Former MGM Grand no longer in play for movie studio; producer looks for alternate sit

Former MGM Grand no longer in play for movie studio; producer looks for alternate site

Crain's Detroit Business. POSTED: 12:41 p.m., Sep. 11, 2009 By Bill Shea
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090911/FREE/909119991#

"The effort to build an $86 million animation and movie production studio at the former MGM Grand casino site in Detroit stalled last month after backers couldn’t reach a deal. The producer behind the project is reportedly looking for other sites in the city."
“I am committed to staying in downtown Detroit�, said Television and video game producer Michelle Richards
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Any guesses which of the other 47 vacant buildings they may consider?

That's too bad about the deal falling through. Thankfully we have plenty real estate down here. I'm still pulling for a shopping plaza/movie theatre at the old MGM.

There's a shocker.

Not one of these alleged "movie studios" will make it to completion. There is no market for giant movie studios in MI, especially when they are 100% reliant on giant tax breaks that have to be renewed annually.

Remove the tax break, and the sites become worthless. Who would finance that?

The talks with MGM didn't pan out for that site. That doesn't mean the project is dead. Sources tell us it's still very much on and well capitalized, and that they just need a different site.

Of course, it would help if someone would call back/talk on the record ... :rolleyes:

Isn't MGM still around as a movie studio? Something tells me that if they are and they are not the ones wanting to do this, why the heck would anyone else want to. I agree that looking for mega movie studios right now is a bit premature. The only reason why we get the movies we do is because of the tax breaks and the State is looking to make that less competitive. With Bollywood being able to do much of the production work for pennies of what we can do it for, we should ask if its even worth chasing this?

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Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Isn't MGM still around as a movie studio? Something tells me that if they are and they are not the ones wanting to do this, why the heck would anyone else want to. I agree that looking for mega movie studios right now is a bit premature. The only reason why we get the movies we do is because of the tax breaks and the State is looking to make that less competitive. With Bollywood being able to do much of the production work for pennies of what we can do it for, we should ask if its even worth chasing this?

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Yes MGM is still a movie studio in California... but that has nothing to do with the former MGM temporary casino site... except that it's film related, and the studio/casino name happen to be the same.

As for the Bollywood connection, they will always undercut the costs for cheap animation, but studios for live action are another matter. India makes its own movies for the local crowd. I don't think too many live westerns or urban plot movies will be made there using local talent. Not a lot of folks with western features such as blond, blue eyed or red headed... live in India.

The India based help desks of USA companies do a rather unconvincing job of trying to "Americanize" themselves. Saying in a Bengali or Rajistani British English accent "my name is Kevin, how may I help you"... would not translate well to the big screen for India made American movies. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by crawford

There's a shocker.

Not one of these alleged "movie studios" will make it to completion. There is no market for giant movie studios in MI, especially when they are 100% reliant on giant tax breaks that have to be renewed annually.

Remove the tax break, and the sites become worthless. Who would finance that?

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Once again the usual naysaying from Crawford. What he doesn't know is that the studio in Allen Park broke ground a month ago and there is actually a lot of activity at the site now. It's set to open early next year and there are already 5-7 films that have signed up for doing some or all of their production at the site.

On the other side of town, the former GM plant in Pontiac will have offices up and running in less than a month, with construction to continue until 2011. And the deal that was looking at the MGM Temporary Casino is still on, they are just looking at other sites.

Gsgeorge, thank you for the update. I posted a thread a week or so ago to scope for updated info on the GM plant conversion and got some downer responses. Trusting that your info sources are legit, it's some very good news for that part of the area. Most people don't think the Opdyke & Square Lake area needs any industrial help, but my mom lives near there, in what was not long ago considered a thriving, upscale community, but they've been hit by the local economy and the closing of the plant was pretty much the exclamation point. I hope everything goes along relatively smoothly with the opening of the studio--the downriver one as well. There's some competition potentially from other desperate states trying to cash in on tax incentive new business, but hopefully the Detroit area has at least some semblance of a lock on film industry plans for the next few years or more.

Sorry But I think Crawford is right on this one. All of these studios are just s

moke being blown up our asses by local politicians so we stay put instead of

hitting the road for jobs. Film work is tough work to learn and these half assed

"schools" aren't going to cut it when it comes to recruting talent ot work on big

budget movies. That would be like trying to make our economy Medical [[

[[ultrasound, etc.) based and all of a sudden a bunch of ROSS training schools

popped up. Editing jobs are very high paying jobs and that is because it takes a

lot of training. Most pros will tel you they are still learning new things every

day wth Final Cut. The movies are being made as we speak without any big

studios in the area, why in the hell would 6 new studios make a difference. Hey

if i'm proven wrong then it is great for the area, but I just don't see it

happening.

chitaku, while it's true that high-ranking jobs in the film industry take years of training and considerable talent, they only make up a small percentage of the actual jobs related to the film industry. Not every job in the film industry is "director", "producer", or "editor." There are hundreds, if not thousands, of "below the line" jobs like grips, electricians, set builders, production assistants, locations assistants and scouts, camera assistants, set dressers, costume assistants, etc etc. Do you want me to go on? At the soon-to-be-completed studios, there will be office secretarial jobs, drivers, teamsters, facilities managers, stage managers, assistant directors, propmasters, gaffers, etc. etc. These jobs are easy to train for and usually pay pretty good wages. All of them have some kind of union behind them. What is so bad about doing one of these jobs? Nothing. You don't need years of training. Your name might not be on the headline poster of a big-budget Hollywood film, listed with the likes of Spielberg and Lucas like the editors and cinematographers of this world, but you'll go home from a two-month shoot with anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000 and more ammunition for being hired on the next one--not to mention you'll be gaining in the ranks and in respectability on every new film your work on.

Also, Chitaku, your point about films being made around here without the need for big studios:

Yes, it's true that films are being made here without big studios for them to operate out of. But you have no idea what a hassle this has been for incoming crews. It has been one of the main reasons that several LA-based productions have decided not to shoot here, despite the large tax incentive. Every production that comes to town is forced to find some disused or underused commercial warehouse building, then spend a month or two of prep outfitting this place for studio lighting, backdrops, crew areas, and more. On top of that, bigger productions are forced to rent out their grip & camera equipment from no less than six different sources around town.

If there were some stable, all-in-one studios in the area, shooting your film here would be an absolute no-brainer. No more overhead costs on outfitting that former Detroit Plastics warehouse on Rosa Parks Blvd into a "movie studio", and no more sending your drivers all around town, from Troy to Farmington Hills and back, just to get an 18K and some dolly track. It would all be in one location, a location built specifically for the production of TV and motion pictures. This is a massive selling point for productions.

Here's another thing you have no idea about that I'm about to clue you in on. The productions that have come here to shoot so far are usually mid- to low-budget feature films that have gone the extra mile to shoot here, lured by the tax incentives. They have traded off things like convenience, facilities, and availability of crew & equipment for a 42% tax incentive. Sometimes, without those things, you barely come close to breaking even after the tax rebates. Did you know that many film productions that shoot here in Detroit ship some of their equipment in from Pennsylvania, simply because we do not have the capacity or the facilities here to meet their demands? It is a shame. We should be building our film-based infrastructure so the work stays here, and so we can attract bigger and better film productions for our Michiganders to work on.

I am definitely one that thinks the whole film thing in Michigan is completely overblown. Nonetheless, I know there are rumblings of a film studio going in the old Freep building. Considering I work in 211 West Fort, I'd love to see that building get some new life [[whether it be film related or not). It's really a gorgeous building.