The State of Michigan has a $2.8 billion budget gap and unless lawmakers can agree on a budget by the end of the day today (Wednesday) the state will shut down.  Under these circumstances, many are questioning the prudence of continuing Michigan’s film tax incentive program, which is the most generous state program of its kind offering up to 42% reimbursement for production costs.  According to the Senate Fiscal Agency, the program is expected to cost the state $150 million next year.  But focusing merely on the costs is unhelpful.  The real question is: what are we getting for our money?

That question, unfortunately, is a little more difficult to answer but one that the Michigan Film Office tried …read more

Last weekend, I participated in a discussion on the top ten legal mistakes of filmmakers (and how to avoid them) at CBS Radio’s Michigan Makes Movies Expo.  The event, and the lecture, were both well attended.

One mistake that made our top ten list had to do with misconceptions about the Fair Use Doctrine in copyright law.  Here’s some of what was discussed:

Background.  Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law, incorporated in Section 107 of the Copyright Act, which allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the copyright owner, such as use for scholarship or review or criticism or parody or news reporting (to name a few).  In determining whether …read more

Yours truly is quoted in this Oakland County Legal News article on law firms hoping to capitalize on the growing movie industry in Michigan.  I can’t say all of the quotes are entirely accurate but hopefully people will get the idea.

–Matt

I’ll be speaking on this topic at the Michigan Makes Movies Expo, previously written about here, on Sunday, July 12th at the Rock Financial Showplace from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  Here’s the write-up of the session:

You’ve put your blood, sweat, and tears into your project, so don’t jeopardize your hard work by making very common legal mistakes – mistakes that are oftentimes avoidable.  Presented by the Arts, Communications, Entertainment & Sports (ACES) Section of the State Bar of Michigan, in this session the conscientious filmmaker will learn how to avoid common pitfalls in the areas of contracts, artist collaborations, intellectual property protection, releases and waivers, fair use and parodies, fundraising and securities compliance, distribution, entity …read more

CBS Radio Detroit has launched a new website and will present a conference this summer in an effort to link WWJ Newsradio 950, and the other Detroit CBS radio stations, with Michigan’s burgeoning film business.  The conference, the “Michigan Makes Movies Expo”, will be on Sunday, July 12th at the Rock Financial Showplace from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  The event will, of course, include the typical “expo” area — with booths and information on the Michigan film industry — but will also include 35 different breakout sessions for people to choose from throughout the day.   The breakout sessions will be conducted by actors, producers, casting agents, and …read more