Is the new Batman vs Superman film eating up too much of Michigan's film incentive money for the movie and TV industry?
Fox2's Amy Lange reports that some folks think the $35 million in incentives from the Michigan Film Office takes out too big of a chunk of the $50 million a year of state film incentives. The movie plans to film in Metro Detroit and Michigan.
Lange reports that Curt Howe with Charlie's Talent Agency is among the folks who worry about the film gobbling up too much of the incentives.
"I like having a bunch of smaller films because they hire our local people," he says.
But some local business simply love hearing about another film coming to Detroit, Lange reports.
"We've done like 12 major motion pictures," said Grace Keros with American Coney Island in Detroit. "We've been catering them, feeding them, and they love it. They use us as locations, catering off-site at the studio and it's been a lot of fun."
A press release from the film office stated:
The as-yet-untitled feature film was awarded an incentive of $35 million on $131 million of projected in-state expenditures. The production is expected to hire 406 Michigan workers, with a full time equivalent of 426 jobs, plus an additional 6,000 man/days of extra work. The production anticipates using approximately 500 local Michigan vendors during the course of production and spending $5.1 million on local hotels, as well as an additional $3.5 million in out-of-town cast and crew per diem payments that will be spent in the local economy but which fall outside of the incentive program.
The debate continues on the benefits of the incentive program run by the Michigan Film Office. Critics say it costs the state too much to help create film jobs that are only temporary.
But supporters say it helps stimulate the local economy.
The hope is that the incentives eventually vanish and Detroit and Michigan become known as great place to film. Still, when incentives aren't offered, filmmakers often go elsewhere where they are. -- Allan Lengel
