Filmmaker appears in court on theft charge

DES MOINES – A Minnesota filmmaker facing a theft charge after prosecutors alleged he fraudulently obtained state film tax credits made a brief court appearance Wednesday.

Matthias Alexander Saunders, of Minneapolis, is one of two filmmakers recently charged in relation to the state's film tax credit program.

Saunders was in Polk County District Court to face a charge of first-degree theft. The charge is a class C felony that carries a possible 10-year prison term.

Saunders declined to answer reporters' questions after his hearing on the advice of his attorney, William Kutmus.

But Saunders spoke when prompted by Kutmus to list some of the directors he's worked with – Spike Lee and Gus Van Sant – and films he has worked on in the past such as “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Road to Perdition.”

“This man is a professional,” Kutmus said.

Kutmus said he hadn't had time yet to review the case and did not waive a preliminary hearing in Saunders' case because he wanted to see what the evidence was.

“I normally waive a preliminary hearing, but this is one of those unusual cases which I think a preliminary hearing's warranted, just to see what this case is all about,” Kutmus said.

That hearing was set for March 5.

Prosecutors allege Saunders and Wendy Weiner Runge unlawfully inflated values on applications for tax credits for the movie “The Scientist.”

Besides the filmmakers, former Iowa Film Office manager Thomas Wheeler has been charged in relation to the film tax credit program. Wheeler is charged with non-felonious misconduct in office, a serious misdemeanor.

The scandal already has claimed the jobs of Wheeler and five other people in the Iowa Department of Economic Development and its film office.