Michigan is adopting what it bills as the most generous film incentives program in the country, offering a 40 percent rebate on production spending to filmmakers, as well as tax credits for companies that invest in new studios, the Daily Breeze reports.
The film incentive program is included in an economic stimulus package that Gov. Jennifer Granholm was scheduled to sign into law today.
“Michigan has a great work force, great locations and now this great incentive,” said Granholm, who pushed for the legislation as part of a plan to boost jobs in a state that has been rocked by auto industry layoffs.
“We are rolling out the red carpet for the film industry,” she said in remarks reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Michigan’s move underscores California’s vulnerability to so-called runaway production, according to The Times.
Unlike most other states, California does not offer film incentives. That has cost the Los Angeles region thousands of feature film jobs as producers have taken their projects to cheaper locales, including Canada and Eastern Europe and such states such as New Mexico and Connecticut.
