As you all know, I am a producer of feature films, well mostly TV movies.  Thus far, most of my films have shot overseas in order to keep costs down.  A number of them could have and would have been shot in America had there been any kind of tax incentives to level the playing field with the cheaper labor rates found in Thailand, India and Eastern Europe. 

In the past few years, many states have enacted such tax incentives.  The three most lucrative and most popular are currently Michigan, Louisiana and Georgia.  I have already written about the Michigan tax incentives in the past.  One such article about Michigan is “SAG and the Independent.”   These tax incentives are keeping billions of dollars and hundreds of jobs in the United States at a time when they are needed most.  As of this morning, the unemployment rate is 9.0% and the “Real” unemployment rate is approximately 16%. 

Recently, California has enacted a Tax Incentive Statute, to help keep its lucrative entertainment industry alive.  The California Statute provides a refund of up to 25% of Qualified Production Costs for Films that have 75% of their production days and/or 75% of their total budget spent in California.  The total amount allocated for this credit is one hundred million dollars per year.  However, the total amount has a lifetime cap and such cap is quickly approaching.

 Effectively, this California money will run out in about 18 months.  What this will do is remove all production from the state of California except for some TV, and a few feature films in which the stars have enough clout to keep the film in California.  As it is now, production in California is down even with the credit because, other than NY, it is the most expensive state to shoot in.  Without the credit, the industry will effectively leave the state.  Once it’s gone, it will be very difficult to ever get it back. 

Who will be hurt the most by this?  Will it be the major studios or independent producers?  No.  Studios will shoot films wherever they can make them cheaper.  Producers will do the same.  It may be inconvenient or uncomfortable for producers like me to live in a foreign country or in a hotel for a few months, but such is the cost of business. 

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***UPDATE: The spelling of Duane Hammond’s last name has been corrected.

Developing:

Obama’s visit to Los Angeles today has stirred controversy even before he arrived:

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A stage worker setting up the stage was fired for refusing to remove his hat and turn his sweatshirt inside out and the reason? The shirt hat and shirt both had the name “Bush” printed on them but not just any Bush but, that of George H.W. Bush.

The IATSE (Local 33) union fired the worker even after he explained the shirt to his bosses. The shirt didn’t explicitly support George H.W Bush but that of the aircraft carrier named after the former President and the aircraft carrier his son has served on for the past many years and is currently deployed. The union worker was interviewed on KTLA Channel 5 locally in Los Angeles. (more…)

Over the weekend, Scott Wampler of the Comedy Examiner reported that he contacted someone on the production crew involved in the June 25th “light-fry” episode, which involved a confrontation with a pro-life group protesting outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

There’s much of interest here, starting with the fact that this crewmember won’t reveal his of her identity. But also, from the way Wampler describes it, the film crew in question is directly employed by Jimmy Kimmel Live:

Well, it just so happens that we’re pals with someone on that very crew of Jimmy Kimmel Live employees (who wishes to remain nameless, by the way, but I can assure you– they work for the show), so I contacted the worker and asked for a statement.

“[O]n that very crew of Jimmy Kimmel Live employees” appears to contradict what NewsBusters was told July 2nd. (more…)

A few months ago I wrote a column about the effect IATSE’s wage increase in Michigan would have on future production in Michigan.  Just recently, the company I have my first look deal with decided to produce another picture in Michigan and was informed my column made it impossible for IATSE to negotiate or help us in any way.  They basically said this is the deal, take it or leave it if you want to shoot here; your employee ruined it for you. 

My company then proceeded to disavow any knowledge of my column and said that what I write is of my own doing and not the policy of the company.  This is true.  It is my own doing.  No one tells me what to write or censors my editorial content. 

I still believe IATSE is harming the burgeoning film industry in Michigan.  I believe that if IATSE was doing the right thing in Michigan, the state of Michigan would be putting all of the other tax-incentive states out of business.  Producers would be running there in droves. 

Unions are supposed to be the mechanism to level the playing field for the working man.  Their job is to protect the working man from “the man,” and to keep their members employed fairly.  Isn’t employment what unions are really all about:  Especially now when unemployment is so rampant all over the United States, particularly in Michigan and California.  You would think the unions would be bending over backwards to work with “the man” in a mutually beneficial situation.  Let us all do whatever is necessary to keep employment in the United States; not Eastern Europe or Asia.  (more…)

A lot can be said about unions supporting wage earners and creating a middle class. However, a lot can also be said about unions ruining this country.  Case in point: Michigan.

You would think that after the UAW destroyed the auto industry and the tax base in Michigan, the people of the state and the unions based there would have learned. However, this is not the case. In the latest union disaster for the state of Michigan, the IATSE has decided that the blooming film industry in the state must be stopped before it even gets started.

As most of you in the film business know, the state of Michigan has one of the most lucrative tax credit/rebate programs in the industry. The state gives you 40% of every qualified dollar that you spend in the state. In addition, if you shoot your film in a few core areas such as Detroit, you will get an additional 2%. That’s a whopping 42% of what the producers’ qualified in Michigan spend. On a 20 million dollar budget, this can amount to a gift from the state of Michigan of approximately 6.5 million dollars after you subtract the non-qualified costs. (more…)