The Michigan Film Office announced Thursday that The Adventures of Mickey Matson & the Pirates Code and the feature film Writer’s Block have received tax incentives and will begin filming in Michigan soon. This follows last week’s announcement that the yet-to-be named Superman-Batman film — starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Amy Adams — was approved for the tax incentive and will be filmed in the state.
Since the start of the year, the film office has awarded $36.6 million to 28 film productions, with more expected.
The office has approved another $50 million in incentives for fiscal year 2014, which starts Oct. 1. Funds not used will roll over as production incentives for 2015. Five percent of the incentives are required by legislature to go towards postproduction. The incentives also include digital media, video games, mobile apps, and post animation work.
The incentives are expected to keep the film industry working in Michigan through 2014. Similar levels of productivity is expected because by the $50 million Michigan incentive program.
The incentives goal is not only to welcome out of state productions but to encourage local filmmakers to utilize the incentive program. “Part of our mission is to support locals and to increase local film production…we have the infrastructure to support small and large productions,” says Michelle Begnoche, a spokeswoman at Pure Michigan.
Pirates Code was awarded an incentive of $232,090 on $766,51 of projected in-state expenditures and will be shot on location in Manistee, Ludington, and Muskegon, and is expected to hire 49 Michigan workers. The film is the second in a series, following The Adventures of Mickey Matson & the Copperhead Conspiracy and will be directed by Harold Cronk.
The feature film Writer’s Block, from Advent Film Group, began production in late summer and will hire 89 local workers with film in metro Detroit and Ann Arbor. The movie was approved for an incentive of $345,544 on $1.1 million of projected in-state expenditures.
Transformers IV, starring Mark Wahlberg, recently wrapped up production in downtown Detroit. The movie is scheduled for release in June 2014.
