Several theaters in the former Cinemark Movies 10 in the Woodhill Shopping Center have been renovated for filming projects by Wrigley Media Group, including as a set for its new court room show, “Relative Justice”.
The former Cinemark theater in Woodhill Shopping Center, which hasn’t shown a movie since 2016, was back in show business this summer with a project that may help put Kentucky on the map for film and television production.
Wrigley Media Group leased the vacant building and has turned it into a production complex for film projects. One of the theaters has been transformed into a set for the company’s first original production, “Relative Justice,” a new daytime courtroom show and the first nationally syndicated television program filmed in Kentucky.
Wills
The unscripted show stars Judge Rhonda Wills, who presides over cases involving small claims civil disputes involving people related by blood, birth or marriage. The proceedings are arbitration-based, meaning participants agree to abide by the judge’s decision and not pursue further litigation regarding the matter.
One case involves an aunt and nephew from Chicago, for example, who disagree on assigning responsibility for the care — and subsequent decline — of a collection of beloved houseplants. Judy Pemberton, of Pemberton’s Greenhouses in Lexington, appears as an expert witness and offers some helpful plant-care tips.
Litigants appearing on the show are flown in from across the country, put up at local hotels and receive a per diem for food and other expenses during their stay, along with a small appearance fee. The production also covers a portion of the arbitration amounts awarded by Judge Wills.
The crew — about 300 people in all, roughly half of whom were hired locally — filmed eight to 10 cases a day, for a total of 150 half-hour episodes filmed over 25 days of production. “Relative Justice” debuted in mid-September and airs on stations across more than 80 percent of the country, including in 44 of the top 50 markets.
“I’m proud that our team has been able to produce ‘Relative Justice’ in Lexington,” Misdee Wrigley Miller, CEO and owner of Wrigley Media Group, said in a statement. “While our litigants came from states across the country, it was so nice to be behind this Lexington-based production and to be able to send a message to the community that quality production can come from Kentucky as easily as it can from New York or Los Angeles.”
Wrigley Miller and others involved in the project cite Kentucky’s recently renewed film incentive program as a primary reason for choosing to repurpose the shuttered theater and film “Relative Justice” in Lexington.
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Andrew Kung Group
Several theaters in the former Cinemark Movies 10 in the Woodhill Shopping Center have been renovated for filming projects by Wrigley Media Group, including as a set for its new court room show, “Relative Justice”.
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Andrew Kung
Created in 2009 by House Bill 249, Kentucky’s film incentive program reimburses a percentage of qualified expenses related to television shows and movies made in the state. The incentive program was well received by production companies but caused some controversy and misunderstanding, especially when the percentage of refundable income tax credit was raised to 35 percent for Kentucky resident labor and 30 percent for out-of-state labor in 2015. The program was closed to new applicants in 2018, and the tax credits were changed to become nontransferable and nonrefundable later that year, effectively gutting the program.
Now administered by the Economic Development Cabinet, amendments to the bill are set to take effect Jan. 1. These include a cap of up to $75 million annually in total refundable tax credits, as well as a shortened timeline between when a project can apply for credits and complete production, as well as more oversight in the review process. Industry professionals say incentive programs like those in Georgia, New Mexico and now again in Kentucky are increasingly critical in attracting fi lm and television projects to a state.
“The first-run syndication business has changed in the last decade, and the tax incentive is really important to the overall budget of the show,” said industry veteran Lou Dennig, executive producer of “Relative Justice.” “Budgets for court shows like this one have been cut in half, sometimes more, because the revenue that local stations generate has also dropped by more than 60 percent.”
As a large chunk of viewership has shifted to social media, streaming services and other delivery systems, many local stations can no longer afford to pay for high-profile daytime programming like “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Dennig said, yet they still need quality, non-news content to play throughout the day. Syndicated courtroom shows, talk shows and game shows are cost effective and have all proven to perform especially well, he said.
Babbit
A boutique production company like Wrigley Media can produce original content efficiently and with relatively low overhead, especially when compared with much larger production companies like those in New York and Los Angeles, said Ross Babbit, Wrigley Media’s chief content officer.
“We’re able to put 300 people to work for three months to put together this show and deliver it at a price point that’s cheaper than what the other guys could do it for,” he said. “Of course, you have to have a good show, which is why we bring in people like Lou and Miguel Enciso, who has directed “Entertainment Tonight”, “Judge Joe Brown”, and “The Insider” … but half our staff are locals who have never done a court show before and are learning the business.”
In addition to hiring Kentucky-based crew, the program also incentivizes purchasing goods and services locally, such as the many props purchased from Chevy Chase Hardware for use on “Relative Justice,” for example, as well as hotel rooms, meals at local restaurants, and catering from local providers such as Selma’s, DV8 Kitchen, Black Soil, Seasons Catering and Bourbon n’ Toulouse, among others.
“You have to look beyond the state budget to fully see the impact you can have in a community,” said Elizabeth Combs, executive vice president of strategic initiatives with Wrigley Media. “The overall community impact is estimated to be, on average, about three times the production budget.”
While Wrigley Media also produces content for clients such as Big Ass Fans, the Coca-Cola Company and others, creating its own syndicated content is a potentially lucrative long-term investment for the company, Babbit said.
“Our vision is to own and control our own shows and scale up to build an inventory of [intellectual property],” he said. “Syndication is hard to break into because it’s risky, and you need to have the upfront capital to be able to do it, but the business model is sound. And, if a shows airs for [several] years, you can sell it again into what’s called a second window, such as to someone like Netflix.”
While the jury is still out as to whether Kentucky’s revitalized film incentive program will attract even more projects to the state and positively impact local economies, Babbit is confident projects like “Relative Justice” will help prove the case