Organization aims to bring movie-making industries back to Minnesota

Minnesota was once a hot spot for major motion pictures from “The Mighty Ducks” to “Fargo.”

The film community is now calling for changes at the Minnesota State Capitol — changes they say could help bring the industry back in a big way.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS got a behind-the-scenes look today as they filmed a commercial to convince the legislature to change the state’s nonprofit film board — into a full state agency.

They’re calling for larger incentives to bring more crews and companies to Minnesota.

They say this will attract bigger Hollywood films and TV series.

RELATED: Minnesota’s film industry welcomes 6 projects after launch of tax credit program

“We’re really showing the economic benefits of having productions in our state,” said Riki McManus, chief production officer of Upper Midwest Film Office. “The work force that is employed doing a business like this, as you’ve seen there’s just a ton of people behind the scenes and each one has their own job.”

She added, “There’s just so many things you’d never think you’d find on a set that it’s fabulous, it can put a lot of people to work and also spend a lot of money in our state.”

“These projects for feature films really show off a community, they’re great for tourism,” said Michael Handley, owner of Tasty Lighting Supply and ACME Stage. “They’re great to show the rest of the country the rest of the world what Minneapolis, what the Iron Range, what Duluth, what Minnesota looks like and what we do here.”

The state legislature last year enacted a new income tax credit for production companies.

State officials say it led to six new projects, accounting for more than 10 million dollars in proposed spending.