LANSING – Michigan could start attracting millions more in investment dollars from film companies “tomorrow” if it upped the ante on its incentive package by allowing moviemakers to write off 40 percent of their production costs, film producers and writers told the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday.

They added that the “headline making move” would give Michigan the highest incentives in the nation, instead of the current 12 percent to 20 percent tax break that puts the state in the middle of the pack among the 45 other states that offer tax breaks or other perks to movie companies.

Mitch Albom, a Detroit Free Press columnist and author/screenwriter, and Mike Binder, a Detroit native, screenwriter, actor and director, said they would prefer to have two of their upcoming projects filmed in Michigan, but to do so, the state would have to offer at least 30 percent in incentives.

If legislation were passed to that effect, the men said, they could call legislators tomorrow telling them they are spending $30 million to make their two movies alone. Are you listening legislators?

Rep. Bill Huizenga, (R-Zeeland) who led the way on legislation last year that created the current incentives, said the Legislature now must do more work to ensure that Michigan stands out among other states and Canada.

“We’re just part of the pack,” Huizenga said. “We’re vanilla.”

Bob Brown, a member of the Michigan Film Commission and executive producer for Michigan-based Purple Rose Films (co-operated with actor Jeff Daniels) agreed, saying if Michigan isn’t going to raise its incentives to at least 30 percent, which is what seven other states have, it is simply wasting its money.

“If you’re not at the top, you might as well not be in the business because you won’t get noticed,” he said, adding that producers don’t look at a list of places and the next best incentive, they look at the best incentive and go there.

One area where Michigan actually trumps many other states is in making commercials, which is a billion dollar industry in its own right, said Marcia Fishman, secretary of the Film Advisory Commission.

Fishman said commercials produce more income for Screen Actors Guild members than the entire motion picture industry, meaning getting them made in Michigan has huge potential for jobs in the state.

“We have one of the top packages for commercials in the country,” she said, adding that Michigan has a rich history making television advertisements because of its car manufacturing, when reels of footage were shot to show off the latest model.

She said that the state has lost some of its competitive edge over time, so she wants to make sure that new legislation focuses on reinvigorating the commercial as well as the motion picture side of the film industry.

Brown said that the film industry, which grossed $40 billion nationally last year, is one that is easy to tap into because it doesn’t require the infrastructure of many other startups, such as manufacturing. “All it takes is a stroke of a pen,” he said.

He said that by promoting the film industry in Michigan, legislators would also prevent skilled young people from leaving for California or other states that have traditionally led the way in film making.

Binder added that making Michigan a filmmaking hub would fall right in line with Governor Jennifer Granholm’s “Cool Cities” initiative to keep young people here. “What’s cooler than making movies?” he said.

He said he likes other incentive suggestions but he also added the notion of providing an upfront tax rebate to a filmmaker the second time they use the state to make a movie, in order to give them a source of financing untied to interest or other obligations.

Huizenga, who hopes to have new legislation ready for committee by January, said he’d also like to see more money spent in promotion; there is $2 million in tobacco money that has been set aside for promoting Michigan’s film industry, but only a couple hundred thousand dollars has been spent, “and we need to make sure we’re spending that money to promote Michigan.”

All who testified also agreed that for incentives to work there needs to be more staff added to the Michigan Film Office, which has traditionally been staffed by one full time employee and an intern, until recently when a full time position was added.

The Michigan office, which serves the entire state has a budget of around $150,000, compared to the city of Chicago, which spends around $4 million or the city of New York, which has 24 full time staff members.

“Without question we have to provide better support for the film office,” Brown said. “If Michigan’s isn’t the smallest budget in the country, it’s the second smallest.”

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