To date, 2017 has been a stellar year for our production industry; it’s the best year ever!
We have much to celebrate and I’ve been doing my fair share attending holiday parties hosted by the Massachusetts Production Coalition, Bestor Cram of Northern Light Productions, Tom Sprague of National Boston and at the very Christmassy home of Terri and Jeff Rosica; he is the President of Avid Technology.
I had the delight of lunching with the Mass Film Office Executive Director Lisa Strout and Deputy Director Tim Grafft, and also on another occasion, with Susan Nelson, Executive Director of SAG-AFTRA to discuss the new SAG-AFTRA Regional Commercial Code (see article in this issue). And I was able to spend the better part of a day at New England Studios where Studios 1 – 4 and all the mill space are in use by Hulu’s TV series Castle Rock and the third floor production facilities are occupied by Chris Lang’s I’M NOT YOUR DAUGHTER in Pre- Production along with producer Mark Donadio and co-producer Erin Cole.
So, the celebrations are on! But, there is one more; and you will not want to miss it. It’s IMAGINE’s Industry New Year’s Celebration & “Imaginnaire” Awards Gala! Your invitation is in this issue, which has become our Women Who Work in the Industry edition. The “Year of the Woman” has unfolded in a most unique way and as you can see, we’ve celebrated that here. We do so with our “Imaginnaire” all women slate as well.
Accomplished and varied, you’ll want to meet all of them. Here are our honorees to be the award recipients of “Imaginnaire” and “Shooting Star” awards on January 9, 2018, 7 – 10pm at Venezia.
Massachusetts Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante, a mega supporter of Film Tax Credits.
Rhode Island Film & TV Office’s Carol Conley, Assistant to Executive Director Steve Feinberg.
Boston Casting Director Lisa Lobel and Founder of its Performance Center.
WIFVNE’s Juliet Schneider, who went the extra mile to save Women in Film/Video for New England.
IMAGINE’s “Shooting Star” is Ava Fratus, a very young woman born to perform.
I will be telling you more about this talented and dedicated group of “Imaginnaire” honorees and their exciting presenters in the days ahead. Watch for my notes in your inbox and be sure you RSVP and attend this popular event to meet them and cheer them for their accomplishments and to share in the networking for a great 2018.
This star-studded event has an exciting venue this year – the exquisite Venezia on the water in the Port Norfolk section of Boston, it overlooks the Boston Harbor with sweeping views of the Boston Skyline, an unmatched waterfront view and a welcoming atmosphere. And there is plenty of free parking.
This festive evening brings together our industry professionals for celebrating and networking. Many of our Corp of “Imaginnaires” will attend and it is my favorite evening of the year when I get to see all of you. Something magical always happens when you put this much talent in one room.
Make your reservation now. Your attendance is vital to our continued work here at IMAGINE, and includes your IMAGINE subscription for 2018. Proceeds from the party help us underwrite the incredible outreach we provide for our industry to the rest of the world. We champion our industry and promote our locations, film tax credits and the crew depth and our skilled talent acting pool. We do this by frequently shipping thousands of copies to major national industry events filled with stories and advertising from New England. We do this so that studio executives, major producers, networks, talent and commercial agencies can see what New England has to offer the industry. In these special editions we include an ad that extols the virtues of our attractive film tax credits and our desire to bring the work back here.
It’s a heavy lift and we are always in need of underwriting for this effort. IMAGINE has always been more than a magazine – it’s a movement accelerating the success of our industry.
Go to www.imaginenews.com and click on our party button to reserve your ticket. Remember, starting, renewing or extending your subscription includes our magical 2018 New Year’s Industry Celebration & “Imaginnaire” Awards Gala. It’s our gift to our readers and members of our production community who engage. Your participation will greatly support the work we do at IMAGINE, which I remind is to promote our industry and protect our Film Tax Credits, which IMAGINE introduced in 2002.
This December I am looking back at all the extraordinary happenings in New England that are too numerous to mention here, but the amount of work has exceeded thirty-four major productions including the ten episode Castle Rock TV series, Frankie Shaw’s SMILF, EQUALIZER 2, PROUD MARY, I FEEL PRETTY, DADDY’S HOME 2, SLENDER MAN and THE CATCHER WAS A SPY to name only a few.
2018 looks extremely promising. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s TV pilot, A City on the Hill (I feel strongly about it) looks to begin shooting in April, SMILF has renewed and will be back, and there is no reason to believe Castle Rock won’t be back for a second season.
It is, for the twentieth time for me to thank everyone who reads and supports IMAGINE and our Industry in New England. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I look forward to seeing you on January 9, 2018 for another magical evening.
I wish everyone a Healthy, Happy, Creative and Satisfyingly Prosperous New Year!
