New, expanded Metro Detroit movie studios to add thousands of jobs

[LMich]

I thought since every city and their momma wants to be "Hollywood (insert geographical direction" that this would be suitable to post, here.

Now, there is always talk about this all being a race to the bottom, as states offer better and better incentives, but what I wanted to know is if anyone thinks that actually getting a studio constructed will be enough of an advantage so as to make the film incentive race harder to continue? You know, if after investing so much into the renovation of a facility that it becomes harder to still these things away?

New, expanded Metro Detroit movie studios to add thousands of jobs

Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News

February 3, 2009

A former Pontiac auto plant and the defunct MGM Grand Casino will be converted into film production studios that will create 4,000 new direct jobs in Metro Detroit, boosting one of the state's few fast-growing industries.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm will formally announce plans for the news studios during her State of the State address tonight.

An $86 million digital animation and visual effects studio to be called the Detroit Center Studios will set up shop in the former MGM Grand Casino downtown, and is set to open by the end of the year. In Pontiac, a $54 million film production studio called Motown Motion Picture Studios will be built at General Motors Corp.'s former Centerpoint plant, according to Granholm's spokeswoman Liz Boyd. Granholm also will announce a $900,000 expansion of video and computer gaming company called Stardock Systems Inc. in Plymouth.

The Detroit Center Studios is a partnership between Wonderstruck Studios LLC and SHM Partners of Los Angeles, and expects to create 400 direct jobs. The studio should begin operating this year, Boyd said. Terms and financing were not released.

Motown Motion Picture Studio is expected to create about 3,500 direct jobs. The studio will be operated by Raleigh Studios, a Hollywood production firm, and has the backing of billionaire developer Al Taubman and local developer Linden Nelson, who will be chairman and CEO of the new studio.

"The idea started in June in my kitchen," Nelson said, who is also CEO of Nelson Ventures. "I'm just trying to bring jobs to Michigan, man."

The Stardock expansion will create 53 new direct jobs, state officials said.

The state film agency has been working on the three deals for months, and contends they would create the infrastructure to support what has become a $100 million industry since April 2008, when Michigan passed the most aggressive film industry tax incentives in the nation.

"It's a game-changer," said Anthony Wenson, CEO of the Michigan Film Office, the agency that promotes Michigan's film industry, during an earlier interview with The Detroit News. "We truly (will) have a year-round industry. We can see a television series shot here. We can provide space for filmmakers to build large-scale sets. We can greatly expand our offerings to the video and digital media community."

Even though films and TV productions are being shot in Michigan locales, almost all of it is outside work that shuts down during winter months. Interior studio shots and all post-production work leaves the state, meaning Michigan misses out on the largest opportunities for work.

Since the passage of the tax incentives, 25 films have been produced in Michigan -- compared to just six in the year before the incentives. One of them is in theaters now -- Clint Eastwood's well-received "Gran Torino." A total of 70 projects have been approved by the state. Since the incentives went into effect, the film industry has created $100 million in revenue. In 2007, before incentives, the film industry generated $4 million.

The incentives give producers 40 cents back for every $1 they spend on production, double Michigan's old rebate, and an additional 2 percent rebate if the project is shot in certain Michigan communities. The new law also gives a 25 percent tax credit to companies investing in new film and digital media studios -- something that would apply to the new studios. Another incentive covers 50 percent of on-the-job training expenses for state residents working as crew members.

You can reach Louis Aguilar at (313) 222-2760 or [email protected].