Springfield in the Spotlight: Veteran actor Shelly Gibson highlights her hometown in feature film

Shelly Gibson: Economic impact of movies is wide-ranging.

Last edited 9:18 a.m., Nov. 9, 2024 [Investment details have been corrected.]

For a little over two weeks, Springfield experienced the burnished glow of the limelight.

An independent film titled “Dust to Malibu” came to life in familiar locales all over the city – along the BNSF railroad tracks by Commercial Street, at restaurants and hotels, and in front of the stately Victorian houses of the Midtown neighborhood.

Shelly Gibson owns one of those houses, and she offered it up as a set. Gibson had some skin in the game as the producer and actor who brought the production to her hometown, thanks in large part to Missouri’s tax credits for motion media production, established by the state legislature to begin in 2023.

“Dust to Malibu” is classified by the Screen Actors Guild as a moderate low budget film, which means it has a budget of $300,000-$700,000.

“I can tell you, we’re on the lower end of that,” Gibson said.

Shooting in Springfield was a cost-savings for the production, she noted.

“So much of the cost gets eaten up in insurance and equipment rentals, and so to be able to have our locations for free was a huge help,” she said. “There were four or five scenes we shot in my home.”

During local production, photos of filming popped up like crocuses on social media, with some people hardly believing what they were seeing. Was that Tim Daly, the actor from “Madam Secretary” and “The Sopranos,” in front of the lights and cameras outside of That Lebanese Place?

It was. In fact, the cast and crew of “Dust to Malibu” – of which Daly is the lead actor and has a producer credit – were all along Commercial Street, downtown and beyond, shooting scenes in front of the red-and-white checkered facade of the College Street Cafe (and enjoying daily breakfast catering from its owner, Marylou Meierotto), and in the Elvis room at Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven, and at the pristine example of Missouri’s giraffe stone architecture, Rockwood Motor Court on West College Street.

Two businesses, Andy’s Frozen Custard and Askinosie Chocolate even had negotiated product placements in the movie. Shawn Askinosie, owner of the latter, said that was a first for him.

“I have known Shelly Gibson since middle school. She’s talented and cares about Springfield,” he said via email. “I was grateful for the opportunity to be associated with her latest project. I can’t wait to see our chocolate on the big screen one day soon.”

Dozens of local extras may have a similar sense of anticipation. Gibson noted many of these had small speaking roles – one-liners or five-liners – that garnered them pay at industry rates.

It could be said that Springfield is a character in the movie – and that’s exactly what Gibson had in mind.

Getting to Springfield
When Gibson read the script by writer and director Stephen Ward, she immediately knew she wanted to see it filmed in the Queen City, and she began seeking investors here.

“We had a wonderful pitch deck, but we got no response,” she said. “The movie I wanted it to be would show off Springfield beautifully.”

In frustration, Gibson approached the Missouri Film Commission, and they linked her to a St. Louis attorney, Pete Salsich III.

“It immediately clicked,” she said. “It was kismet. It turns out he was a huge ‘Madam Secretary’ fan.”

He was also a fan of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and as luck would have it, Gibson’s partner of 18 years is one of those – drummer Ron Gremp. A budding songwriter, Salcich also wrote a song that is being used in the film.

Salsich linked Gibson to an unnamed investor based in Washington, D.C. That backer wanted to be the sole investor, which was not only a relief but a huge bookkeeping boon, according to Gibson.

When a whole lot of Springfield doors closed, a door in St. Louis opened. But Gibson said she hopes the city warms to moviemaking and sees investment as an opportunity in the future, now that locals are getting some experience in the industry.

They’re in Missouri, after all – perhaps the multibillion-dollar industry just had to show them what movies were all about.

Future filmmaking
Monty Dobson, board president for the Ozarks Film Foundry, which oversees the newly established Southwest Missouri Film Office, has been talking up the region’s film potential for a long time.

“We helped in a couple of different ways – working as a liaison with the local community and civic leaders,” he said.

He noted the film office can help by reaching out through its network of contacts to pave the way when a production company is looking to film locally.

“A lot of organizations and communities may not have experience dealing with film production costs, and they don’t know what to expect,” he said.

That wasn’t the case for Gibson, who has been in the industry since the early 1980s and has appeared in television shows like “All My Children” and “St. Elsewhere” and in film – most recently “Echo Boomers.” But it may be the case for other filmmakers who are eyeing the city or region.

And some are, according to Dobson, who said a few productions – because of confidentiality agreements, he wouldn’t specify a number or the names – plan to film in Springfield soon.

Dobson said an advantage to film is the economic development aspect.

“I always tell people that film has a relatively low investment potential that will bring about economic development and increase jobs in the region,” he said. “If you’re building a manufacturing facility, there’s a massive amount of infrastructure. Film production doesn’t have that type of hard infrastructure.”

Dobson said moderate-budget, independently produced films and television series are the projects that the Ozarks can certainly attract.

“That can be a pretty significant part of the region’s economy over time,” he said.

“Dust to Malibu” is an example of the economic impact offered by just one production. With up to 42% in state tax credits awarded for production dollars spent locally – for things like lodging and food and professional services – there is an incentive to spend.

Gibson noted the amount of tax credit offered is stepped up for meeting certain requirements, with a certain percentage offered for shooting in a blighted area, another for using veterans as actors or crew and another for employing local people and elevating their status.

“After you turn in all of your receipts and show the money you spent in Missouri on lodging, dry cleaning, food – anything that’s a local spend – it goes into the tax credit kitty,” she said.

Local investment was approximately $160,000, Gibson said.

“That’s $160,000 that stayed here,” she said.

Statewide, there is a $16 million annual cap for motion media production – half for film and half for episodic productions, according to the Missouri Film Office. Qualified expenses include all wages and compensation with Missouri withholdings on all payments to vendors with physical addresses in the Show Me State.

Gibson added that a film project, often with expert painters and crafters in tow, is a nice industry to welcome to a city.

“When a movie comes to town, they swoop in, paint people’s houses, make it look pretty and leave it better than when they got here,” she said. “Plus, there’s a lasting memoir on film.”

Gibson said there is another benefit to having a film shot in Springfield, and that is the educational value to other locals, like her, who have their eyes on a career in the industry. That applies not only to actors, but to film editors, caterers, personal assistants – the list is extensive.

Springfield people
“Dust to Malibu,” which is now in post-production in California, involved plenty of locals – chief among them Beth Domann, executive director of the Springfield Little Theatre. Gibson said Domann, who was her classmate at Glendale High School, was the force behind local casting.

It’s something Domann enjoyed.

“It’s been an interesting process,” she said. “We would really love to see more movies come to this area because it’s not that we don’t have the talent – we’ve got the talent.”

People around town were excited to help, she said.

“The sheriff’s department was delightful,” she said.

Domann plays a police officer in the movie, and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office fully outfitted her.

“The only cop outfits we had at the theater were rip-away costumes for ‘The Full Monty,’” she said. “They didn’t look very realistic.”

The sheriff’s office has some experience in front of the cameras, having been featured on “Live PD” and participating in other productions over the years.

“Boy howdy, they helped,” Domann said. “I looked like the real deal.”

Sheriff Jim Arnott said his department was happy to lend a hand, with costuming assistance and with the availability of its off-duty deputies for hire.

He acknowledged that his department has some insight into filming, and not just from its two seasons on “Live PD.”

“We’ve done a few HBO movies, and there are quite a few things that are filmed in the Ozarks,” he said. “This crew was more local. We enjoyed working with them.”

Gibson said the sheriff’s office welcomed the cast and crew to use its new facility, even sharing food and coffee during breaks in production.

Open for filming
Greene County Commissioner Bob Dixon is a champion for bringing film to the region, having visited Georgia and seeing the tremendous investment there from the booming entertainment sector.

Dixon said he’s excited to see Greene County get on the movie-making map, and he hopes to see more in the future.

“We are ready,” Dixon said. “It would be great economic development. The related support industries would offer growth opportunities for our people.”

Gibson agreed.

“I would love to see a coalition in Springfield that would finance one, two or three films a year,” she said. “There are so many projects floating around. It would be lovely if the community would trust the film industry enough to support it.”