Under his administration, the MFO--established in 1976--has blossomed into a full-service resource for producers.
Currently the office employs seven full-time staffers.
"Governor Cellucci...supports the film office in facilitating film and television industry needs," boasts the MFO web site. "We are at your service with full cooperation from the Commonwealth."
Dawson says the MFO has "made a concerted effort to go after business aggressively."
She says she makes trips to Los Angeles every six to eight weeks to meet with production companies to try to lure their business to the Bay state.
Designed to aid "qualified filmmakers," the MFO publishes guides to scouting and production assistance, local cast and crew, and the procedures for securing municipal permits.
By offering incentives like fee-free locations, the MFO has been particularly successful in attracting business to the state.
The fee-free program provides studios with free production office space as well as the complimentary use of more than 100 state-owned, "architecturally diverse" properties that can be used as sets throughout the state, Dawson says.
John F. Kennedy Park on Memorial Drive is one such site.
Leo R. Romano, a representative of Local 481, the union for motion picture studio mechanics, explains the fee-free concept.
"Producers know it's cheaper to film here only because they can avoid the burden of so many fees and permits," Romano says
In addition to enticing them with cost breaks, the MFO serves filmmakers by compiling information about a wide range of local services.
From a roster of law firms with entertainment expertise to a list of chiropractors in whose hands Hollywood's elites might trust their backs, the MFO has prepared itself for the diversity of requests it receives from producers.
The office of Dr. Georgianna Donadio is one of six chiropractors endorsed by the MFO. Explaining the reason her practice was selected, Donadio describes the hundreds of pictures of film faces that adorn her walls.
"People who come here to make movies wanted my name," Donadio says. "My patients wanted my services covered."
