Our brave filmmakers want the states to give them our money. Now they’re shocked, shocked that politicians get upset when state money is used to — well, let Kay Bell explain what’s happening in Michigan:
Michigan has decided not to provide tax money for the horror film The Woman, a sequel to the icky Offspring.
According to the New York Times, the state’s film commissioner,Janet Lockwood, sent the director a note informing him that the film’s extreme depictions of “realistic cannibalism; the gruesome and graphically violent depictions described in the screenplay; and the explicit nature of the script” were the main reasons for not providing it tax breaks.
And, oh yes, “”This film is unlikely to promote tourism in Michigan or to present or reflect Michigan in a positive light.”
Philistines. Michigan probably wouldn’t have funded Soylent Green either.
Apparently it’s not just the states. New Zealand has been throwing money at Hollywood, too. Unlike Michigan, New Zealand is starting to figure out that they are wasting their money:
A Cabinet paper prepared by Treasury in February and released to the Herald on Sunday under the Official Information Act, said subsidies for films such as Avatar and King Kong could not be economically justified.
They had likely caused a net economic loss of $36 million.
In other words, notes Reason.com, the subsidies amount to “stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.” But hey, the film crews buy T-shirts!
Update: More from the Tax Policy Blog.
Related: Let them eat canapes.
