Minnesota’s Ventura Takes On Hollywood

“The Body” arrives in Hollywood today as “The Salesman.”

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, the former professional wrestler and actor once nicknamed “The Body” and whose upset victory in November stunned the nation, will go to the mat for his state during the next four days to persuade producers to film there.

Ventura’s “trade mission” will include meetings with film and television executives from Walt Disney Co. and Paramount Pictures, as well as the producers of a film already scheduled to be shot in Minnesota.

“I won’t be sitting by the pool having a pina colada,” Ventura said in a telephone interview Friday.

This afternoon, Ventura is scheduled to present the Truer Than Fiction Award at the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica.

“My election was stranger than fiction,” he said.

He’ll also attend Oscar parties, in part to celebrate the film “A Simple Plan,” which was shot in Delano, Minn. The film has received Academy Award nominations for best supporting actor for Billy Bob Thornton and best adapted screenplay.

Ventura said he probably won’t be at the Academy Awards on Sunday, but that he wouldn’t mind going if someone gives him a ticket. He acknowledged that even for a governor, it’s a hard ticket to get.

“If someone offers me one, it’s got to be good. I don’t want to sit in the nosebleed seats,” Ventura joked.

And if he doesn’t get one, Ventura said, “I have some terrific other invites,” referring to an Oscar night party being thrown by longtime friend Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ventura appeared alongside the action star in 1987’s “Predator.” He also said he had been invited to Elton John’s Oscar party and hopes to stop off at the House of Blues that night.

Because of his earlier acting career, Ventura enjoys closer ties than most governors to Hollywood. He said he recently had dinner with actors Sean Penn and Jack Nicholson to persuade them to film a movie in Minnesota.

He acknowledged, however, that he is upset that Hollywood is making an unauthorized TV movie of his life, scheduled to air on NBC during the May sweeps. He said he has expressed his displeasure to network officials.

“I feel a bit offended that there will be others exploiting me, probably making a huge sum of money off of me, and you don’t even need permission,” Ventura said. “When you become a public person, you lose your rights.”

Ventura said he doesn’t see Minnesota necessarily competing for film business with Los Angeles. He said he merely wants to promote his state as friendly to filmmakers. He acknowledged that Minnesota and other states face intense competition for film business from Canada, where filming costs are low because of the weak Canadian dollar and government incentives.

Ventura said he is taking steps to eliminate taxes that make filming commercials in Minnesota more expensive. He will also seek a rebate for producers who film there. He said such films as “Fargo,” made by native sons Joel and Ethan Coen, the “Mighty Ducks” series, “Grumpy Old Men” and Schwarzenegger’s “Jingle All the Way” found Minnesota a pleasant place to shoot.

“I was a member of casts and crews. When you go off on location, you become a family. It’s always nice to go where it’s friendly,” Ventura said. “When Arnold was up here shooting ‘Jingle All the Way,’ he said it was amazing that people would come out of their houses offering him coffee and doughnuts.”