Studios that had planned to shoot elsewhere turned on a dime and flocked here, bringing stars such as Val Kilmer and Drew Barrymore with them.

To entice filmmakers to choose Michigan over other competing states, the state legislature passed bills creating refundable tax credits of up to 42 per cent for in-state movie production expenses.

Giving businesses tax credits is nothing new, and such credits can reduce a company’s tax bill to little or nothing.

But refundable credits go further. They’re like a rebate for production expenses and can require the state to cut the moviemaker a cheque.

That’s six times the increases of up to 2 per cent the state gave public universities and community colleges this budget year.

Republican Senator Jud Gilbert said traditional Michigan businesses are paying higher taxes while “we turn around and send a cheque to somebody from Hollywood, some Pee-wee Herman type. I think that’s very hard to justify.”

But not every filmmaker is from Hollywood, and there’s no doubt the incentives are bringing movie companies and jobs to the economically sluggish state.

Cinepro Pictures Studios was set to film The Steam Experiment in Florida, where the company is located.

But it shot the independently produced thriller in Grand Rapids after hearing about the incentives.

The Michigan Film Office has approved tax breaks for more than 60 movies this year and next. Just two or three films were made in 2007.

The question, it seems, is whether a truly lasting industry is being hatched in Michigan.

Critics depict the business as fleeting because other states may increase their incentives to keep pace.

And while the state has nowhere near enough infrastructure to support all the new films, it’s further along than Louisiana, New Mexico and Massachusetts were at this point when they began luring the industry, said Anthony Wenson, chief operating officer of the Michigan Film Office.

Tags: filmmakers, films, hollywood, incentives, jobs, massachusetts, movie, no doubt, tax breaks, tax credits, thriller

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A security bug in Adobe’s software means users were able to access Amazon’s video streaming service without payment, Reuters reports. The flaw was a rare example of a bug that gives extra functionality to users.

In a trade off between usability and security, Adobe technology permits the popular option of using video player verification to control how content is delivered. Using video caching software means these controls, which fail to incorporate a robust encryption scheme, might be circumvented. Although Amazon insists its movies can’t be pirated, tests by Reuters suggest otherwise.

Using Replay Media Catcher software from Applian Technologies, the news agency was able to download video content from Amazon. Other unnamed sites that use Adobe’s technology to deliver media content were also found to be vulnerable.

Amazon’s video on demand service allows a preview of the first two minutes of TV shows or films. The technology behind the service means that the full content of a movie file starts to be streamed even before a user pays, to improve download speed and so that a user can start to view content after he or she pays without interruption.

In normal use, streamed content is paused after two minutes by server software that instructs video player software to pause. The use of video caching software reportedly circumvents this restriction.

“Adobe’s (stream) is not really encrypted,” Applian chief exec Bill Dettering told Reuters. “One of the downfalls with how they have architected the software is that people can capture the streams. I fully expect them to do something more robust in the near future.”

Tags: amp, films, free movie, ins, movie, movie download, video on demand

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ACTOR Tom Welling is emerging as a strong favourite to play Superman in the next movie.

The late actor Christopher Reeve, who played what many see as the definitive Superman in the earlier film series, said Welling would be ideal to play the part on the big screen.

Several new petitions are supporting this idea and one poll named Welling as the favourite Superman actor. For many, Welling embodies the character of Superman; for others, he is no more than a TV actor. But with the Welling campaign building momentum, many fans clearly believe he has the superpowers required for the role.

One online petition has 1,482 names calling for Tom Welling to become the next big-screen Superman. But the big question is whether this would lead people to believe the film was a direct continuation of Smallville.

With Warner Bros having announced that the next Superman movie will definitely be a reboot, debate is now intensifying over who will be the next star of the franchise and the next director.

Clearly, a reboot means that neither Bryan Singer, director of 2006’s disappointing Superman Returns, nor Brandon Routh, who played the title role in that film, would not return to the franchise.

Many online polls and superhero fans have missed this crucial point. There’s no point including Bryan Singer in a poll of possible directors, and no point including Brandon Routh in a poll of possibilities for the next Superman.

These sorts of polls are trapped in the past in the same way that Superman Returns ended up being an homage to a bygone era of earlier Superman movies. It really is time to move forward. Nostalgic attachments to the Supermen of yesterday isn’t helping anyone to select the Man of Tomorrow.

Tags: franchise, homage, movie, online petition, petition, superman returns, warner bros

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Lionsgate Films have unleashed a new clip promoting their forthcoming spoof comedy movie “Disaster Movie”. Entitled “Curve the Bullet”, the video footage is introduced by one of its stars, Carmen Electra, and generally parodying a signature scene of Timur Bekmambetov’s hit action film “Wanted (2008)”.

The particular scene then lampooned the moment when James McAvoy’s character, Gibson, is told to curve the bullet shot out from his gun while Fox played by Angelina Jolie is standing in front of him. In the clip, it can be seen that Kim Kardashian and Electra’s characters are encouraging Gary Johnson’s Calvin to do the same. But, instead of being successful like Gibson, his curved bullet does an unimaginable thing.

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Over 100 stills from the movie “Huapi,” or “Painted Skin,” were released Sunday during the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival, according to a report from Nanfang Daily.

The Gordon Chan movie has amassed many big-name performers, including Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen and mainland actresses Vicky Zhao, Zhou Xun and Betty Sun, and actor Chen Kun.

“Painted Skin” is a thriller centering on a vampire-like woman who eats the skin and hearts of her lovers. The film is adapted from the ancient novel “Liaozhai Zhiyi,” or “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,” written by Pu Songling in the Qing Dynasty.

Actresses Zhou Xun and Betty Sun came out to promote the movie at the festival on Sunday. Zhou Xun, the ghost woman in the story, has dozens of costume changes throughout the film. Betty Sun, who challenges Zhou in her role as a swordswoman, takes on a more masculine look in a black hat and coarse cloth.

Betty Sun said she had to practice hard to master the martial arts required by the plot. Zhou Xun was spared the effort, as many special effects were used to show off her witchcraft.

Tags: action star, amp, ancient novel, black hat, coarse cloth, costume changes, donnie yen, dth, gordon chan, martial arts, movie, nanfang, novel, painted skin, qing dynasty, shanghai international film festival, special effects, star movie, strange stories from a chinese studio, swordswoman, thriller, vicky zhao, witchcraft, zhiyi, zhou xun

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The American film industry will be called to testify before a Quebec legislative committee next fall to explain why more Hollywood films aren’t dubbed into French in the province.

A committee studying the issue says it wants to hear from members of the Motion Picture Association, which represents the U.S. film industry internationally.

Quebec’s opposition parties have been pushing the minority Liberal government to adopt a law forcing the major studios to dub their films in Quebec.

“We will ask the studios to explain to us how we can ensure, without resorting to a law, that Quebec citizens have access to versions dubbed into French in Quebec,” said Pierre Curzi, the Parti Quebecois culture critic and a former actor.

“The (studios) don’t want a law to avoid other countries adopting similar legislation,” Curzi added. “That’s legitimate, but us, we want cultural products adapted to our wishes.”

Mario Dumont, leader of the opposition Action democratique du Quebec, began calling for a law last year. Dumont said he realized one was needed after his children were unable to understand the Parisian dialect used in the French version of Shrek the Third.

The ADQ proposed legislation that would have forced studios such as Paramount, Warner and Universal to invest $75,000 per film in order to finance their dubbing in Quebec.

Quebec Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre opted instead to negotiate with the big studios. She said 78 per cent of the movies in Quebec theatres last year were dubbed in the province, up from 72 per cent in 2006.

She attributed the increase to a series of incentives offered to the studios, which include a 30 per cent tax credit.

The ADQ nevertheless claims it was their bill that pushed the government to court the studios more aggressively.

“We saw improvements within the context of a law that would have forced their hand,” said the ADQ’s culture critic, Francois Benjamin. “But as soon as we stop talking about a law, it will regress.”

In Curzi’s opinion, the Quebec government shouldn’t rely on the good will of American studios, given that DVD and online markets are rapidly growing in popularity.

“If we don’t have a law, what will we do for DVDs,” said Curzi, who accused the government of ignoring important market trends.

Quebec’s Department of Culture indicates as many as 94 per cent of movie DVDs sold in Quebec have the option of either the dubbed version or French sub-titles.

However, no similar figures are available for television shows on DVD.

The legislative committee said through a news release that it will examine both the economic and cultural issues at stake.

“It is justified to look to better understand the current situation and its implications,” the committee’s chair and vice-chair said in a joint statement.

Tags: action democratique du quebec, adq, aim, american film industry, culture critic, culture minister, dialect, dvds, film industry, films, french version, gover, hollywood, hollywood films, incentives, leader of the opposition, legislative committee, liberal government, mario dumont, motion picture, movie, opposition parties, paramount, parti quebecois, pierre curzi, quebec culture, shrek the third, tax credit, television

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It was the love of the common people that made The Last Magic Show, the film’s producers said - and they think there’s enough magic in it to make film-makers in Asia sit up and take notice of New Zealand’s film industry beyond Lord of the Rings.

It cost only $50,000, and co-producer Alex Lee said: “The film is testimony to the real value for money and talent that you can get in New Zealand.”

Besides a Creative New Zealand Screen Innovation Production Fund of $25,000, Lee said they had to practically depend on “charity” of time and effort from the cast of 50 actors and film crew, who worked either voluntarily or on deferred credit.

“The biggest obstacle we had was that we had no money, and you can say we owe much to the love of the common people to be able to make the movie a reality,” he said.

The film has won an honourable mention jury award at Dances with Films in Los Angeles, and an award for best technical contribution to a digital feature for cinematography at the Air NZ Screen Awards.

Lee, a Malaysian-born Chinese lawyer-turned-film producer, also thinks that the ethnic mix of the cast and crew will be an added bonus to help the movie break into markets in Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.

“We didn’t have a Lord of the Rings budget, nor do we have Hollywood stars, but we have Andy Conlan and Jade Collins, who have a following in Asia,” he said.

Conlan, the lead actor who is also the writer, co-producer and director for the film, is of Chinese-Irish descent, and his co-star Collins won fame in Korea after winning the 2005 World Miss University competition when it was held in Seoul.

In the film, Conlan plays Ronny Roman, a down-and-out broken-hearted magician who creates a fantasy that he possesses real magic powers to help him to cope with his emotional trauma.

Describing it as “rather dark, dreamlike”, Conlan said his first feature, which he spent five years working on, was shot entirely around Auckland between April and May 2005.

Tags: air nz, alex lee, cast and crew, chinese lawyer, common people, conlan, dances with films, digital feature, emotional trauma, ethnic mix, film crew, film industry, film producer, films, hollywood, hollywood stars, irish descent, jury award, magic powers, magic show, magician, miss university competition, money, movie, petition, producers, screen awards, screen innovation

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A Hong Kong movie company said Wednesday it has invested in American director Oliver Stone’s biopic of U.S. President George W. Bush, a rare Chinese leap into financing a Hollywood film.

Emperor Motion Pictures said in a statement that it is one of the investors in “W,” along with American independent movie company QED, Switzerland’s Condor Films, Hong Kong’s Global Entertainment Group and Australia’s Omnilab Media Group.

“I’ve always admired Oliver Stone’s work. I’m very excited to work with him this time,” the statement quoted company chairman Albert Yeung as saying.

As part of the deal, Emperor owns the movie’s distribution rights in mainland China, Hong Kong and gambling enclave Macau.

The statement said Josh Brolin stars as Bush, Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush and James Cromwell as former President George H.W. Bush.

Ellen Burstyn plays Barbara Bush, Thandie Newton portrays Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Jeffrey Wright plays her predecessor, Colin Powell.

Stone has said that the film, which will focus on the life and presidency of Bush, won’t be an anti-Bush polemic, but, as he told Hollywood trade publication Daily Variety, “a fair, true portrait of the man. How did Bush go from being an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world?”

“W” will be Stone’s third film dealing with presidential matters, following “Nixon” and “JFK.” The filmmaker has been an outspoken critic of the administration’s decision to invade Iraq.

Stone’s films also include the Vietnam sagas “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Platoon,” which won four Oscars including best picture and director, and 2006’s “World Trade Center,” about two policemen buried in the rubble of the twin towers after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The movie was to start filming this past Monday in the U.S. state of Louisiana, with a planned North America release date of Oct. 17, Emperor’s statement said.

The deal marks a rare investment by a Hong Kong movie company in a Hollywood film.

Emperor Motion Pictures is mainly known for its Chinese-language films.

It is a division of Emperor Group, which has a movie joint venture with Jackie Chan and is known for its large stable of Hong Kong stars.

In previous Chinese investments in Hollywood movies, China’s Huayi Brothers invested in the recent kung fu movie “The Forbidden Kingdom,” starring Chan and Jet Li.

Tags: china, china hong kong, chinese leap, daily variety, director oliver stone, elizabeth banks, ellen burstyn, films, global entertainment group, hollywood, james cromwell, jeffrey wright, josh brolin, mainland china, motion picture, motion pictures, movie, president george h w bush, president george w bush, presidential matters, saga, secretary of state condoleezza rice, sept 11 2001, thandie newton, true portrait

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Anthony Hopkins and Laura Linney’s new movie ‘The city of your final destination’ is facing a delay in its cinema release, because of legal action from one of the film’s investors.

Actress Susan Malick is suing production company Merchant Ivory over claims she invested $250,000 in the film in return for an associate producer credit - but failed to receive a mention in the movie and has yet to see any of the money returned.

Malick’s lawyers are to file papers at New York’s Manhattan Supreme Court in a bid to get an injunction to stop the release of the movie, which is due to premiere at the city’s TriBeCa Film Festival later this month.

Malick insists she has been forced to take legal action against the company as she now owes over $350,000 to a credit card company.

She tells New York gossip column PageSix: “It has been a disaster. My credit has been destroyed and I’m living hand to mouth.

“(Company founder) James Ivory was a wonderful friend. But when I call him now he says, ‘I can’t speak of this,’ or ‘I have a call waiting.’ Little did I know how much contempt for me he could hold in the bone marrow of his body. It breaks my heart.”

Tags: aim, money, movie

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Visit the concession stand at any Empire Theatres Ltd. location, and the national chain based in Stellarton will include with many orders an access card for three downloads from its new SONGO online music store.

Dean Leland, vice-president of media and studio relations for Empire Theatres, said the move into the online music field was a natural one for the film and entertainment provider.

“SONGO uniquely positions Empire Theatres to launch many innovative and engaging promotions for our guests and partners alike,” he said.

Visitors to an Empire Theatres location will receive a SONGO game card for three downloads when they purchase a Concession Combo. There are a variety of combinations at different prices, Mr. Leland said.

The online music store offers a catalogue of almost 2.5 million songs through an agreement with Puretracks, a North American digital media company with operations in Toronto.

The large number of available songs positions the online store to become one of the most popular in Canada, said Mr. Leland.

He said that for the time being the site will offer only songs but may move on from there.

“We’re looking at all kinds of initiatives where technology will allow us to try different things,” he said.

Mr. Leland said the launch of the online music store with a close affiliation to Empire Theatres opens the door for many cross-promotional possibilities.

“Music and movies go together naturally,” he said. “Movie soundtracks are a huge category in the entertainment industry in their own right.”

Empire Theatres Ltd. is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Empire Co. Ltd., with corporate headquarters in Stellarton and regional offices in Halifax, Toronto and Calgary.

Puretracks is acting as a provider and partner in the project and will maintain and control the song library and negotiate contracts with music producers.

The company works with major music labels, and its catalogue exceeds two million songs in Windows Media Audio Format and close to one million songs in MP3 format.

The SONGO site does not require a software download and is Mac compatible, in that about one million MP3 format songs at the site are downloadable directly to an IPod, said Kira Meeker, director of sales and marketing for Puretracks.

“We are rapidly expanding the number of MP3 format songs available in our library,” she said from Toronto.

Tags: adq, concession stand, empire, entertainment industry, initiative, launch, movie, producers, s media

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