Posts Tagged ‘ michigan film office ’

Detroit Free Press: Worst Coverage of Film Incentive Program Ever

July 5, 2011
Detroit Free Press: Worst Coverage of Film Incentive Program Ever

The incompetence at the Detroit Free Press is breathtaking.  Who is running this newspaper?  I am just waiting to see them start quoting Wikipedia. Over the weekend were two gems in their film incentive “news reporting”.  The first was from an article about using alternative methods to keep the Michigan film industry competitive: One...

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Michigan PSA to Save Film Incentive Appeals to Heart…Before Pissing off Brain

May 13, 2011
Michigan PSA to Save Film Incentive Appeals to Heart…Before Pissing off Brain

The final days of the excessive Michigan film incentive are playing out in dramatic fashion. I have to admit, I thought the following PSA produced for the Michigan Production Alliance was quite good, in terms of the emotional impact it makes. It had one on me, in any event. That said, I also had...

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Detailed Expenditures for Michigan Film Incentive Show Excessive Cost of Program, Benefit to Out-Of-State Residents

May 3, 2011
Detailed Expenditures for Michigan Film Incentive Show Excessive Cost of Program, Benefit to Out-Of-State Residents

The numbers say it all……. Click on the individual pages from the 2010 Michigan Senate Analysis, which is available in the “Report Library”, for a full-size image:  

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Michigan Spending $40 Million to Subsidize “Oz: The Great & Powerful”!! Sets New Record for State Spend on Single Production!

March 4, 2011
Michigan Spending $40 Million to Subsidize “Oz: The Great & Powerful”!!  Sets New Record for State Spend on Single Production!

The producers of the upcoming film “Oz: The Great & Powerful” should be thanking Michigan’s taxpayers, but they are probably laughing all the way to the bank.  According to the new annual report from the Michigan Film Office, which is available in the Report Library under “Michigan”, the state is giving the $104.8 million...

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Entire 27-Person Fire Department in Michigan Town Closing Because of Budget Shortfall, Film Incentive Directly to Blame

February 28, 2011

For one small Michigan town, the damage from the state’s overly generous film subsidy program is already inflicted.  The end of the outrageous giveaway, which seems almost certain at this point, came too late.  And this story from the Detroit Free Press breaks my heart.  No diffuse cause and effect argument here.  No speculation. ...

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Home-Grown Michigan Film Talent Denied Incentive b/c They Are MI Residents…

January 27, 2011

I don’t know how I missed this story 9 months ago. In any event, I think this is worth watching for the CAN’T MISS kicker near the end: the Michigan Film Office told these Michigan residents to move “their operation out of Michigan” and then reapply for the Michigan Film Incentive. Come again???? It...

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Michigan Film Program Moving Toward Transparency

December 16, 2010
Michigan Film Program Moving Toward Transparency

It’s always nice to see an editorial board get it right.  This week, that honor belongs to The Grand Rapids Free Press.  Apparently, Michigan’s troubled film incentive is about to get more transparent and the paper, not to mention myself, could not be more pleased: Shining a light on the details of the tax...

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New Report re: MI Film Incentive: Nearly Half of New Economic Activity “Left” State, Program “Will Never Pay For Itself”

September 30, 2010

A brand new report from the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency (authored by economist David Zin) offers a sobering and critical assessment regarding the efficacy of the state’s massive film incentives.  I just added it to the “Report Library” and you can read it HERE.  First, there is no doubt that the Michigan incentives have...

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Indirect Econ. Impact of Film Shoots in Michigan Insignificant According to Small Business Owners

July 1, 2010

This will be the last Michigan post today, I promise.  But these two stories were too entertaining to pass up.  While I just lauded Michigan for taking quick action to increase transparency and accountability in the state’s film office, which is great, the film office itself has made a few fumbles of late. On...

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Michigan Moves Swiftly to Address Possible Incentive Abuse (Includes New Video)

July 1, 2010

I have to give to credit to Michigan for taking swift action in response to the lack of oversight and transparency in their film office, which was not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests from news outlets and other organizations.  The bills Michigan is considering would remedy these issues.  Recent allegations of shady...

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