Film star: Michigan film boondoggle

Posted by hpayne on April 5, 2013

AP photo

Give Big Oil a tax break and watch Michigan’s media tear it apart like Rottweilers. Give Big Hollywood a 42 percent tax credit and watch ‘em curl up like lap dogs.

The star-struck watchdogs were salivating all over the Michigan Film Office’s $1.7 million credit for Ryan Gosling’s fat cat producers this week. But then Matthew Modine had to go and play spoiler.

Modine was in state to talk up his new film, “Family Weekend,” shot here in 2011 under Jen “Defender of the 99 Percent” Granholm’s generous film handouts to One Percenters. Modine questioned the economic return for the state citing the games Tinseltown played to con more cash from state taxpayers.

“I think we came there and actually ripped off the tax subsidy program. I’m sorry to say that,” Modine said, suggesting the film’s producers stretched the definition of putting Michiganians to work in order to qualify for as big tax incentive as possible – noting that his driver was tasked with painting walls, for example.

“I felt like our producers were kind of gaming the system,” Modine said. “And it’s not supposed to work that way. You’re supposed to come and leave money in the state, not rob the state of its resources.”

Give Modine a reporter’s notebook.

While celebrity-addled journalists looked the other way, the state’s film subsidy generously doled out millions to millionaires from George Clooney to Michael Moore to shoot their films here. Meanwhile, the state’s credit rating cratered to AA- as Lansing neglected long-term liabilities for short-term ribbon cuttings with the stars – until Nerd Snyder slowed the gravy train.

Thanks to Matt Modine for reminding us.

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