There are lights, cameras and action in Colorado again | Arts & Entertainment

The just-completed SeriesFest – a weeklong festival for episodic TV in Denver – has furthered the Colorado film and television industry’s forward momentum.

The whole world, it seemed, took note in late March when it was announced that the Sundance Film Festival has chosen Boulder as its new home starting in 2026. According to the governor’s office, Sundance is expected to generate $2 billion in economic activity for the state over the next 10 years.

But that’s just one of many recent successes that are turning the lights – and the cameras – back on in Colorado. Among them:

• Last month, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill that will make $34 million in tax credits available to support film festivals in Colorado.

• In 2024, Polis signed a bill that guarantees $5 million in annual tax credits to filmmakers through at least 2029. That is nowhere near the $125 million Arizona makes available to filmmakers (in New Mexico, it’s $110 million), “but $5 million gets us into the game.” says Colorado Film Commissioner Donald Zuckerman.

• At least two major motion pictures filmed in Colorado already have benefited from those incentives, including the already released Anthony Mackie thriller “Elevation” and the upcoming all-Colorado family story “The Man Who Changed the World.”

Some have criticized the state’s film incentives as tax giveaways, but the numbers say something very different. “There is an 18-to-1 return on investment for every dollar that is spent on film incentives in Colorado,” said state Rep. (and co-sponsor) Leslie Herod. In addition: The bill requires any qualifying visiting production company to spend at least $100,000 in Colorado. 

• A state agency called the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority is taking ownership of the Stanley Hotel, which will expand to house the new Stanley Film Center as a giant museum devoted to scary movies.

This roll largely started when Sundance chose Estes Park and specifically the Stanley Hotel to host its prestigious annual Directors Lab program for budding filmmakers in 2024. It went so well that Sundance is binging the program back to Estes Park for its 45th anniversary run, which will bring Ed Harris, Christine Lahti and Jason Reitman to Estes Park among its advisor cohort from June 1-16.

And just last week, of course, the 11th annual SeriesFest brought more than a hundred television shakers to Denver from all over the world, not to mention several dozen recognizable actors from TV and film.  

The mere presence of Gov. Polis and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet at SeriesFest’s closing gala at Asterisk sent a powerful message that SeriesFest is becoming a very big deal.

“Colorado is the place to be for all things in the cinematic arts,” Polis told the Denver Gazette. All of those successes listed above, he added, “is really showing the world that we’ve come of age, and that we are the center of entertainment.”

Later, addressing the gala audience, Polis said, “The arts are a big part of our economy. SeriesFest’s year-round programming opens the door for artists to showcase their stories and inspire a generation of young filmmakers from Colorado and across the globe.

“In Colorado, we  want people to be empowered to tell powerful stories that inform the human experience, that entertain – and that support the livelihood of all those involved with those productions. And it is organizations like SeriesFest that make that possible.”

Better call Odenkirk

Rhea Seehorn, who attended just about every SeriesFest event in support of her fellow TV artisans, was in Denver when it was announced that Bob Odenkirk, her co-star on the now canonical TV series “Better Call Saul,” has been nominated for a 2025 Tony Award. Odenkirk plays Shelley Levene (think Jack Lemmon) in the Broadway revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross.” It’s Odenkirk’s first time on a stage in 40 years.

“I flew out to New York to see the play with my partner,” Seehorn said. Her assessment? “Bob deserves it. Everyone in that cast deserves it, though. The whole show is amazing. It wasn’t a surprise to me that he was nominated because he’s brilliant. I am thrilled for him and I am so excited to call him and tell him that, because he’s always the first person to congratulate other people on their successes.”

Maury Povich’s new podcast

The most recognizable if incongruous celebrity in all of Denver last week was 86-year-old Maury Povich, who on March 31 launched his first podcast, “On Par with Maury Povich.”

The legendary talk-show host is promising in-depth conversations with influential figures in sports, media and pop culture. He taped an episode at SeriesFest with political journalist Jessica Yellin, a former CNN correspondent and now founder of the podcast “News Not Noise.” The episode is expected to drop in two weeks.

Why, I asked Povich, was it important for him to come to Denver for SeriesFest?

“Well, I’m starting this new project and, even at my age, I feel like a rookie,” he said. “Because I’m starting this podcast, I wanted to come out to this great content festival and talk to people.”

With the podcast, “I’m kind of going back to my roots,” said Povich, who spent 31 years hosting  the nationally syndicated TV show “Maury.”

“Everybody knows me from the talk show,” he said. “But I had 30 years in broadcast journalism before that, and I covered a lot of events. So I try to show my stuff in that area.”

Povich’s initial guests include Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., broadcaster Tony Kornheiser and his wife of 41 years, journalist Connie Chung. New episodes drop Mondays on all major audio platforms and YouTube.

“With a talk show, you never really reveal yourself because you are more interested in the guest’s stories,” Povich said. “Now, I have a chance to sit back and talk about my own experiences.”

Denver School of the Arts honors Rateliff

Musical superstar Nathaniel Rateliff attended the “SeriesFest Soiree” one night before he was to be honored at the Denver School of the Arts’ Brilliance Gala at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Rateliff was at SeriesFest in support of his partner, filmmaker Taylor Lynn McFadden, whose film “Lovers” was featured at the 2024 Denver Film Festival. (But he did donate a Gibson guitar signed by all of his Night Sweats bandmates).

When I asked Rateliff what winning the Randy Weeks Community Arts Leadership Award from DSA would mean to him, he said:

“I have a lack of words. It’s really nice. I feel honored. To be recognized like that is really special to me. We see arts funding in schools getting cut all over, so it’s important to continue to educate our children, and to make sure there is access to the arts. I think the program at DSA is really important. Taylor and I both have a lot of friends who went to DSA and are now artists, and I think we should have more schools like Denver School of the Arts.”

At the museum the next night, Rateliff told those gathered his family didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but his parents – both musicians – were supportive of his musical ambitions.

“I didn’t get to have (much of) an education because of things that happened in my childhood,” Rateliff said. “But if I had, this is the kind of school I would have wanted to go to.”

Lisa Ann Walter’s Denver bestie

Lisa Ann Walter, who is enjoying the ride of a lifetime as spitfire Melissa Schemmenti on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” credits Denver standup Nora Lynch, one of her writers on her earlier sitcom called “Life’s Work” “and my bestie from college (Catholic University),” with encouraging her to give stand-up comedy a try back in the day. Look at her now.

Walter was at SeriesFest to participate in a series of panels and activities.

“When I first heard about SeriesFest years ago, I was like, ‘That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard. Why hasn’t this been done forever? We have all these film festivals, but nothing for TV. I think the idea of people getting outside of the regular studios, having independent voices, and having a place to showcase their work is phenomenal.

“Like all things, though, you just have to get out there and do it. If you are complaining because work isn’t coming to you, understand that it never will. There are maybe 20 actors in the world where the work comes to them. But if you’re not Shonda Rhimes … you probably need to go and build your own castle.”

Keep an eye out for …

The titles won’t mean anything to you yet, but file them away. They are the winners of the SeriesFest independent pilot competition, which bodes well for their future on a TV screen near you:

“Lake Boga” won best drama pilot, “Settle Down” won best comedy pilot, “Vs. Goliath” won best unscripted pilot, and “F*ckUps Anonymous” picked up the award for best short series. Audience faves were “The Rebel Girls” for best pilot, “Bulldozer” for best comedy pilot, and “Vs. Goliath” for unscripted pilot.

“Lake Boga” follows an ex-military assassin who is hired to find and destroy meth labs after the meth-addicted daughter of a business tycoon goes missing.

A fun annual SeriesFest tradition is called “Pitch-a-thon,” were hopefuls get 5 minutes to present their ideas to industry execs. They chose “Zhizha,” a half-hour workplace comedy about a family business in the death industry trying to stay alive.

Read the full list of winners at seriesfest.com.