DETROIT – Could Michigan be about to become a center of movie production … again? For a few years starting in 2008, Michigan had one of the most aggressive film industry incentive programs in the nation. For many residents of a state better known for used cars than Hollywood stars, it was just plain exciting.
People would excitedly report that they’d seen Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio in a store in the suburbs. One night, Jack Nicholson dined at a popular, now-defunct bistro called The Lark, and went around and said hello to the folks at every table. Big-budget films including Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino and Superman vs. Batman were shot in the state.
Retirees lined up to get jobs as extras. But it didn’t last. Though the incentives originally had strong bipartisan support, there was soon grumbling from Republicans that they weren’t worth it, that they were costing Michigan more than they brought in.
Whether that was true was disputed, and those supporting the incentives said they would eventually more than pay for themselves. But Republican Gov. Rick Snyder took office in 2011, and almost immediately severely cut back the film incentives, then eliminated them altogether in 2015. It wasn’t that he had anything in particular against the film industry; he ended other state incentive programs as well. But for Michigan’s film industry, it was a disaster.
The city of Allen Park, which had bet its future on construction of an immense film studio, had its finances devastated and had to be taken over by a state-appointed emergency manager. The film industry promptly totally abandoned the state.
But other states cashed in. Today, 40 states have some sort of film incentive program, including every major state except Florida, and Michigan. But that may be about to change.
MIFA, the Michigan Film Industry Association, has been working for years to try to revitalize the industry in the state – and this summer, a bipartisan package called the Michigan Multimedia Jobs Act was introduced in both the state house and senate.
Alexander Page, an executive producer himself, says the proposed legislation would foster one of the best film incentive initiatives in the country. “This is nothing like the old incentive program,” he said in an interview. “The old bill had checks going out,” from Michigan government to those making films in the state.
“This one is tax credits only, structured to help Michigan firms and Michgan labor,” he said. “We studied every film incentive program in the country to come up with a program that would be the most competitive,” we could offer, he said.
Page, a Chicago native who has worked in the industry in Michigan since 2002, is a member of MIFA’s board, and heads the group’s legislative action committee “as an unpaid volunteer.
“You know, this is really a no-brainer,” he said, noting that the program would only give tax credits for new business being done in the state that otherwise wouldn’t be happening in Michigan.
“The program is based on tax credits to offset tax liabilities. Now, film studios could, if they wished, sell the credits to anyone doing business in Michigan.” Page said that based on a careful study of the industry, MIFA anticipates $300 million to $500 million in direct spending the first year after the act passes.
Additionally, while the old program was geared towards big-budget Hollywood production and primarily rewarded studios, this one is far more inclusive. Commercials, corporate videos and commercial photography would qualify, though there would be different scales for projects that were under 20 minutes in length.
The production world has changed a lot,” Page noted. In Illinois, one of the states with a healthy incentive program, material made for television amounted to about a third of the total. “Now, with streaming becoming so dominant, it’s 86 percent.”
The credits would be structured to favor Michigan over out-of-state labor, including on-camera actors and voice-over talent. Bonus credits also would be offered if women, disabled veterans or minority persons are included in the personnel used.
Plus, filmmakers would get an extra five percent if wording like “Filmed in Michigan,” or “Michigan Film Industry Association,” appears in the credits.
The proposal does have opposition. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank in Midland, has denounced the bills as a boondoggle that “would be nowhere near worth the cost,” and would leave the state worse off.
Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Allegan County) posted that they would essentially be a handout to Hollywood.
But not only are Democrats in the majority, the bills have bipartisan support. Their main sponsor in the house is a Republican, State Rep. John Roth of Interlochen, whose daughter is a film production major at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids.
He has candidly said that as it now stands, she is likely to have to go out of state to get a job when she graduates next year.
“I think we could promote film production again (in Michigan)” Roth told the Gongwer News Service.
What isn’t yet clear is when these bills might actually come up for a vote. Democrats have legislative majorities for the first time in decades, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has a long list of bills she wants acted on before the legislature adjourns this fall.
Nevertheless, the film industry is encouraged. “We’ve got some of the best locations for filming in the country — the lakes, the four seasons, and right now we’re being left by the wayside,” with other states getting business Michigan should have, Page said.
His entire industry hopes to see that change, soon.
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(Editor’s Note: A version of this column also appeared in the Toledo Blade.)
