STRICTLY BUSINESS: MOVIE SCOUT PROGRAM GOES ON THE ROAD FOR LOCAL STOPS

Ever wonder who finds those great locations you see in commercials and movies?

It could be you!

The Missouri Film Commission is taking its "Missouri Movie Scout" program on the road this year, conducting seminars meant to help communities learn about the film industry.

The film commission provides free training on how to scout, photograph and/or promote potential film locations in the movie industry.

Jerry J. Jones, director of the Commission, was in Sikeston and Ste. Genevieve last week.

The message to groups who attended the two-hour sessions was simple -- "We ought to be in pictures."

Jones discussed at both sites how films can bring economic development to an area.

Jones said film producers and directors look for many things when selecting locations for filming, including the ability to hire a local crew and actors as well as access to lodging.

The state film commission was created in 1983 to attract film, television, video and cable production to Missouri.

The commission is conducting a total of 18 seminars across the state this year.

"We have five more sessions this year," said Traci Albertson, office coordinator for the commission. To date, more than 6,000 people in 11 communities have attended "Movie Scout" program.

The seminars are important, say commission members.

Local groups can gather pictures and information on potential movie locations, enabling the state to have a better shot at attracting the movie industry's attention.

"When we receive requests from movie companies, we need quick responses," said Albertson.

Filmmaking can be a lucrative business.

Production of movies, television programs and commercials can have an impact on areas selected as film sites.

Cape Girardeans have experienced life in front of a camera in recent years -- An Anheuser-Busch commercial, a documentary on local government of a small city, and more recently as a site for a crime documentary.

A number of Hollywood production have been filmed in Missouri, including "Winding Road," which premiered in the Springfield area last week.

"Winding Roads," filmed in the Springfield area, was a production of Goldenlight Films, a company which was founded a few years ago by Ted Melfi, a Southwest Missouri State University (Springfield) graduate.

Actually, movie and television filming is becoming a big business in Missouri and Illinois.

Several movies have been filed in locations throughout Missouri, thanks, in part, to the combined efforts of the Missouri Film Commission, the St. Louis Film Office and the Kansas City Film Office.

Feature film produces have spent more than $12 million in Missouri this year.

One film, "The Treatment," filmed in the St. Louis area, will premier during the St. Louis Film Festival in November.

Other notable titles over the past couple of years include: "Ride With the Devil," a Civil War-era film was shot at sites in the Kansas City area; "A Will of Their Own," a NBC mini-series, and "The Big Brass Ring," filmed in the St. Louis area; and "Park Day" and "Winding Roads" filmed in the Springfield area.

Nationally broadcast commercials are regularly filmed throughout Missouri

Most major films are shot at the state's two major metropolitan areas -- St. Louis and Kansas City -- because of the availability of lodging, personnel and easy airport access.

At the St. Louis International Film Festival, held in November each year, new films from around the world are screened at a number of St. Louis locations -- Tivoli, the Vaughn Cultural Center and Grandel Theater, the Fox Theater, the Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Kirkwood Cinema and the St. Louis Art Museum.

If you're a big film fan, you may recognize some of the movie titles filmed, or partially filmed in the Show-Me State:

Escape From New York; Hail, Hail, Rock 'N' Roll, The Chuck Berry Story; Hoop Dreams; King Of The Hilll; National Lampoon's Vacation; Paper Moon; Park Day; Planes, Trains & Automobiles; Ride with the Devil; Tom Sawyer; and Winding Roads.

A number of specials, television movies, music videos and documentaries include: A Will of Their Own, NBC mini-series; America By Design, PBS Film; Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Disney Channel; Burden of Proof, ABC mini-series; Imagining America: Get Your Kicks on Route 66, PBS Film; Last Night On Earth, U2 Music Video; Truman, HBO Pictures; and many others.

Many projects are filmed in Illinois. One of the more recent titles was "U.S. Marshals," starring Tommy Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes, filmed in and around the Metropolis, Ill., and Brookport, Ill., area, and the Reelfoot Lake area of western Tennessee.

Segments of some major movie titles -- "Message in a Bottle," starring Kevin Costner and "Never Been Kissed," a romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore. Also filmed in Illinois were television episodes of "Chicago Hope" and "ER."

The Illinois Film Office, which operates as a part of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, reports that more than 50 projects were filmed in the state during a recent year, creating more than 19,000 local temporary jobs, generating more than $83 million in revenue.