Safe communities, good schools and jobs, jobs, jobs. That's Gov-elect Parris Glendening's agenda for the coming four years. So his presence earlier this month at a luncheon honoring James G. Robinson, chairman and CEO of Morgan Creek Productions, was hardly a surprise.
Mr. Robinson's story is a classic tale of entrepreneurial achievement, parlaying success in earlier business ventures into one of Hollywood's most powerful independent film studios. Maryland has shared in his rise. Two of his recent features -- "Silent Fall" and "Major League II" -- were filmed in Maryland, enriching the Maryland economy by $30 million.
By bringing major feature films to this state, Mr. Robinson has demonstrated the variety of photogenic possibilities Maryland offers. He has also helped to raise the state's profile among decision-makers in the movie industry. His commitment to this region -- he commutes to Los Angeles from Timonium -- is a valuable asset in an industry where many states and cities have set aside ample budgets for film commissions to lure Hollywood productions.
Movie-making is big business, and not just in Hollywood. Each year, the industry spends as much as $5 billion making feature films away from Los Angeles. Last year, Maryland got six films, four of them shot entirely in the state. Those productions, together with "Homicide," the Barry Levinson television series, created an $87 million impact on the state's economy. Michael B. Styer, director of the Maryland Film Commission, thinks it is easily within reach to boost that figure to $100 million or more, especially if the state continues to support the commission's efforts.
Mr. Glendening said he plans to do so. That's a wise decision. The film business doesn't require expensive infrastructure, but rather a cooperative relationship with state and local government. That already exists, so Maryland is poised to compete with Pittsburgh, Toronto and other cities that are favored locations for production companies. But Maryland offers more than a rich assortment of urban scenes: It also has a wide range of scenic riches from the mountains in the west to the coastal beauty of the Eastern Shore.
For fiscal year 1995, the legislature increased the film commission's budget to $239,000, enough to add another staff member, plus full-time office help. That's still not as much as it had before the recession. But along with assets like Jim Robinson, it's enough to help give the film industry in Maryland a significant boost.