by Katherine Yung, Detroit Free Press

Mississippi an example of trouble with cutting film credits
11:20 PM, Mar. 8, 2011 |


BY KATHERINE YUNG
DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER


To see what effect a $25-million annual cap on film incentives would have on Michigan's movie production industry, look at Mississippi.

The southern state limits spending on film incentives to $20 million, a little less than Gov. Rick Snyder's proposal for Michigan. Mississippi offers filmmakers 20% to 25% cash rebates, depending on whether they employ state residents.

With a $20-million cap, seven productions shot scenes in Mississippi last year, compared with 58 in Michigan. That includes one night of filming for the HBO series "True Blood" and about a week of production for PBS' "Antiques Roadshow."

The state is such a small player in the movie industry that its total annual incentive spending has never come close to hitting the cap, said Ward Emling, manager of Mississippi's Office of Film, Music & Heritage. "The types of films we get are generally smaller," he said.

Mississippi's experience illustrates the dilemma that lawmakers in Lansing face as they consider Snyder's plan to put a $25-million annual cap on new incentives for production companies. At that level, Michigan would rank seventh among 23 states with spending limits, slightly ahead of Mississippi but behind Florida, which has a $53.5-million cap.

But Michigan faces a huge deficit for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, and Snyder wants to dramatically reduce spending on the incentives as part of a move to eliminate tax credits.

"When dealing with a budget deficit of $1.4 billion, you have to take into consideration all of the various state programs that compete for funds and make reasoned decisions of what the state can afford," Snyder spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher said.
Slashing Michigan film credits would make it tough to compete

If Gov. Rick Snyder's plan to limit new film incentives to $25 million a year gets the nod from legislators, Michigan would fall to the middle ranks of states in movie production.

Michigan and 16 other states currently have no limits on the amount of incentives they give to filmmakers, according to data from Entertainment Partners, a California-based production management services company.