Posted on 07/10/2014 12:06:35 PM PDT by MichCapCon
Detroit is bankrupt and required a $195 million bailout from state taxpayers, but it apparently is the perfect backdrop for the new Beverly Hills Cop movie, which will get $13.5 million in state dollars.
The sequel to the 1984 classic will feature Eddie Murphy and is being made by Paramount Pictures, which is owned by Viacom. Viacom reported a profit of $3.7 billion in 2013.
"Now that’s irony," said Eric Larson, president of the Kent County Taxpayers Alliance.
The movie production is estimated to spend $56.6 million in Michigan while filming.
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman received $37.2 million in compensation in 2013, according to a USA Today report. Viacom had revenue of $14.9 billion in 2013, which is about $1 billion more than Michigan spends on K-12 public education in state dollars.
"It's bothersome that we are giving money to really rich people when we are raising taxes on people and crying poverty," Larson said. "We have a bankrupt city that we are bailing out and we are unable to fund our roads. You are basically giving money away to people who don't need it. We have no movie industry that is going to be here any longer than the tax credits are."
Paramount had two movies that grossed more than $200 million in 2013: "Star Trek Into Darkness" ($228.7 million); and "World War Z" ($202.3 million), according to Box Office Mojo, which is a box office reporting service.
"You are taking what would have been in the revenue coffers and moving them into the pockets of the Hollywood elite," said Scott Drenkard, an economist with the Tax Foundation, who has studied film incentives around the country.
He said trying to lure a transient business like Hollywood movies to the state should not be a high priority when spending taxpayer dollars.
"I just don't think it is a good budget priority," Drenkard said.
Even filmmaker Michael Moore questioned in 2008 why Michigan should give film subsidies to a corporation like Viacom.
"These are large, multinational corporations — Viacom, GE, Rupert Murdoch — that own these studios. Why do they need our money, from Michigan, from our taxpayers, when we're already broke here?" he said. "I mean, they play one state against the other, and so they get all this free cash when they're making billions already in profits. What's the thinking behind that?"
Moore, however, received $841,145.27 from Michigan taxpayers for his movie attacking capitalism, according to a story in the New York Times.
Corporate welfare needs to end!!
Isn't Eddie Murray a little old to reprise that role?
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
tax breaks for me none for thee.
These idiot Hollywood morons. Tax breaks are great for their industry but somehow they are evil when they benefit manufacturing jobs.
And why Beverly Hills Cop 4. I thought the producers purposely shot that franchise. The first two were pretty good in my humble opinion. BHC 3 pretty much confirmed Eddie Murphy’s had suicide his once great career. I guess they need to dig up the corpse and shoot it some more.
“And why Beverly Hills Cop 4.”
Eddie has started taking better roles recently, trying to gin up a comeback, and the timing is right for nostalgia. People who remember BHC from their youth are now over 30 with plenty of moolah to spend :)
Oh yeah, and Kevin Smith got the composer Harold Faltermeyer to come out of retirement a few years ago, so they can probably get him back on board.
I live where they film Walking Dead and a lot of small businesses are doing better (in a bad spot hit by NAFTA) from the cast and crew. But that is just locally.
This is an outrage. Stealing money from citizens to take care of the needy is bad enough. Handouts to Hollywood to make movies is beyond beyond beyond.
I don’t know because Colorado doesn’t have these credits, but I would think a TV show would do a lot better for an area than a one-off movie.
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