Hollywood helping write the comeback script for Michigan

by Mike Fauls

Recently, Michiganders have been under attack by the dreaded unemployment monster. With jobs being cut like a Thanksgiving turkey and what seems like no hope for the future in sight, many people have been moving out of their hometowns, if not the whole state.

Many people think that the economy as of late will have a permanent effect on how we as Americans live. Well, recently it seems as though at least Michigan will find its silver lining, and no it’s not a major comeback from the big three. If you haven’t noticed yet, movies are beginning to be filmed right here in the good ol’ mitten, such as Gran Torino and certain scenes from Transformers (the scene at the end of the movie with Megatron chasing Sam, the building is the old train station in Detroit).

The reason that so many of these movies are being filmed here is the fact that Michigan offers up to 42 percent of your production costs to just disappear, as a sort of discount that’s cut to the movies. That’s a lot of money. Tax breaks are also involved for these movie companies. Also, if you look around, Michigan isn’t a bad place to film; there are woods, lakes, bustling cities, sand, and plenty of rural area. It fits just about any of the areas that you can think of.

Many people think that this can help Michigan be put back on the map. “I think that it could help the local businesses because more people would move here and that means that there would be a cash flow,” senior Jessica Beard said. Sophomore Braily Lee responded by saying, “I think that it would help to because of the cash flow, but also because it would be a long-term thing.” When asked, both students agreed that there could be negative effects on the surrounding environment. This has the potential to open up a LOT of jobs in

Michigan (possibly over 100,000) and we need all the help we can get.Michigan has been struggling for a while and this will hopefully put us back on the map and bring people to the area. Who knows, maybe in the future Detroit will be the next Hollywood.