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b_b  ·  3428 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What If Authors Were Paid Every Time Someone Turned a Page? Amazon is about to find out.

    I know of three different production companies that went bankrupt when Michigan reneged on its deals.

And one entire municipality who had bet the farm that they would become the production hub. It was terrible, and of course my heart went out to the people who thought they were building something here. But the government can't be tossing 43% at any industry. The theory was that the money would be scaled back as the industry took root, but then the next state just steps up and gives 44%, and you're fucked. Shooting a movie is just a tad more portable than building cars, but the leaders here in all their wisdom seemed to not recognize that. No one is going to stay in town just because they like you.

Do you think that the US should be in the business of subsidizing the entertainment industry? I like many foreign films, but I'll take Hollywood over any other movie hub, even if they throw the occasional Gigli at us. Right now, I feel like state governments are boning the industry in their attempts to make short term gains at home.

Edit: Don't take my endorsement of the policy as an endorsement of the way it was implemented. I didn't like the film credits much, but a deal's a deal, and the way the GOP just pulled the plug was really disgraceful.