Michigan Film Industry Lobbies for Incentives to Return Film Productions to State

Members of Detroit's film industry are lobbying to return film productions to Michigan with a focus on state incentives to do so.

Members representing the Michigan Film Industry Association met with legislators in Lansing to advocate for restoring film incentives that ended a decade ago. They want a long-term, sustainable plan in place.

"We're looking to get a 10-year program that builds gradually over time that will have between $6 and $8 billion of direct spend in the state," said Alexander Page, legislative chair of the Michigan Film Industry Association, in a statement provided to 7 News Detroit.

Page added that the association hopes to attract large television series that return to Michigan year after year and spend six to nine months of production in the state.

Industry members claim that the lack of film incentives, which other states offer, is the main barrier that's hurting Michigan from attracting major film productions to the state.

"It used to be about the Michigan landscape or this or that. No, the first deal is, what's the incentive?" asked David Haddad, chair of the Michigan Film Industry Association, in an interview with 7 News Detroit.

Haddad believes that attracting film productions to Michigan means being able to boost tourism and jobs across various industries.

Some organizations, like the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, believe incentive programs won't drive the desired economic growth.

"From our perspective, and most economists, it's just not a good use of state tax dollars," said Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in comments shared with 7 News Detroit. "It's a very transient industry. The jobs move to wherever they're getting subsidized, and so it's very expensive to get just a few temporary jobs that end up disappearing pretty quickly if you don't keep extending and spending more on them."