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Tampa's film czar tackles new role
By STEVE PERSALL
Published July 9, 2004
Krista Soroka's all-time favorite movie is Top Gun. Not that she's a Tom Cruise fan, but because gentle Navy flyboy Goose (Anthony Edwards) died at the end of a film that "has everything." Any other finish, she believes, would have made the movie "cheesy."
No offense, Ms. Soroka, but please leave film criticism to professionals. We'll leave the hectic business of building Tampa's film production industry to you.
Soroka, 32, is one week into her job as Tampa's new film commissioner, replacing Edie Emerald, who resigned in April. It is Soroka's duty to lure film and video projects of all sorts to the city and surrounding areas.
High-profile movies such as The Punisher are gravy for the meat and potatoes business of commercials, photo spreads, training films and music videos - more than 300 created locally last year alone - that will take up much of her workdays. Soroka and a small staff at the Tampa Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau actively solicit those projects, connecting producers with local crew members and businesses needed to make them happen.
Who better to sell Tampa and the surrounding area than someone who fell in love with the place as soon as she arrived five years ago?
As owner and president of Wonder Events Inc., she organized and publicized dozens of charity and commemorative events, making business connections that will come in handy in her new position. Soroka supervised special events and public relations for Super Bowl XXXV, and she's chairwoman of the 17th annual Paint Your Heart Out Tampa.
In her spare time - Soroka smiled at that suggestion - she's a constantly decorating homeowner and partial season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Michigan native, who wanted to live in Florida since childhood, is making the most of it.
"I love the city of Tampa, this entire area, and I want everybody to know all the resources we have, that this is a film-friendly environment," she said.
"I know a lot of people within the city. When I need to talk (about) transportation or getting permits, I know those folks. Now, becoming film commissioner, I can use those resources to make it an easier transition, not having to introduce myself to new people."
It's a new game for Soroka, whose University of Michigan degree in sports management indirectly prepared her for the film commissioner's job. Without it, she might have missed developing public relations skills while working for the Detroit Pistons and the Florida Council on Physical Fitness. A stint with the Tampa Sports Authority and the Super Bowl gig might have bypassed her, limiting her networking skills.
And she wouldn't have met former University of Florida track coach Jimmy Carnes, her supervisor during a project marketing U.S. Olympic automobile license plates that took her all over the state. "He found it beneficial to visit all the tag agencies in Florida," Soroka said. File that information under "possible filming locales."
"Sports and entertainment do cross over," she said. "You're dealing with a lot of personalities. You're working with deadlines, and a lot of times you're managing multiple requests and assignments. You have to be multitask-oriented."
Karen Brand, marketing director for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said those skills are precisely what the agency sought in a film commissioner.
"We are on the cusp right now of being able to either take advantage of - or lose - the momentum that The Punisher created," Brand said. "There are some big shoes to fill, but Krista also comes in at an amazing time, when there's so much awareness about filming in Tampa and Hillsborough County. We could not have created for ourselves what The Punisher did."
Brand said capitalizing on that momentum depends upon Soroka's ability to nurture and continue relationships with production companies.
"We need to do a better job of going back to clients who shot here before, or sent us leads and for one reason or another they didn't shoot here," Brand said. "We need to do a better job of reaching out and touching those people. Krista's experience will help us do something that will pay dividends for a long time."
Soroka is meeting with Florida film commissioner Susan Albershardt and St. Petersburg-Clearwater film commissioner Jennifer Parramore, whose office will co-sponsor a familiarity visit for producers this month. Then it's off to the state convention of film commissioners in Miami and any trade shows that might introduce clients to Tampa's film and video industry.
The stakes are high for local artists and technicians seeking employment. Hotels, restaurants and other industries appreciate the extra revenue such productions often bring to town, not to mention the exposure to potential tourists worldwide. Does anything scare Soroka about her new career?
"That's a very good question," she said, pausing to consider it.
"I know this is an industry that has become very fast-paced. If you get a lead, you need to turn it around in a day. With all that effort going into it, you're never guaranteed of the end product," she said.
"I don't know if scared is the right word to use, but I certainly would like the end result to be that we have a high percentage of securing those leads."
Perhaps, it was suggested, the presence of MacDill Air Force Base could attract a sequel to her favorite film.
"I do not want there to be a Top Gun 2," she said firmly. "That would wreck the entire thing for me. You know what hurt? It was when they did a making-of (documentary) for the movie. I watched maybe 45 seconds of it and saw when they were dogfighting, they really weren't in the air. I couldn't watch it anymore.
"I was very young then. I now know so much more."
- Steve Persall can be reached at 727 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com
[Last modified July 8, 2004, 09:13:14]
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