8th Best City To Live, Work & Make Movies in 2010

The film industry in Michigan received a lot of press in 2009 as one of many newer industries to the state to cause some positive economic buzz.  It took some time and debate, but the State of Michigan eventually passed some promising incentives to lure film producers from California to Michigan.  Specifically, they have the opportunity to apply for the following incentives if they've spent at least $50,000 in the state:

• 40 percent refundable tax credit, across the board on Michigan expenditures
• Claim an extra 2 percent if filming in one of the 103 Core Communities in Michigan.
• Labor and Crew: 40-42 percent Resident Below the Line. 40-42 percent Above the Line regardless of domicile. 30 percent Non-resident Below the Line.
• There is also an infrastructure tax credit program as well as a nontransferable nonrefundable workforce development tax credit for hiring and training current MI crew members to a higher level.
• $2 million salary cap per employee per production. There is no other cap and no sunset.

With these incentives, over 23 films either fully or partially used Michigan locations (mostly Detroit or Metro Detroit), crew, actors, etc .  In 2008, those numbers were probably close to 5-6.  Incredible turnaround! There are already approximately 14 films in progress this year as well.

FilmDetroit.com has a lot of great information regarding the films, incentives, locations, etc.  And I came across a list from MovieMaker, "the nation’s leading resource on the art and business of making movies and the world’s most widely read independent movie magazine," entitled "10 Best Cities To Live, Work & Make Movies in 2010" for independent film makers.  They ranked Detroit 8th!

1. Albuquerque, NM
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Shreveport, LA
4. New York, NY
5. Austin, TX
6. Stamford, CT
7. Boston, MA
8. Detroit, MI
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Seattle, WA

Great news for the city and Michigan!  Here's a nice feature video from CBSNews recapping the industry's growth in 2009 as well as another video from the FilmDetroit.com site including a recap of films made in Michigan.  For a full list of films or for more information about films in Michigan, try the Michigan Film Office.