Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin, The Examiner
2007-02-15 08:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin cover people, power and politics in the beltway each weekday. Email them at yan@dcexaminer.com .

Evans wants more American — and Indian — movies in D.C.

“The Sentinel.” “The Shooter.” “The Visiting.”

D.C. has hosted its share of recent movie shoots, to say nothing of past blockbusters such as “Enemy of the State” and “Wedding Crashers” and classics such as “The Exorcist” and “All the President’s Men.”

Yet for Ward 2 Council Member Jack Evans, it’s not enough. He’d like to reduce the cost of filming here so that production companies view D.C. as a more attractive place to shoot (we’d like to see more of Nicole Kidman, Mark Wahlberg, et al, so we’re on board).

At Wednesday’s reconfirmation hearing for Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi before the council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue, Evans said he attended the premiere of the FBI thriller “Breach” on Monday.

He was chagrined to learn that the studio spent only nine days filming in the District, versus 40 in Toronto.

“In looking at the film, one would think the whole thing was filmed here,” said Evans, who chairs the committee.

In response to Evans, Gandhi said he learned of a similar experience on a recent trip to his native India. There, he said, producers in the Bollywood film industry — the largest in the world — “are going outside to make movies … to Australia and Switzerland.”

“They come to this country also, but they do not come to Washington,” he said. “I asked why not? Same answer. It just costs too much to make movies here.”

Evans’ interest was piqued. He told Gandhi he’d love to “appeal to the Indian movie industry. That would be a huge, huge bonanza. I would like to work with your office, with the motion picture industry, with the Indian movie industry, whoever that might be. … These are the industries we want to create here.”

The two went on to brainstorm some ideas during the hearing, including working with the Motion Picture Association of America (the movie industry’s lobbying arm here in town), a possible partnership with BET to use its soundstage and researching what incentives other cities provide.

“Competition is keen for the lucrative production dollar and producers are willing to film at the venue that offers the best deal,” said Crystal Palmer of the DC Office of Motion Picture and TV Development.

She added that the Film DC Economic Incentive Grant Fund that was recently passed by the council “levels the playing field” and “sets the stage for the nation’s capital to compete with other states and cities that offer significant financial incentives to attract film and television production.”

Who gives Washingtonians a snow day?

Lots of Washingtonians were bummed they didn’t get a full snow day Wednesday. The government opened late but didn’t shut down completely (although there was a liberal leave policy implemented).

Why? And who makes the call, not just for Wednesday but for all other inclement weather days? For federal employees, that would be Office of Personnel Management Director Linda Springer, who has ultimate authority for such a decision in the National Capital Area.

A Philadelphia native, Springer is probably used to snow days. As for the recent storm, Springer told Yeas & Nays that OPM had an initial meeting at 9 p.m. Tuesday to conduct a “preliminary assessment” and “narrow the range of choices,” as they do in all such circumstances.

After a discussion with the National Weather Service and local transportation and mass-transit officials, another meeting took place at 4 a.m., when the final decision was made and passed on to the White House and other agencies.

“We have a situation room at OPM that is active 24 hours a day” and in touch with the local Council of Governments, Springer explained to us on Wednesday afternoon.

Unfortunately for us, Springer doesn’t base her decision on whether you were hoping to have a big night out on the town in hopes of sleeping in the next day. No, no, for Springer, the key question is a boring one, however important: “Can federal workers get safely to their offices?”

Ritz rolls out red carpet for injured soldier

This Valentine’s Day, the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown was looking for one good couple with $175,000 to spare. They didn’t find one, so they settled for one good couple.

Up until Tuesday night, the Ritz was hawking a package that included dinner onstage at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, 1,200 red roses, a police-escorted limo to the KenCen, his and her Prada spa treatments, professional hair and makeup, outfits from Neiman Marcus, a photographer, a Cartier ring and a night in the hotel’s presidential suite.

Oh, and the price tag includes a $75,000 charitable check to the KenCen.

Still, there were no takers (tech moguls, hello!?). So the hotel scaled back the package and offered it — gratis, thank you very much — to Sgt. Dan Alderman, an Army soldier who lost his leg in Iraq and is undergoing therapy at Walter Reed. Alderman served in Iraq with a friend of one of Ritz’s local executives.

Wednesday night, Alderman and his wife, Samantha Keyser, who is eight months pregnant, were treated to limo transportation to and from the hotel, dinner at Fahrenheit restaurant, a dozen roses and an evening in a premier suite with breakfast in bed.

Think tank

“Wednesday was Valentine’s Day. What political love story will we see this year?”

“The big story is going to be which — and how many — members of Congress claim paternity of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby.”

– Patrick Cleary, National Association of Manufacturers

“Bush tells Pelosi, ‘We could make such beautiful legislation together.’ She replies, ‘Love to,’ but then elopes with Howard Dean’s agenda.”

– Ron Nessen, Brookings Institution

“Two of Sen. Chuck Schumer’s imaginary friends will meet at a bar, start dating, fall madly in love, realize that one’s Catholic and the other’s Jewish, end up getting married in Vegas by an Elvis impersonator. Then win big at video poker.”

–Howard Mortman, New Media Strategies