Utah saw a lot more "action!" from its film industry during the most recent fiscal year.

Both the number of production days and the amount of production spending rose from the previous year, and the governor and others are hoping more financial incentives will be approved by the Legislature to boost the figures even higher.

The Utah Film Commission set a goal of boosting spending and production time by 15 percent last year. The results were thumbs-up. Movie and TV production days rose 19 percent and spending was up more than 30 percent to $144.5 million, according to the commission's executive director, Aaron Syrett.

"It was a huge year in Utah," Syrett said Friday at the commission's annual film industry luncheon, noting the impact of such works as "High School Musical," "World's Fastest Indian" and "Everwood."

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. listed several reasons Utah is an attractive place for production. He noted that the state can "re-create or create whatever scene you need. We have urban, we have rural, we have desert, we have mountains. We have every conceivable environment that one would hope to create on film. We've got the crews. We have the talent. We have the can-do attitude that exists in this state."

The state also has financial incentives. During the past three years, 16 films have received a total of $3.3 million to lure shooting to Utah. But those productions spent $49.5 million in Utah.

"That's a 15-to-1 return on investment," Syrett said. "For every dollar the state of Utah put into it, it received $15 back. It's incredible."

Another example of the industry's impact came from "Everwood," which he said left "well over $100 million" in the state during its four-year run.

And the future is "extremely promising," Huntsman said, noting that 841 new projects are pending and a record seven feature films shot in Utah are under way or just being completed, "which I think should make all of us truly proud."

"We're not going to rest on our laurels here," Syrett said. "We're going to keep going, be more aggressive."

Both Huntsman and Syrett said they will push for the Legislature to greenlight more money for the incentive fund, likely $3 million to $5 million for the 2007-08 fiscal year. Syrett said 37 states now offer tax credits, rebates or other financial incentives. Utah's approximately $1 million in incentives for 2006-07 already is allocated.

While Utah's film industry is ninth among states and second only to New Mexico in the region, Huntsman noted that New Mexico has no cap on its incentives. Utah will be unable to match that but can "squeeze out a little more money" in addition to offering top crew talent and other advantages, he said.

"You know what? We don't need an endless supply of money here," Syrett said. "Three to five million dollars makes us very competitive with New Mexico."

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