Nancy Crawley: Proponents of film tax credits in Michigan should welcome scrutiny to validate incentives' value
Published: Sunday, June 27, 2010, 5:50 AM
Nancy Crawley | The Grand Rapids Press Nancy Crawley | The Grand Rapids Press
When West Michigan's film industry gathered last week for the announcement of a new film business, insiders lauded the job-creating engine movies can be.
Randall Emmett said opening his Grand Rapids Film and Services shows Michigan's film tax credits work despite recent headlines about a questionable project.
He was referring to news of an attorney general's investigation into local movie studio, Hangar42's application for $10 million in tax credits.
Others also extolled the virtues of incentives -- which pay film makers up to 42 percent of in-state production costs -- while tsk-ing about "negative" stories.
But those who want to see more Hollywood glamour in town might first consider Iowa where incensed lawmakers have suspended its film tax credits.
To keep Michigan's incentives a good deal for taxpayers -- whose Treasury after all is being tapped -- those people should welcome rigorous scrutiny. Those credits, the most generous in the country, will survive only if they keep taxpayers' confidence.
And frankly, that is getting shakier. Almost weekly there are efforts to dilute or eliminate them.
So, what happened with Iowa's "Half Price Filmmaking"?
Lax oversight of a program that covered 50 percent of production costs led to revelations of absurd spending, state officials fired and movie producers criminally charged.
Specifically, an audit last October found one director bought a $61,000 Mercedes Benz and another a $67,000 Range Rover and a $1,600 feather bed, all with the help of credits.
Auditors also found altered contracts and filmmakers who claimed millions of dollars for product-placement that cost nothing.
The governor suspended the program the next day, saying "Iowans will not be taken for suckers."
The state economic development director resigned. The film office manager was fired and charged with misconduct. This month prosecutors filed a dozen felony charges against moviemakers.
Those who oppose the program called for an end to it.
In Michigan, film office director Janet Lockwood said there are many safeguards built into this state's process. "What happened in Iowa could never happen here."
Her office did initially approve the Hangar42 application for an infrastructure film tax credit, subject to an audit when finished. But a watch-dog group, the Mackinac Center said, hold on, why do the studio owners claim a $45 million investment in an old factory that was for sale a few weeks earlier for $9.8 million?
Since then, the application has been held up, the attorney general is investigating and lawmakers are busy drafting bills to amend the system.
The dust-up gives critics another reason for junking the incentives, particularly as a state budget deficit looms. Kansas did that and New Jersey is considering it.
So those who want to build a field of dreams here should say, first of all, let's ensure taxpayers get everything they should -- legitimate, job-producing projects. That's how you keep the glamour and glitz on the silver screen.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
by PA State Rep. Paul Costa
June 15, 2010
Pennsylvania needs Film Tax Credit
By Rep. Paul Costa
The glamour generally associated with the film industry disguises the fact that "making movies" is a business. However, it is a $1.4 billion dollar industry and the film tax credit may be one of the solutions to help Pennsylvania's economy recover and thrive.
The return on investment (ROI) for the film industry is in the top 10 percent of all industries in Pennsylvania. Currently 41 states offer some form of a film tax credit program and ours has become the standard.
According to the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, in 2007 the motion picture industry revenues in Pennsylvania reached $948 million and generated economic impact of nearly $1.9 billion.
Independent local auditors have confirmed that film productions have spent $378 million in Pennsylvania since 2007, when the program was created. Of that amount, $100 million went directly into southwestern Pennsylvania's economy. If you add the economic benefit of those productions and the three-year economic effect of the film tax credit in southwestern Pennsylvania alone you will see that is a total of nearly $200 million. To put that in perspective, that is more than all cumulative film production in the region from 1993-2006.
Local vendors that supply everything from lumber to catering services have seen business increase. In 2009, hotels in southwestern Pennsylvania reported more than 30,000 room nights because of the film industry. When one actor hosted three parties at a local restaurant, that restaurant claimed that they made more on those three private parties than they usually do in six months of nightly business.
The out-of-town crews who basically live in our region for months at a time spend their own money in our state! They shop, go to movies, rent cars, buy gas, and entertain themselves.
Pennsylvania requires a full audit before issuing the tax credit for each production company. Once the audit is complete, and the production shows the money was actually spent in the Commonwealth, a certificate is issued for the tax credits.
LBFC Report stated it quite succinctly, "a competitive film production incentive for film producers can be considered the 'price of admission' . . . for such activity." Let's continue to roll out the red carpet for this industry in the form of a tax credit.
State Rep. Paul Costa is also a board member of the Pittsburgh Film Office.
Pennsylvania needs Film Tax Credit
By Rep. Paul Costa
The glamour generally associated with the film industry disguises the fact that "making movies" is a business. However, it is a $1.4 billion dollar industry and the film tax credit may be one of the solutions to help Pennsylvania's economy recover and thrive.
The return on investment (ROI) for the film industry is in the top 10 percent of all industries in Pennsylvania. Currently 41 states offer some form of a film tax credit program and ours has become the standard.
According to the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, in 2007 the motion picture industry revenues in Pennsylvania reached $948 million and generated economic impact of nearly $1.9 billion.
Independent local auditors have confirmed that film productions have spent $378 million in Pennsylvania since 2007, when the program was created. Of that amount, $100 million went directly into southwestern Pennsylvania's economy. If you add the economic benefit of those productions and the three-year economic effect of the film tax credit in southwestern Pennsylvania alone you will see that is a total of nearly $200 million. To put that in perspective, that is more than all cumulative film production in the region from 1993-2006.
Local vendors that supply everything from lumber to catering services have seen business increase. In 2009, hotels in southwestern Pennsylvania reported more than 30,000 room nights because of the film industry. When one actor hosted three parties at a local restaurant, that restaurant claimed that they made more on those three private parties than they usually do in six months of nightly business.
The out-of-town crews who basically live in our region for months at a time spend their own money in our state! They shop, go to movies, rent cars, buy gas, and entertain themselves.
Pennsylvania requires a full audit before issuing the tax credit for each production company. Once the audit is complete, and the production shows the money was actually spent in the Commonwealth, a certificate is issued for the tax credits.
LBFC Report stated it quite succinctly, "a competitive film production incentive for film producers can be considered the 'price of admission' . . . for such activity." Let's continue to roll out the red carpet for this industry in the form of a tax credit.
State Rep. Paul Costa is also a board member of the Pittsburgh Film Office.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Grand Rapids Press Article by Jeff Engel
Film producer's new project lofty goal: Help film a movie a month in West Michigan
Published: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 7:57 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 10:24 PM
Jeff Engel | The Grand Rapids Press Jeff Engel | The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Los Angeles film producer Randall Emmett had no clue where Grand Rapids was a year ago, but he hopes his new production services company puts the city on the industry's map.
"We want everyone in Hollywood to know (where Grand Rapids is)," Emmett said at a press conference Wednesday at the JW Marriott hotel where he announced the launch of Grand Rapids Films and Services.
It will provide a "one-stop shop" for producers who want to work in state, focusing particularly on Grand Rapids and West Michigan, he said.
Services include production-crew hiring and training, recruiting local vendors for lighting, catering, hotels, security and other services and budget consultation.
Emmett has shot three movies with rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in the past year in Grand Rapids, attracted by the state's generous film tax credits.
Now, Emmett would like to facilitate a locally-filmed movie every month through his company, which he told the crowd of 50 is "aggressive," but "what I say, I do."
"Touchback," to be produced by Emmett and George Furla, is scheduled to begin shooting in Grand Rapids in late July. Emmett told The Press Wednesday they are in negotiations with a "major movie star."
He said several more movies are in the works, including an untitled "50 Cent" movie in September.
It also was announced Wednesday the film "Playback" (unrelated to "Touchback") is slated to start filming here Aug. 23.
Emmett recruited friends John Bennett and Larry Robbins, owners of the New York film company Bennett-Robbins Productions LLC, to make the movie in Grand Rapids.
The producers said Emmett raved about the "great" locals they could work with, and they were sold on the state's tax incentives.
The program, which returns up to 42 percent of production costs incurred in Michigan, has been both praised for creating jobs and criticized as too generous in a state facing a budget crisis.
"We hope the state sticks with (the incentive program)," Robbins said. "We'd be happy to shoot 20 movies here."
Emmett's corporate headquarters are to be at 741 Kenmoor Ave. SE, and a 15,000-square-foot production office at 280 Ann St. NE will serve as the "base camp" for crews during filming, Emmett said.
The company will employ two or three full-time employees, he said. He said he is not seeking an infrastructure film tax credit.
His business will partner with Sakonnett Capital Partners LLC to provide upfront financing for film makers.
Anthony Gudas, owner of the Providence, R.I. company, provides loans to filmmakers waiting for their film rebates or tax credits to be paid. Grand Rapids will be his first satellite office.
Gudas, who attended Wednesday's press conference, said he knew he "wanted to be in Michigan" after the tax credit program was announced in 2008, and he's financed several of Emmett's films.
"It's about jobs," Rick Hert of the West Michigan Film Office said about the company. "It's about economic development."
Local business owners testified to the work Emmett's films have generated for them, including those from a caterer, security service and a lighting and camera support company.
Absolute Security's CEO Brian Brookman said his Grand Haven based company will add 15-20 employees to handle the new film projects.
"Movies bring an awful lot of work and an awful lot of income for lots of people," said Dave Lowing of Lowing Light & Grip, which has helped with two of Emmett's locally-shot films. "Randall has done what he said he'd do, and he's doing more of it."
Published: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 7:57 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 10:24 PM
Jeff Engel | The Grand Rapids Press Jeff Engel | The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Los Angeles film producer Randall Emmett had no clue where Grand Rapids was a year ago, but he hopes his new production services company puts the city on the industry's map.
"We want everyone in Hollywood to know (where Grand Rapids is)," Emmett said at a press conference Wednesday at the JW Marriott hotel where he announced the launch of Grand Rapids Films and Services.
It will provide a "one-stop shop" for producers who want to work in state, focusing particularly on Grand Rapids and West Michigan, he said.
Services include production-crew hiring and training, recruiting local vendors for lighting, catering, hotels, security and other services and budget consultation.
Emmett has shot three movies with rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in the past year in Grand Rapids, attracted by the state's generous film tax credits.
Now, Emmett would like to facilitate a locally-filmed movie every month through his company, which he told the crowd of 50 is "aggressive," but "what I say, I do."
"Touchback," to be produced by Emmett and George Furla, is scheduled to begin shooting in Grand Rapids in late July. Emmett told The Press Wednesday they are in negotiations with a "major movie star."
He said several more movies are in the works, including an untitled "50 Cent" movie in September.
It also was announced Wednesday the film "Playback" (unrelated to "Touchback") is slated to start filming here Aug. 23.
Emmett recruited friends John Bennett and Larry Robbins, owners of the New York film company Bennett-Robbins Productions LLC, to make the movie in Grand Rapids.
The producers said Emmett raved about the "great" locals they could work with, and they were sold on the state's tax incentives.
The program, which returns up to 42 percent of production costs incurred in Michigan, has been both praised for creating jobs and criticized as too generous in a state facing a budget crisis.
"We hope the state sticks with (the incentive program)," Robbins said. "We'd be happy to shoot 20 movies here."
Emmett's corporate headquarters are to be at 741 Kenmoor Ave. SE, and a 15,000-square-foot production office at 280 Ann St. NE will serve as the "base camp" for crews during filming, Emmett said.
The company will employ two or three full-time employees, he said. He said he is not seeking an infrastructure film tax credit.
His business will partner with Sakonnett Capital Partners LLC to provide upfront financing for film makers.
Anthony Gudas, owner of the Providence, R.I. company, provides loans to filmmakers waiting for their film rebates or tax credits to be paid. Grand Rapids will be his first satellite office.
Gudas, who attended Wednesday's press conference, said he knew he "wanted to be in Michigan" after the tax credit program was announced in 2008, and he's financed several of Emmett's films.
"It's about jobs," Rick Hert of the West Michigan Film Office said about the company. "It's about economic development."
Local business owners testified to the work Emmett's films have generated for them, including those from a caterer, security service and a lighting and camera support company.
Absolute Security's CEO Brian Brookman said his Grand Haven based company will add 15-20 employees to handle the new film projects.
"Movies bring an awful lot of work and an awful lot of income for lots of people," said Dave Lowing of Lowing Light & Grip, which has helped with two of Emmett's locally-shot films. "Randall has done what he said he'd do, and he's doing more of it."
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Los Angeles Times Article
Hollywood has Georgia on its mind.
After beefing up its film incentive program in 2008, Georgia has emerged among the top five states in the country for film production, attracting such movies as the Academy Award-winning "The Blind Side," the Woody Harrelson horror flick "Zombieland" and the fifth installment of Universal's "Fast & Furious" franchise.
The latest sign of the state's expanding film business: a sprawling 30-acre studio complex that has opened in the former Lakewood Fairgrounds site near downtown Atlanta. The fairgrounds, owned by the city of Atlanta and until recently used as a venue for a flea market, are a local landmark and already a popular filming site, home for such movies as Burt Reynolds' 1977 trucker film "Smokey and the Bandit."
EUE/Screen Gems, a New York City company that also operates studios in Manhattan and Wilmington, N.C., said last week that it would invest $6 million to convert the fairgrounds and its Spanish colonial-style exhibition halls into Georgia's biggest studio. Although it was formerly owned by Columbia Pictures, the company is not related to the Screen Gems production label now owned by Sony Pictures.
The company plans to build a 37,500-square-foot soundstage, to open next year, and refurbish four other buildings on the property that date to the turn of the last century. When the project is completed in March 2011, the complex will encompass more than 100,000 square feet of sound stages and office space, as well as a set construction shop and lighting and grip facilities.
"Hollywood has been working in the state in the last couple of years in a very significant way, but Georgia has a real dearth of viable facilities," said Chris Cooney, chief operating officer for EUE/Screen Gems. The nearest large-scale studio to Atlanta is RiverWood Studios, about 45 minutes outside the city, which is operated by Raleigh Studios of Hollywood.
Cooney said producers, directors and studios asked the company to open a facility in Atlanta, given its central location and the allure of the state's film tax credit, one of the highest in the nation. Among the projects expected to shoot at the Lakewood facility is an adaptation of the Broadway play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" from Atlanta-based filmmaker Tyler Perry.
Under the program, producers can receive a credit equivalent to 30% of their in-state production expenses, which they can apply toward any tax liability they have with the state. Alternately, producers can sell the credit to a third party and pocket the cash, thus lowering production expenses. The credit is broad, applying not only to films and TV shows, but also commercials, music videos, video game development and animation.
Since the credit was increased to 30% from 20% in 2008, production has flooded into the state. Film and TV production spending tripled to $770 million in 2009, according to the Georgia Film Office. In the last two years, 26 movies have shot in the state.
"For the last two years we've had a really, really good run,'' said Bill Thompson, deputy commissioner in the Georgia Film Office.
He said the new studio would make the state even more attractive to filmmakers. "We've always known that one of our deficiencies was that we didn't have enough studio space. It couldn't come at a more perfect time."
-Richard Verrier
After beefing up its film incentive program in 2008, Georgia has emerged among the top five states in the country for film production, attracting such movies as the Academy Award-winning "The Blind Side," the Woody Harrelson horror flick "Zombieland" and the fifth installment of Universal's "Fast & Furious" franchise.
The latest sign of the state's expanding film business: a sprawling 30-acre studio complex that has opened in the former Lakewood Fairgrounds site near downtown Atlanta. The fairgrounds, owned by the city of Atlanta and until recently used as a venue for a flea market, are a local landmark and already a popular filming site, home for such movies as Burt Reynolds' 1977 trucker film "Smokey and the Bandit."
EUE/Screen Gems, a New York City company that also operates studios in Manhattan and Wilmington, N.C., said last week that it would invest $6 million to convert the fairgrounds and its Spanish colonial-style exhibition halls into Georgia's biggest studio. Although it was formerly owned by Columbia Pictures, the company is not related to the Screen Gems production label now owned by Sony Pictures.
The company plans to build a 37,500-square-foot soundstage, to open next year, and refurbish four other buildings on the property that date to the turn of the last century. When the project is completed in March 2011, the complex will encompass more than 100,000 square feet of sound stages and office space, as well as a set construction shop and lighting and grip facilities.
"Hollywood has been working in the state in the last couple of years in a very significant way, but Georgia has a real dearth of viable facilities," said Chris Cooney, chief operating officer for EUE/Screen Gems. The nearest large-scale studio to Atlanta is RiverWood Studios, about 45 minutes outside the city, which is operated by Raleigh Studios of Hollywood.
Cooney said producers, directors and studios asked the company to open a facility in Atlanta, given its central location and the allure of the state's film tax credit, one of the highest in the nation. Among the projects expected to shoot at the Lakewood facility is an adaptation of the Broadway play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" from Atlanta-based filmmaker Tyler Perry.
Under the program, producers can receive a credit equivalent to 30% of their in-state production expenses, which they can apply toward any tax liability they have with the state. Alternately, producers can sell the credit to a third party and pocket the cash, thus lowering production expenses. The credit is broad, applying not only to films and TV shows, but also commercials, music videos, video game development and animation.
Since the credit was increased to 30% from 20% in 2008, production has flooded into the state. Film and TV production spending tripled to $770 million in 2009, according to the Georgia Film Office. In the last two years, 26 movies have shot in the state.
"For the last two years we've had a really, really good run,'' said Bill Thompson, deputy commissioner in the Georgia Film Office.
He said the new studio would make the state even more attractive to filmmakers. "We've always known that one of our deficiencies was that we didn't have enough studio space. It couldn't come at a more perfect time."
-Richard Verrier
Monday, June 21, 2010
Nice Note From Nice Fellow Actor
Got this email from Rick Septer, AKA "Creepy Man", from his role in "Dylan's Wake", where he and I appeared in a bar scene last summer. Thanks, Creepy Man!!!! (p.s.: the picture is of my craft services lunch there..yummy!)
Here's his little note:
I just want to say that you, Gino and Jay have really done a lot to keep this thing alive. You both deserve credit. I would also like to say having worked with you both was a lot of fun. I just hope the chance will come again.
the Rick
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Fade to black? Cutting film tax break misses the big picture
The following editorial (link below) describes New Jersey's governor considering cutting their film tax credit in order to balance the budget. Too bad we didn't get any advanced warning and we didn't get the opportunity to oppose it. Our governor just decided to unilaterally blast it out of the water - Culverize it! - without asking anybody else whether it was a good idea, other that his yes men. Let's work to get a film incentive back in and to get him out.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/06/fade_to_black_cutting_film_tax.html
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/06/fade_to_black_cutting_film_tax.html
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