Going Hollywood: Lansing Financiers Get Film-Friendly

Lansing hasn’t been on Hollywood’s radar for long, but the tides are turning as the region starts building to become the next Toronto or Vancouver, B.C.—places where producers of feature films, music videos and television pilots flock.

The biggest draw so far is a new state economic incentive package that entices filmmakers to the Great Lakes State with a 40 to 42 percent rebate on all Michigan expenditures.

Since the package was approved, Michigan has already received 51 applications for films ranging from a $100,000 budget to a $40 million budget. Nineteen applications for various feature films, documentaries and TV pilots have been accepted by both the Michigan Film Office and State Treasury.  

"With the stroke of a pen, we've created a creative economy that didn't exist here before," says Bob Brown, a consultant to the Michigan Film Office and producer with Farmington-based Charity Island Pictures.

"In the 60 days that we've been on the books, we have had $200 million brand-new dollars float into the state. We're the most aggressive in the country, and it's working."

“This will reverse the brain drain,” says T. Dominic Cochran, with Ahptic Film and Digital in Lansing. “No one has come along like Michigan. This is the most aggressive film package in the country.”

With the financial incentives in place, Michigan is on the map. And now, Lansing developers and entrepreneurs are planning to sweeten the pot—in a big way.

Building for Big Budget

Ahptic Film and Digital and local developer, Pat Gillespie, recently announced plans for City Center Studios, a $9 million studio development in Downtown Lansing intended to answer to needs of truly big-budget, Hollywood filmmakers.

The two are partnering on a 71,000 square foot production facility that will include two, 24,000 square foot stages; production space; and screening facilities for feature films, sitcoms and other major productions.

To grasp the scale of the project, understand that the Hollywood blockbuster, Spiderman 3—a $250 million production—was shot in a studio 20 percent smaller than Lansing’s proposed City Center Studios.

“This is bigger than anything on Paramount’s lot,” according to T. Dominic Cochran with Ahptic.

City Center Studios will be built on an empty parcel of land located between Cedar and Larch streets, south of Saginaw Street, and should be complete by the end of 2009.

The development will also have other benefits for the community. “People who come here will stay for at least 30 to 40 days and they’ll need to be within walking distance to restaurants and hotels,” says Pat Gillespie about the ripple effect Lansing’s little Hollywood will have on area businesses.

For example, when the less than $3 million production of Jeff Daniel’s Escanaba in da Moonlight filmed in Michigan seven years ago, businesses in Escanaba had 30 to 40 visitors for several months.

“That’s a huge economic impact on a city that size,” says Cochran. “Imagine the impact on Lansing with a $50 million film.”

Quick Communication

But providing tax incentives and amazing facilities by themselves won’t keep Hollywood happy. Lansing also has to have the labor force, policies and communications tools in place, too.

"The biggest learning curve for Michigan communities is responsiveness," says Brown, with the Michigan Film Office. "There's real world speed. There's business world speed. And then there's the entertainment industry speed, which is 'we need an answer right now'. 'I'll take a couple of days to get back to you' just doesn't work. You can take a couple minutes to get back to me, but otherwise we're moving on."

To help facilitate that responsiveness, a point person within city governments, visitor bureaus or chambers of commerce can serve as a liaison between film crews and appropriate public departments.

"Sometimes it takes an act of city council to get a location approved," says Mark Adler, director of the nonprofit Michigan Film Alliance.

Brown also points out that movies shoot all hours of the day, and suggests that communities assign a go-to person for visiting production companies—someone that producers can call any time of day to find what they need locally. Community film liaisons can also communicate with local businesses and residents when services are suspended or streets are blocked off.

Labor and Skills

Michigan communities like Lansing, with unemployment rates higher than the rest of the country, also have an opportunity to turn today's crew shortages into tomorrow's job opportunities.

“What we’ll likely have to do is form a workforce here,” says Cochran about the proposed City Center Studios project. “That’s a lot of high paying jobs,” he says, adding that big films will likely have to hire hundreds of freelancers to help put the films together.

A production assistant makes roughly $175 a day. And, with the freelancers staying, eating and drinking in Lansing, a lot of that money will stay in local circulation.

Film crews also need transportation and food. Dan Gearig of Ciao Catering in Grand Blanc is catering The Job, which is the sixth film his company has catered in Michigan. "It's great. It's real money that's helping people out," says Gearig. "This is real cash for chauffeurs, caterers, hotels—lots of people."

Production vehicles are another necessity, but appear to be in short supply in Michigan. The star trailer, process trailer and honey wagons for The Job had to be brought in from Chicago.

Location, location, location

Aside from the incentive package, Michigan boasts a wide range of geographies and settings. Need coastline? We're second only to Alaska. Looking for small town Americana? The state is blessed with photogenic downtowns. Shooting a battle in the Sahara? Sleeping Bear Dunes has more sand than you can imagine.

From gritty, urban mean streets to ivy-strewn college campuses, Michigan is clearly a good fit for almost any film.

So with producers' curiosity piqued by cash incentives and major new filmmaking facilities on the way, Lansing might also want consider a proverbial polishing of the storefronts and washing of the windows. We've got the goods; let's make them sparkle.

Film-friendly resources, like hotels, property management companies, chauffeur services and caterers, can also be promoted on a website, along with the cool film locations in the area.

"Communities may want to get a task force together and do a website catering to the film industry, which might feature unique structures of a town," says Adler.

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Melinda Clynes is a Detroit-area freelancer. Brad Garmon is CG’s Editor-in-Chief.