PRESS RELEASE

Santa Fe Studios Announces Creation of 2,745,000 Job Hours for New Mexicans

5x More Job Hours Reported than Required by State of New Mexico and County of Santa Fe

 

 

December 3, 2015 – Santa Fe, New Mexico - Today it was reported by Santa Fe Studios that its final job hours tally is 2,745,000 – representing a five-fold increase over the original 500,000 job hours requirement.  One hundred percent of the reported job hours were allocated to New Mexicans.

 

As part of the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) grant the Studios received in 2011 to build the facilities, it was contractually obligated to deliver and report on the 500,000 job hours requirement.  This final job hours tally represents a conclusion for this reporting requirement, months in advance of its 2016 deadline, and concludes the LEDA obligations to the State and to the County.  The total tally reports on total job hours for the period beginning Q2 2011 through Q3 2015.

 

Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales commented on this news, “Good news for New Mexico's economy can be hard to come by, but the fact that Santa Fe Studios more than tripled their requirement and created nearly three million job hours over the last five years certainly qualifies.  It is a testament not just to the film industry, which has enormous local impact, but also to the fact that Santa Fe is extremely well-positioned to tap into the potential film holds for our community."

 

The New Mexico Film Commission translates the 2,745,000 hours into 228,750 12-hour worker days.   It is widely reported that film industry wages are higher than hourly wage rates across all other industries.  Film/television production wages range between mid $20’s per hour to upper $30’s per hour.   For more information on the hourly wage comparisons and economic impacts, visit MNP Film Study Phase II 2015.

 

"After enduring the global economic meltdown, uncertainty over the State’s film incentives and hyper competitiveness in the international film production industry, we couldn’t be more pleased with these final job hours that overshot the contracted requirements by miles, and validates the greater Santa Fe film production story,” stated Jason Hool, president of Santa Fe Studios.  “While these job hours crystallize the impact that the Studios is having on the New Mexico and Greater Santa Fe film industry, they represent only a fraction of the total economic impact the Studios has delivered since we opened, including some $19M in local production spending, $30M in the development of the facility itself and being among the top contributors to New Mexico Gross Receipts Taxes collected in Santa Fe County.”

 

 

About Santa Fe Studios

Phase One of Santa Fe Studios opened in late 2011 featuring world class soundstages including two 19,275 square ft. stages, 25,000 square ft. of production offices, a 4,600 square ft. mill, complete onsite production services, 57 acres open for back-lot, and ultra broadband capacity. Designed and built by film professionals for film professionals, Santa Fe Studios has hosted over ten major Hollywood productions including The Magnificent 7, We’re the Millers, A Million Ways to Die in the West and The Ridiculous Six. It has acted as the production facility for a number of television pilots – signaling not only positive growth for the Studios and other local production partners, but also growing awareness of Santa Fe as an attractive destination location for industry leaders such as NBC Universal, FOX, Netflix, Amazon, and CBS. Most recently, the Emmy-award winning television series Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, was filmed at the Studios. For more information about the Studios, visit www.santafestudios.com.