NEWS
Posted 26 April, 2009 in MI News
MICHIGAN has sent checks for 10 of the 12 productions that have filed their tax returns and paperwork for productions in 2008. The remaining checks are anticipated soon. Additional filings are expected during the coming months. The Treasury Department has recently released checks in as little as two weeks after final paperwork is filed. Their 30-42% tax credit program is generating many new shows.
Posted 26 April, 2009 in MI News
By COREY WILLIAMS
FROM BUSINESSWEEK
ALLEN PARK, MICHIGAN
Michigan’s pool of skilled and unskilled labor along with the state’s attractive tax incentives for moviemakers have helped lure a $146 million film and television production complex to the Detroit area.
That’s very good news for the region, which has one of the country’s highest unemployment rates.
The complex will be built on 105 acres (42 hectares) in Allen Park, just outside Detroit, officials said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
Its eight sound stages will be housed in a 750,000-square-foot (69,677-square-meter) production and post-production facility. Equipment rentals, sound and music recording facilities and animation design also will be housed in the facility.
Allen Park beat out a location in Louisiana for the complex, said Unity Studios Inc. President Jimmy Lifton, a former Detroit area native.
Groundbreaking is expected to take place within 60 days with the studio going operational in October, Lifton told reporters, union members and Allen Park residents in city council chambers.
Michigan has been drawing more moviemakers since the tax incentives went into effect last year. The refundable movie tax credit of up to 42 percent on production expenses in the state is the most lucrative in the country.
Officials in February announced planned production studios in Detroit and Pontiac that are expected to bring thousands of jobs.
Posted 29 March, 2009 in MI News
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State University, Lansing Community College and Capital Area Michigan Works! are partnering to prepare Michigan residents seeking employment in the state’s growing film industry.
With a grant of $195,000 from the state of Michigan, Capital Area Michigan Works! will recruit and oversee a joint training program between MSU’s Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media and Lansing Community College’s Digital Media, Audio, and Cinema program to provide on-campus film production training.
Charles Steinfield, chairperson of the MSU department, says the training program is a wonderful example of state partnership – with economic benefits.
“This training partnership demonstrates our commitment to community outreach, and also to the growth of the film industry in Michigan,� Steinfield said.
The MSU department will work with LCC faculty to provide 80 hours of training, which will prepare Michigan residents who are seeking jobs in the film industry, such as production assistants and other below-the-line film jobs.
Competitive scholarships from Capital Area Michigan Works! will cover the full cost of the program for the students selected. Candidates should demonstrate a passion for the film and television industry, an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to do what needs to be done. Candidates should also be driven, flexible, highly mobile and willing to learn.
“People with a background in catering, construction, carpentry, security and IT are all needed on a film set,� said Doug Stites, CEO of Capital Area Michigan Works! “Particularly in demand are folks with previous theater, performing arts and broadcast experience, as well as those with electrical experience. This program will give them the foundation to transfer their existing skills into the film industry.�
The program is expected to start in May with the screening process for candidates beginning immediately. Those interested should email film@camw.net.
Michigan enacted an aggressive film incentive structure in April 2008. Since then, the state has seen more than 70 film and TV projects slated for production in Michigan, estimated to bring in about $430 million in economic activity. Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced new film developments in her State of the State address on Feb. 3.
MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences has a film and media arts initiative, which is headed by former Discovery Films executive Andrea Meditch. Meditch was executive producer of the documentary Man on Wire, which received a 2009 Academy Award. The college offers quality degree programs for film-related careers and has a solid group of alumni involved in the film business, ranging from actors to producers to sound designers to directors and storytellers. In fall 2009, MSU is proposing two new specializations: in Fiction Film Production and Collaborative Documentary Production.
Posted 10 January, 2009 in MI News
Twenty post-production certificates have been processed in Michigan for 2008, indicating that production in Michigan is completed, and the 3rd party audit has been accepted. Michigan Business Tax Forms (MBT) for 2008 should be available. Once the MBT is filed the rebate can be processed, with checks starting be issued at the end of January. Projects completing production in 2009 will be eligible for rebates in early 2010.
Posted 12 October, 2008 in MI News
MICHIGAN sends a reminder that productions must wrap, complete their third-party audit and receive a post-production certificate from the state prior to December 31, 2008 for the rebate to be received in 2009 (after filing the Michigan Business Tax return.) Otherwise, the rebate will not be due until 2010. There is currently no legislation in progress to put a yearly cap on the rebates.
Attempts are now underway in the Michigan legislature to limit the amount available per year for production rebates. Currently there is no limit or cap, but last week an amendment bill which would put a $50 million per year cap on the rebate was passed by a Senate committee. The House is now out of session until after the election; legislation not approved by both the Senate and House by December 31 may not be carried over to 2009, so passage is unlikely this year. But it is probable that an amendment will be introduced again next year.
Meanwhile, the Michigan Treasury Department has ruled that mileage reimbursements, meal allowances and per diems will not qualify for the rebate unless they are subject to Michigan taxes.
Posted 30 August, 2008 in MI News
MICHIGAN continues as the incentives state de jour, with 53 films approved to date, 45 applications currently under review, and 16 films either in production, in prep, or wrapped. The state has just posted regulations for the incentive
http://michigan.gov/filmoffice/0,1607,7-248–198439–,00.html
Posted 30 August, 2008 in MI News
By BASHIRAH MUTTALIB
The largest production rebate in the U.S. could result in nearly $300 million in revenue from film shoots this year. New studios are also in the works for Michigan, which is seeing a production boom in the wake of the rebate.
“There are quite a few films scheduled to shoot,” said Michigan Film Office director Janet Lockwood. “Right now we have three in production, three in prep, five finished although not yet gone, a dozen or more incoming.”
Lensing on “Whip It,” with Drew Barrymore directing Ellen Page, began in July; the Weinstein Co.’s “Youth in Revolt” recently completed principal shooting; and Lifetime’s “Prayers for Bobby,” with Sigourney Weaver, wrapped a few weeks ago. Production on an HBO pilot will begin soon, while ABC/Disney TV recently completed its pilot “Prince of Motor City,” a “Hamlet” set in the automotive world. Production on Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” continues, and indies “Red and Blue Marbles,” “The Detroit Job” and “Street Boss” have recently wrapped.
Projected Michigan revenue from the 47 productions approved so far is $288.4 million, while film revenue last year was $2.2 million. “Heck of a difference!” enthused Lockwood.
Michigan has one 15,000-square-foot studio, Grace Wild, and several smaller facilities. The proposed Center City Studios (Daily Variety, June 24) has yet to break ground but is slated for a mid-2009 completion date. Joining it on the drawing board, Watermark Studios is skedded to break ground later this summer in Muskegon.
Watermark Studios, a $60 million project, is a venture that partners Moses Gross, president of Brooklyn-based ANM Group, with Andrew van den Houten, owner and president of Moderncine, a New York City-based production company. The studio will be a component of Watermark Center Lofts, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use residential center being developed by ANM Group.
Watermark developers hope to capitalize on Michigan’s 40% rebate by offering three major soundstages, the largest at 17,000 square feet and 52 feet to the grid, and fully equipped lighting and grip production vehicles to service multiple on-location productions.
Once completed, Watermark Studios will allow filmmakers to process and edit their film, transfer footage to HD and create and render visual effects in HD color correction suites. Also to be available: 3-D animation, tape-to-film transfers and 3-D film processing, along with dialogue replacement, foley, sound design and sound mixing on THX- and Dolby-certified stages. Screening rooms and theaters are also planned.
Financial consulting, bridge loans for film and television projects, casting, location scouting and distribution services complete the one-stop shop.
Adding to Michigan’s film roster, Moderncine’s van den Houten is currently directing “Offspring,” which is lensing in and around the Muskegon area as well as on-site at Watermark Center Lofts. Pic is based on the novel by Jack Ketchum, who also wrote the screenplay.
Posted 8 April, 2008 in MI News
http://fox17.trb.com/news/040708-wxmi-mifilm,0,1874855.story
Posted 29 March, 2008 in MI News
Incentive was passed through the senate and the house, awaiting signature with the governor. They are hoping to announce on April 7th.
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