevada.

We sit down with the cast and crew of Action!

Action!

this week on Nevada Week.

♪♪ Support for Nevada Week is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

-Welcome to Nevada Week.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

And joining me in studio are members of the new film Action!

Action!, made in Las Vegas by Las Vegans.

We'll talk with them about how unique that is ahead, but we begin with the Summerland Studios bill.

If passed, Assembly Bill 238 would expand Nevada's film tax credit program from $10 million a year to $120 million a year for 15 years.

Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers Discovery would receive most of those tax credits, and, in exchange, they, along with Howard Hughes Holdings would build a world class production facility in Summerlin.

The bill sponsors, Assembly Members Sandra Jauregui and Daniele Monroe-Moreno say it creates jobs and diversifies the economy.

They first presented this bill in February and spoke with us recently about where it stands.

(Sandra Jauregui) I think people have questions, right, about where we are as a state and can we afford this bill.

And that's the next step in the legislative process: What does this bill mean for Nevada?

Yes, tax credits are being offered, but what is Nevada getting in return for those tax credits, right?

Well, it's getting economic output.

It's almost 3 billion in economic output a year, but before even a single tax credit is drawn down, there's going to be a $2 billion investment in construction in building these new studios.

There's going to be 19,000 construction jobs created before, production even takes place.

And then, once it's complete, once the studios are ready to go, 18,000 permanent jobs in the state of Nevada.

(Daniele Monroe-Moreno) But I also think it's really important that everyone knows that that $2 billion investment is a private investment.

Those are not state dollars.

It's the industry investing in Nevada.

-And is that how this bill differs from other states that have had similar tax credit programs?

How is this different than in other states, where some would say the results weren't all that great for the economy?

-Well, I think this is unlike any other film tax credit.

This is a first of its kind.

Like, this has never been done in the industry before.

You have Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Entertainment partnering with one of our very own community partners, Howard Hughes.

Howard Hughes has been building Nevada for over 75 years, and the three of these have got together in a joint venture to bring a first time ever joint venture amongst two of the world class studios.

-Assembly Member Monroe-Moreno, when we were speaking a little bit off camera ahead of this, you said, What comes next is you got to figure out if the state can afford this.

Is that the right term, though?

Because, like we just heard, you're not offering money up front.

-Right.

And it's, like I said to you when we were talking off camera, you said, Where's the bill at?

The bill made it out of committee, and it's going to go to the floor after the amendment that was applied to the bill is typed up so members actually see that in writing, and then that bill will be sent to Ways and Means, which I chair.

And any piece of legislation that has any financial attachment to it comes to our committee.

And as a committee, we will look at what we have on the books.

And the tax credit would have to go on the books, but not in this fiscal year.

It won't go in until 2028.

And making sure that we are in a position that we can fund those tax credits then, but also I believe we put in the safeguards in this piece of legislation in the event that that wouldn't happen.

But all indicators that, as a fiscal leader, that I feel, this is something the state not only can afford, that the state needs to do because of the benefits that it's going to bring into our state.

-And those benefits, as we mentioned, the construction of the film studio, but also the development of a vocational training studio so that people can learn the skills needed to work in the film industry.

UNLV and the Nevada System of Higher Education both expressed support for the bill.

Meanwhile, the Clark County Education Association testified as neutral, and the Nevada State Education Association as opposed.

The NSCA thinks AB 238 will take funding away from K-12 education.

Here's that testimony and how Assembly Member Jauregui is responding.

-We don't need Hollywood influencing our state any more than it already does.

Clearly, we're already living in la-la land.

Nearly two years ago, we stood here opposing public funds for a stadium voucher to a billionaire baseball owner.

Today, we stand here again to oppose public money for a Tinseltown tax break.

This sequel is worse than the original.

If there's any investment worse than a stadium, it's a handout for film studios.

Sadly, education advocates are usually only in this committee to oppose handouts to billionaires and explain why we should keep public money in public services like schools.

We must put schools over studios and pass the plan.

This doesn't have to be a fantasy film.

Unfortunately, the Commission on School Funding's plan has been dismissed by the governor, turning Nevada's public education into a low-budget drama with a cliffhanger every two years.

-You know, this isn't about taking from one sector and giving to another.

It's about investing in Nevada's future.

And so there's money going into the State Education Fund that wouldn't have been going in if this industry doesn't come.

So 24% of the taxes generated are going to go into the State Education Fund.

That's approximately $250 million that wouldn't have gone to education if it's not for this industry coming in.

-And Assembly Member Monroe-Moreno, you testified that this is a rare opportunity for Nevada to diversify its economy.

Is this opportunity going to be available next session, following session after that, if it is not passed this year?

-You know, so many things are all about timing, right?

And this conversation didn't start with us.

This has been a conversation that has happened in Nevada for a number of years, but I believe that this is the time.

Everything has its time, and this is the time to act now, right at this time.

Just as my colleague said, we have never seen two, two studios coming together to work together on one mission and them putting in their own money for the infrastructure before getting any tax credit.

But not only the infrastructure of the movie studio, but also putting in, investing in, the community and building, you know-- and investing in our education system by partnering with our universities and colleges and with Nevada Partners to make sure that our youth are involved and learn this industry.

We've never seen this in any other state.

My colleague and I, we've looked at what's happened in other states and some of the things they did right and some things that they did wrong so that we wouldn't make the mistakes that have happened in other states.

We want to get this right for the state, because this is where we live, where I raise my children and my grandchildren.

I want this to be right for our state.

-And at that hearing, when Warner Brothers spoke, Warner Brothers Discovery, Simon Robinson said that they spend about $20 billion a year on content.

And so the financial commitment that they have to make as part of this bill is going to be easy for them to make.

They also said that their studios in Burbank and in the UK, well, they just don't have enough space to accommodate everything they want to do.

So with all of that said, it begs the question: Do they need Nevada more than Nevada needs them?

Should they be getting this much of a tax credit break?

-I'm not going to say that they need Nevada more than Nevada needs them.

I'm going to say it's a partnership.

I see where we, all industries involved, we all benefit from this.

Yes, do they need to have a studio closer to home, to Hollywood?

Yes, they do, and Nevada is the perfect spot for that.

Does Nevada need to diversify our economy and bring in another industry that will create jobs for for our constituents, but also will help grow the pie, because we have a small pie when it comes to budgeting, help to grow that pie so that we can have a more impactful effect in the programming that we supply as legislators to our constituents?

Yes.

So it's-- I believe it's an equal partnership, where we both benefit.

-And it's important for people to know that they aren't receiving a tax credit until production has been complete.

So not a single tax credit is going to be given until a film or a sitcom series has been completely produced, meaning they've generated production dollars in our state, put Nevadans to work, you know, spent money in our small businesses.

And after that, they are going to go through an audit to make sure that they're meeting all of the requirements and guardrails that my copresenter and I put in, meaning they have to put Nevadans to work.

There's a 50% requirement that 50% of this people getting put to work have to be from Nevada, and there's also a diversity requirement.

And so again, it is a partnership, just like my copresenter said.

-So what are the biggest sticking points you're hearing right now that you're working on?

-It's telling the story.

A number of people in Nevada didn't even know that we currently have a film tax credit on the books.

This is an expansion of the current tax credit.

It's nothing new.

We have it, and we have some amazing small filmmakers in our state.

So it's an expansion of that.

I think our biggest hurdle has been telling the story, explaining the story of this is an industry that's alive and well in Nevada, and this just grows that industry so that it's accessible to more people, bringing in dollars that we don't have in the state, and using those dollars, not just for education, to help us fund education, but looking at the cuts that we're doing, may have to do for healthcare, we'll have more money within this state to deal with the day-to-day issues that families have to deal with that the state has a responsibility to help them in.

And this will help us get there.

-Assembly Member Jauregue, what would a vote of no mean?

What would that be sending as a message?

-My copresenter said this during the hearing, but Nevada could be home to the next Denzel Washington and Steven Spielberg.

And we don't know, because you know where they go?

They are leaving the state.

They're getting educated here in this industry and leaving the state to go work because we don't have the industry infrastructure.

And that's what we're trying to bring.

We're trying to keep our talent here at home.

We're trying to create 18,000 permanent jobs that are six-figure paying jobs that Nevadans can raise a family on, send their kids to college on, have enough money left over to have brunch with the girls or beer with the guys on Sunday.

And we're creating 19,000 construction jobs before the studios are even complete.

And that's what it's about, right?

It's about knowing Nevadans need to be put to work, need work, and we're bringing an industry that's creating those jobs for them.

-Assembly Member Monroe-Moreno, I remember you saying that there could be a Denzel Washington coming out of Nevada, and it's part of why you have been working to bring the arts aspect back into the STEM education.

It's been STEM, referred to as STEM as of late, but it's really STEAM.

-It is.

-Why is that important?

-I was the choir kid, and my sister was in theater.

I love that.

Our kids need those opportunities, but now these opportunities will go far outside the classroom, actually into a career, a career that they can have right here in Nevada, be with their families, and like my colleague said, have a, not just a job, but a career where they can have that home that everyone dreams of.

And you said, What would a no vote mean?

It would mean a lost opportunity for those kids.

That's what a no vote means.

-And AB 238 is not the only bill that looks to expand Nevada's film tax credit program this session.

Senator Roberta Lang is the sponsor of Senate Bill 220, which promises film tax credits in exchange for the construction of a film and production campus on land that UNLV owns.

We move now to a new movie made without any help from Hollywood.

Its cast and crew are all from Las Vegas.

The film is called Action!

Action!

and it premieres on Friday, April 25 at Stadium Swim at Circa Resort & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas.

-Freeze!

-My painting, where is it?

-Benny, we're friends.

-Some of my best friends want to kill me.

-Just conned my way into a gala of one of the most ruthless mob bosses in the world.

What could possibly go wrong?

-Featuring adventure, betrayal, loyalty, and love, Las Vegas locals are responsible for this film.

And here to explain why that's a big deal are Adam Kilbourn, the producer and director of Action!

Action!

as well as the owner of Black Raven Films; Shana Dahan, the lead actress of Action!

Action!

; and Danny Shepherd, co-director of Action!

Action!

and also the co-owner of the production group Ismahawk.

Thank you all for joining us.

Adam, I want to start with you.

Why is this a big deal, made in Las Vegas by Las Vegans?

(Adam Kilbourn) Making a movie is one of the hardest things you can possibly do.

It's-- there's no road map.

There's no right way to do it.

You've got to basically figure it out as you go along.

And for a Las Vegas local company, groups of companies, to create a feature-length film here in Las Vegas is a big deal because it's so darn hard to do.

-So for the viewer at home who is thinking, I see Las Vegas in movies all the time.

Why is this a big deal?

How would you respond to that, Danny?

(Danny Shepherd) Well, I think first and foremost-- well, a lot of the films that you see made in Las Vegas are made by people who are not from Las Vegas.

So there's perspective that people have of Las Vegas that is this, like, Well, there's only one street in Las Vegas, and that's Las Vegas Boulevard.

Nothing else really exists outside of that street.

But because we're locals--I grew up here, Shana grew up here, Adam has been here for years--we're coming from a perspective of locals.

We're seeing parts of the city that you don't usually see, you know?

We're getting underneath things, and we're showing-- and in Action!

Action!

specifically, one of the coolest things about it is we're showcasing locations that are staples of the city that you don't really see in any other film.

I mean, we showed the Mob Museum.

-And Shana, people may know you from Storage Wars, also from your YouTube show Thrifters Anonymous.

So from that perspective, why is it a big deal?

Why choose to make a film as opposed to do something that's for social media when so many people see it that way as it is?

-It's true.

You know, Action!

Action!

is-- well, at least from Adam's perspective and Danny, they tried to pay homage to all of the incredible action films we grew up watching.

And so to do something like that from start to finish with our team of Las Vegas locals who we went to school with?

I mean, I went to UNLV.

I wanted to perform since I was a little kid.

And to know I could grow up and be able to do that here, utilizing all the talent that we have here, it's a big deal.

You know, we can do the fun social media, and don't get me wrong, I love it.

I had a great time, but it's a huge accomplishment.

-Tis has been a dream for all of us since we were kids to-- you know, social media is a new outlet that sort of democratizes us being able to create what we want to do without any kind of barriers or gatekeepers.

And for that, it's incredible.

It's given us the opportunity, me and my business partner--Jeremy was the cinematographer of this film--given us the opportunity to grow and elevate our skills in a lot of ways.

At the end of the day, when we were kids, we dreamed about making ovies, you know?

That was the-- we watched-- I remember being eight years old and watching Titanic with my family and asking my dad, Dad, how much do you pay to be a movie star?

And he laughed at me and said, Danny, no, no, they pay you.

That's their job.

And I said, they pay you?

What?

-I know, right?

I want a fight scene.

The fact that we got to-- we trained for three to four months for these fight scenes that were shot, and some of them were in one take.

It was a big deal for us, to be taken seriously too.

Listen, I've done social media and, you know, reality television, and we have some incredible talent on this film, actual actors who have been doing this a long time, and they live here and they work here and that's what's really important.

-Okay.

So, Adam, you're familiar with the Nevada tax film credits.

-Yeah.

-Did you use them for this film?

-No, we did not.

-Why?

-This is entirely privately financed.

Two reasons: One is, to get the tax credits, you've got to jump through some hoops, and it wasn't quite a fit for our project.

And then second is I think it gives you some freedom when you don't have to jump through those hoops to do what you want.

And I think we didn't have a ton of money.

It's not like we did this for $10 million, okay?

We had a limited budget with that, and so we wanted to be creative and to create something really special here.

And I think that that's the reason why we chose to do it private, and-- -And the support from the local community-- -Yeah, we couldn't have done it without support of the local community.

-Who did fund this?

-We got support, not just financial support, but filmmaking support, like location support, like Derek Stevens and the Circa team, they let us film at Legacy Club and inside the property there, and it's beautiful.

Jonathan Jossel in the Plaza, we filmed inside Oscar's Steakhouse, you know, where some very famous movies have been filmed, like Robert De Niro in the Casino.

We got to film at The Mob Museum, which was incredibly special for us.

Mob Museum has been a partner with us on a couple of projects up to this point, and to be back filming in The Mob Museum was awesome.

And it's not because we had this massive budget and we're like throwing all this cash around.

It's because they knew us.

They knew us as local Las Vegas people, and they wanted to support what we were up to and doing, and they knew we were going to take care of their property and show it off in a really good light.

And we love the all the locations that we shot at.

It shows in this movie how beautiful those places are.

We really, I think we make them shine.

It's really cool.

-Downtown is a character, so it's not just Las Vegas Boulevard.

-Yeah.

-Fremont Street is all inside of it.

-The World Market Center.

-You talked about the importance of having those relationships here in Las Vegas.

This makes me wonder about the bill that we have done this whole show on and the relationships that people are going to bring from LA, and will this end up being just an LA town that does not benefit locals?

Do you have any thoughts on that, Danny?

-I mean, at the end of the day, like a tax incentive like this could stimulate a lot of Vegas's economy in the entertainment space, in the film making space.

It could give opportunities to a lot of the filmmakers who are starting up and give them something to kind of, to go for, which is amazing, especially if it actually works like that.

The most important thing that I would hope is that, like, I mean, some of the most talented filmmakers I have ever met are from this town, award winning filmmakers, people with brilliant minds and creativity.

And I just hope that with this kind of bill, that those people are also getting the opportunities to show why they're so special, not even just people at this table, but there's again, the community at large that we have grown in this space.

We went to UNLV and, you know, were one of many talented people that come up every single year through that school.

So hopefully we can see a lot more of that.

-And the terminology that you would use would be "above-the-line" personnel, which is a part of this bill that at least 50% or more of Nevada residents have to make up "below-the-line" employees, which means what, Shana?

-That's a good question that we probably need a good answer for, because I think the concern is, are those individuals who are incredible directors, are they going to be doing sound, are they doing-- what job are they doing?

-Yeah, there's nothing in there for above-the-line.

And above-line includes directors, writers, producers and lead actors.

And from my understanding, they're not listed in there.

It's "50% below-the-line."

So one thing that you could do to guarantee 50% below-the-line, easily, is by putting people who are Las Vegas locals as above-line, some of those incredibly talented people, giving them the opportunities to be able to do that.

And you're going to naturally get 50% below-the-line, because this is the community we were built in.

Everybody kind of knows each other.

It's the same reason why Action!

Action!

was able to kind of use these bombastic locations, that it was definitely punching above the weight of our budget to be able to shoot in those places and elevate the production value of this film is because of those relationships and connections that we have here.

-Adam, can you give me an example of local talent here that is above-the-line that was utilized in this film?

I believe, for example, like in the car chase, I think you were telling me about the stuntmen.

-Aaron Ortega is our stunt coordinator.

He was one of the stunt guys there, got to do a little driving with that.

Andrew Comrie-Picard is also one of the stunt coordinators, or was the stunt coordinator for it, and he's done shows like the Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw.

He's a Hollywood guy.

-He lives here in Vegas?

-Well, he travels and visits a lot.

We got to know him through our other guys at Sin City BMW that do a lot of car stuff with us.

So it was a relationship that was built.

He was one that doesn't actually live here, but he does work here.

One of the guys that, yeah, literally, there's-- -I had to bring up-- -Yeah, the one.

The one that does is, who does live here, though, is David Barker.

And he does all the pyro for Marvel and for like Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay.

He lives in Henderson, and he's a buddy of ours.

And that's the type of talent that does live here locally.

If you talk to David, he does most of his work in other places.

He'll go to the Dominican Republic or to Atlanta or to Vancouver.

He'll do those productions elsewhere.

They don't necessarily happen in town, in Las Vegas, and he'd love to do more work here, but that type of specialized work doesn't normally happen here in Las Vegas, which was why we were excited to blow up a house here in Las Vegas.

We're like, Dave come and hang out.

We'll blow up a house next to the Stratosphere.

He's like, Heck yeah.

-And which is why you are-- oh, how would you describe yourselves about Sony and Warner Brothers possibly being here?

-Well, I think we're all for them coming to town because it means collaboration on a much bigger scale, and that would be awesome.

The question from the tax incentives is, does it make sense for the state?

And that's not for us to decide.

I think we'd be happy that they're here because of the opportunities that we rely on.

And, you know, right now, we're trying our best to do it on our own, and we are so thrilled that we got to produce and create Action!

Action!

here locally with Las Vegas talent and that we're premiering it here on April 25 at the Circa.

It's a, it's basically a movie for Vegas by Vegas.

It's, we're thrilled about it.

-We're running out of time.

One last thing I want to get in, Clarence Gilyard was in this film.

I did not know that he was a professor of film at UNLV.

He has since passed.

Was that 2022?

He's the guy that people will know from Walker, Texas Ranger, Matlock, Die Hard, Top Gun.

What was it like having him as part of this?

-I mean, it was a privilege getting a chance to work with him.

He was our acting teacher at UNLV, and, I don't know, it felt like a really big full circle moment and a really special moment.

He brought a level of professionalism and artistry that like permeated throughout the set.

I mean, all of us felt it.

There was a scene where he was--it was a very intimidating moment--and as soon as we got on set, it was like you could cut the tension, you know, like with a butter knife.

And we were like, Okay, this is tense.

And as soon as we called cut and, That's a wrap, he said, All right, guys!

Great.

Like, you can tell he was locked into the moment, and it was so effective.

Because when you watch that scene on camera, you're like... like, you feel the tension.

It was, it was awesome.

He really elevated the film, and it was a privilege.

-And he was proud of you guys, to be a part of it, because he was able to teach you, and then to be a part of a project that he supported was, it was amazing to watch.

-Thank you all for joining us.

Action!

Action!

at the Circa on April 25.

And thank you for watching.

For any of the resources discussed, go to vegaspbs.org/nevadaweek.

And I'll see you next week on Nevada Week.

♪♪