Real Detroit Weekly
By Ryan Patrick Hooper
In April of ’08, the cinematic floodgates were sent flying open, slamming against the pillars of job opportunity with thundering force. Thanks to the legislative savviness of (now former) Representative Andy Meisner (D), who wrote and introduced the bill to the House and Senate, film directors and production companies are now offered a tax credit for up to 42 percent “of a film studio’s expenses for shooting a film or television show in Michigan,” according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Within a year of the film tax incentive bill being passed, over 25 productions have been successfully filmed in Michigan, including Gran Torino staring Clint Eastwood, Youth In Revolt staring Michael Cera and Steve Buscemi, and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, a made-for-TV movie starring Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cue Mort Meisner and Jack B. Grushko — two successful businessmen who formed a bond working out at the local health club; Meisner, a three time Emmy award-winner with over 32 years of experience in television, and Grushko, who owns and manages a “meals-on-wheels business” that services over 1,000 seniors a day in Oakland County. Together, they (along with Kim Haveraneck) were quick to spot a need for “workforce development” as metro-Detroit attracted Hollywood.
The Center for Film Studies was created, a “state-licensed” (when you graduate, you get a certificate, and soon, a diploma) school that offers over seven film and production-related courses for “someone straight out of high school, or a laid-off autoworker or carpenter,” explains Meisner. “Every one of our teachers, that is old enough, has over 30 years in the industry.” From production assistant, set carpentry and construction to wardrobe and makeup for film and TV, CFS offers courses in the type of fields that “won’t put your name in lights, but creates the groundwork for a successful career in our budding film industry,” says Grushko.
“Michigan’s economy is in dire straights,” says Meisner. “We saw an opportunity to certainly run a business, make money, but at the same time, help people help themselves get jobs.” It’s predicted by people like Tony Wenson — Chief Operating Officer of the Michigan Film Office and instrumental ally in fostering the Center for Film Studies — “that the film industry will create 30-52 thousand jobs over the next three to five years.”
But there are still major doubts surrounding such an initiative, including the sudden departure of a film industry that is not defined by fickleness, but quick to venture to the next state that offers more in tax incentives. “I like to talk about what is rather than what if,” says Meisner with a smile, Grushko excitedly adding, “There is always that risk, but that comes with any business. If we were going to do this at all, we were going to do it right and connect all of the dots.” Both business partners believe that the solid infrastructure of studios and production facilities being planned for late ’09 will secure Michigan’s stake within the film industry, as well as CFS’s strong alliances with established unions.
“Once the studios are built,” explains Grushko, “there will be ongoing television shows, game shows and made-for-TV productions going on all the time. Movies come and go … but once we get our foot locked up in there, we are good as a state. That’s when you will see 50,000 jobs over the next six years.”
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