"The number one thing that we need help with is establishing a dedicated film office. I believe I'm accurate in saying that we are the only incentivized state that currently does not have a film office." — Misdee Wrigley Miller
Does Filmmaking Have a Future in Kentucky?
Hear from one in the know who believes it does
Misdee Wrigley Miller discusses her investment in growing film talent in Kentucky
I interviewed Misdee Wrigley Miller for the Dec. 19, 2024 edition of Eastern Standard on WEKU. You can listen to our conversation above. A transcript is below. Because the brain processes what we see and hear differently, it's been edited for reading clarity and flow. — Tom Martin
Tom: You may have heard the recent news about the opening of LEX Studios, a film and video production facility, the largest in the state, in what used to be Woodhill Cinema here in Lexington. Behind that, and other media endeavors here in Lexington, is Misdee Wrigley Miller, philanthropist, horsewoman and award-winning journalist. Today, Misdee Wrigley Miller is the owner and ceo of Kentucky-based Wrigley Media Group.
And most recently, she's made news in that philanthropy category with a gift of $2.5 million in support of the renovation and expansion of the University of Kentucky's Pence Hall. It's going to be the future home of the UK College of Communication and Information. Misdee, welcome to Eastern Standard.
Misdee: Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here.
Tom: I know that you don't lead with this. Everybody who knows you has told me that you're a very humble person. But I hope it's not insensitive of me to ask. I'm sure many of our listeners recognize your famous Chicago name and might be making a connection with the chewing gum and the baseball stadium. Can you kind of fill in a couple of blanks for us there?
Misdee: Of course, I'd be happy to because I'm very proud of the legacy that my family has left in so many different areas. But yes, I am the great-granddaughter of William Wrigley Jr., who founded the gum company, founded the Cubs, built Wrigley Stadium, built the Wrigley Building and developed Catalina Island. So, as a great friend of mine once told me, building things is just in my DNA.
Tom: Well, you certainly prove that here. And in fact, you opened horse operations here in Lexington, Hillcroft Farm, in 2001. And it's worth noting, by the way, that the Saddlebred Division of Hillcroft is the first farm since 1932 to win all four World Grand Champion titles. How did that work intersect with your broadcast background and lead eventually to the formation of Wrigley Media Group?
Misdee: I moved to Kentucky for the horse business. My mother and I ran a horse operation in Scottsdale, Arizona. And when she passed, we sold her property. I thought, you know, there's a better place to raise horses. So, of course, I'm going to come to the Bluegrass. And I found this beautiful farm just outside of Lexington in Paris and just built the horse business. But someone in Lexington heard that “Oh, gosh, I think she used to be a reporter and maybe did some documentaries. And we're doing a documentary around the horse business.” And so, someone at what was Post Time Media reached out to me and asked if I had any interest. And, of course, that got my old journalist blood going again. And I said, "Of course." So that rekindled my love of storytelling.
Tom: And to that point, I know you have a broadcast degree from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. And you were an investigative reporter. I think you won an award for a series on domestic violence. Do you have continued interest in that kind of work?
Misdee: I have the interest, but not the bandwidth to do it. I also live in Florida. And as everyone knows, we've been hit and affected by three hurricanes in one summer. And the area where we live, Sarasota, has never seen a storm as strong as Milton. And we were in the eye of it. And we have heard from so many people the problems with the insurance companies. So then I said, “You know, if I were still an investigative reporter, I'd be all over that story.”
Tom: Many can relate to that challenge with bandwidth, I'm sure. Let's talk about your contribution to the University of Kentucky. What motivated you to provide such a generous gift?
Misdee: I will never forget the impact that my education at Arizona State University had. My professors were amazing in shaping my career as a journalist at that point, and as importantly, being able to work at the PBS station that is housed within Arizona State. And it was that experience of actually working on a news magazine, which aired, that was an invaluable experience. I mean, real hands-on, beyond what you can do in classrooms. And the fact that the University of Kentucky is duplicating that with the studios they're building at the Central Bank Center and the ability that I have at LEX Studios to have a partnership with UK in providing hands-on experience, real work experience on real productions, just catapults students into being really prepared for the industry that they're wanting to spend their lives in.
Tom: Would it be appropriate to characterize your contribution as an investment in future talent in the area?
Misdee: Absolutely. Absolutely. And as the entertainment industry grows here in Kentucky, which it's doing, the film industry and the production industry are beginning to hear what a robust incentive we have. And I'm very keenly aware that Kentucky is sort of where Georgia was 10 years ago, building a nascent industry. It's so exciting to me to be on the cutting edge of building a new industry in the state that I love. It's so exciting, but we need to build up that crew base. And this is the one way to achieve it.
Tom: As you mentioned, we have some of the most robust, most attractive film production incentives in the country now. How does the state and how do communities around the state benefit from having film production go on in their locations?
Misdee: Gosh, just think about when you go to the movies and you sit through the credits — which no one does, but of course I do. I have a keen interest. And you see that infinite scrolling of all of those names. All of those names represent people with jobs and in so many different areas, from set design to being grips to — I mean, just what it takes to produce a film represents so many jobs that are going to be so important to our local and statewide economy.
Beyond that, each one of those people will use a restaurant. I mean, we need catering. When we did the syndicated program, “Relative Justice,” we had to have catering in five days a week. That's meaningful to the local businesses. We rent a tremendous number of hotel rooms. We require transportation, we require rentals, we require a lot of lumber and things to build sets with. So beyond the actual production of the film, this new production economy spreads and affects so many different areas of local businesses.
Tom: You mentioned “Relative Justice.” It was the first syndicated daytime TV show out of Kentucky, I think. Correct?
Misdee: Yes.
Tom: Any plans for any new kinds of programs?
Misdee: Yes. Not so much in the syndicated area, but original productions. Wrigley Media Group is primarily working on unscripted projects. But with the addition of LEX Studios, there are a lot more scripted projects coming our way. So yeah, personally, we're seeing a huge uptick in programs.
Tom: Back to those incentives and the growth of the film industry here in Kentucky, we're seeing a lot of energy in Lexington, for sure. Louisville, as well. But what more do you think the state and local governments could be doing to attract film production to make it more welcome?
Misdee: The number one thing that we need help with is establishing a dedicated film office. I believe I'm accurate in saying that we are the only incentivized state that currently does not have a film office. So we don't have any help from the state in going out into the country at large and saying Kentucky's open for business. And by the way, we have the most robust incentives. And not only do we have the most robust incentives, we are such a great economy in which to produce films. The cost of hotel rooms is less, the cost of gas is less, the cost of eating out is less. It makes such economic sense to film in Kentucky. And we need help getting the word out. The productions coming in are coming in organically. And we think, how much more if we had a really robust state film office to help us market Kentucky?
Tom: I was kind of taken aback when I started looking for our film office because there used to be one sometime ago, and it was dissolved, and those duties were kind of dispersed among various individuals with the state Cabinet for Economic Development, but seemingly nobody in charge. VisitLEX has a really wonderful and in-depth page about it on their website. And they're doing all they can to support, but it does seem kind of odd and incongruous to have the best incentives in the country, but nobody coordinating them.
Misdee: Yes. It is ironic and thank goodness to VisitLEX and especially with Lisa Brin leading the charge, and 502 Film in Louisville. But we do need help. Now, there's the other side of the coin here: I think we are on target to reach our cap maximum by the end of the year. So there's the flip side that, oh gosh, if we did have the film office, the film commission helping us, that maybe we would have run out of funds by the end of the year, which, as you know, is not good PR for the state. There is that. But yes, having one dedicated office where outside producers could call and say, "Hey, what's going on, Kentucky?" would be so helpful.
Tom: You've been doing this work for a while, like many of us. And we've been watching really important and interesting changes taking place in this industry brought about by the growth of digital streaming and on-demand media. I just wonder if you could offer some of your observations about how that has changed the industry.
Misdee: Oh gosh. It has profoundly changed the industry. And we discuss it at Wrigley Media Group all the time: that selling shows, the business, just isn't what it used to be with all of the consolidation and the really tightening budgets. We're fortunate that we're a small company and we can pivot very quickly. We recognize that there's a huge market for true crime. Okay, we can now pivot and focus on true crime. Game shows are going to come back. Now we have people going out and pitching game shows. So, with the reduction in budgets, there are so few of the large productions being made anymore that you have to be nimble. It's much more challenging than it used to be. You can't just come up with a good idea and be assured that one of these streamers is just going to pick it up because it's a great idea. You're competing with a lot of other great ideas, very talented people with limited dollars available. So now, it's difficult.
And also, I read a very, very interesting article in the Hollywood Reporter that people working in the industry in Los Angeles can't find work in the industry. So they're having to find side gigs, and they're not really happy about it. Even when they do apply for a job as a "side gig," the potential employer says, "Well, you come from the production side, the entertainment industry. And as soon as something comes available, you're going to jump ship. So we don't want to invest in you." So I need to get the word out to the people in California to say, “Hey, come to Kentucky because we've got lots of work for you in the business that you love.”
Tom: It's kind of happening on a small scale, but a steady trickle. We know that there's an informal group here in Lexington called “LAX LEX.” “LAX” for LA airport, “LEX” for Lexington. And it's a group of Los Angeles expats who've relocated to Kentucky, many drawn by the incentives and also the economic aspect of it because you can sell your house in L.A. and do quite well here in the Lexington market. That's being realized, and it's being passed back to others, and now others are coming. So it's kind of interesting to see that. But again, I think that would be the work of a film office to make those overtures.
Misdee: Absolutely. Yes. Yes.
Tom: I'm wondering, Misdee, what advice or encouragement can offer others who hope to join you in growing the Kentucky film production industry?
Misdee: The best advice I can give anyone is to just embrace it because, as I mentioned before, one of the most exciting things to me is to be involved in this industry at the very beginning and to have a chance to leave a mark, to say, “Yes, I worked with a great group of people to establish a new industry and new economy in Kentucky. And it is happening, and it's not going to go away. It's going to do nothing but grow bigger, grow stronger. And now's the time to become involved.”
And going back to the gift and commitment to the University of Kentucky, to be able to inspire students who want to make a living in this industry. People who love being in this industry love being in this industry. I think you can attest to that.
Tom: Oh yeah. It's hard work, but it's also a lot of fun.
Misdee: It's very gratifying.