I've had a lot of doubts about Michigan's program to lure movie productions to the state with an outrageous offer to pay up to 42% of the costs. Just to make this absolutely clear, the state (that's us) gives the producers a check for 42% of the money spent in Michigan. The idea was to build a "movie industry" in Michigan which would magically create good jobs for our flagging economy.
A story in today's Times lays out the results . If what they say is correct, Michigan has spent $48 million to yield $53.8 million in employment income. Adding to the pain is that the majority of the films are B Grade garbage that won't even make it into theaters.
Don't get me wrong, I love movies and I loved Gran Torino (shot in Detroit) - but this program is a joke; a short sighted hallucination that displays no understanding of the nature of the movie industry or the jobs that it creates.
People who work in movies are gypsies. With a few exceptions (like scripted TV shows) there are no permanent jobs. There are gigs that move from place to place. Michigan's idiotic offer to finance B grade horror movies brought the gypsies here for a while. Unfortunately, California just matched our offer - and does anyone really think movie producers are going to choose Michigan over Southern California if the bribes are equal?
$48 million for $54 million in temp jobs. This is criminally stupid and a sign of desperation. Who ever came up with this idea should be fired, today.
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