6A - Monday, November 1, 2010 Uncertain future for film incentives The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.corm Bugs survive in'Fallout' Bernero supports state's film tax credits, Snyder in opposition By TIMOTHY RABB DailyArts Writer The fate of Michigan's substan- tial film production incentives could ride on the outcome of tomor- row's midterm elections, and with Republican gubernatorial candi- date Rick Snyder leading Democrat Virg Bernero by double digits in the polls, things don't look good for the program's supporters. Since being enacted by the Mich- igan legislature in April 2008, the program has offered a 40-percent tax rebate on in-state expenses to eligible production entities and an extra two percent for those filming in commercialized areas like Ann Arbor. The rate is lower - 30 per- cent - for productions using crews and talent from outside the state. More than 100 films have been produced in Michigan since the incentives were passed, according to the Michigan Film Office. And after spending only $2 million on film production in 2007, film pro- ducers have now spent almost $350 million, and that number is expect- ed to reach a possible $650 million by the end of this year. Speaking recently to Detroit radio station WJR-AM 760, Snyder criticized the incentives. "I think it's something that needs to be adjusted," he said. "It is creating jobs, but at what cost to other alternatives?" On the same program, Bernero voiced his continued support of the incentives. Several state legislators share Snyder's concerns as to whether or not Michigan is receiving a signifi- cant return on its investments. "The Michigan film credits are an open-ended promise that could cost us $50 million next year or $250 million next year. There's no limit," said state Sen. Mickey Switalski (D-Roseville) in an inter- view with the Daily. "The first thing we need to do is decide how much we can invest in film credits, and put a cap on it. The second thing we need to do is establish a permanent industry, by gearing the credits toward facilities that produce television shows, com- mercials and video games," he said, instead of awarding taxpayer-sup- ported benefits to people who will likely return to their home states. Switalski's sentiment is shared by his senate colleague Nancy Cas- sis (R-Novi), whose September op-ed in the Detroit Free Press criticized what she called financial inefficiency in the program, citing a Senate Fiscal Agency report to sup- port her stance. "According to the data, the film credits are less effective than pre- viously thought, bringing the state only 11 cents back for each dollar given away in credits," Cassis said. "In 2008, according to the report, 47.4 percent of the expenditures that qualified for the Media Produc- tion Credit did not affect the Michi- gan economy - primarily because they were made to individuals and firms outside of Michigan." Donald Grimes, senior research associate at the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy at the Univer- sity, agrees that the incentives don't present a long-term benefit for the state. "It costs more money than it's worth in terms of the state bud- get - they give off more incentives than what they get back in tax rev- enue," Grimes told the Daily. "When they give the film sub- sidy, what they're basically hoping is that on one level that they can somehow create an industry that doesn't depend on that subsidy, or secondly that we get some good publicity for the state. And so those are the two arguments for it," he added. "But it is a direct subsidy, it doesn't pay for itself, and any argu- ment that would say it pays for itself is sortof crazy." The Senate Fiscal Agency report also describes how the additional See FILM TAX, Page 8B By TEDDY PAPES through situations undetected. DailyArts Writer Subsequent playthroughs are enhanced through the different "Fallout: New Vegas" opens approaches available. A tactical with a bang, literally, as the pro- mode called VATS is central to tagonist gets shot by a smug bas- the game's action and original tard, content to to "Fallout 3" and "New Vegas." deliver a semi- It lets you freeze the game and badass one-liner Fallout: make a limited number of calcu- before he puts lated moves, which can turn the you down. And New VegaS tide of a firefight. though this The story has a very promising seems to promise Xbox 360, lead, but what begins as an excit- an exciting chap- P'3, PC ing and complex set of events turn ter in the main Bethesda out to be a simple plug for your character's life, he may never character to join the overplayed know - the game freezes during "good" and "bad" factions. This the next loading screen. After a dichotomy - present in almost all reboot, the game might just make modern RPGs - just isn't interest- it past the same screen, and the ing anymore. Their idiosyncrasies hero is finally unleashed in the seem to promise original develop- Nevada wasteland. ments, but they both fall into their Once past the glitches, play- banal roles: save this village for ers will find that gameplay in the good guys or destroy it for the "New Vegas" remains largely bad guys. unchanged from "Fallout 3." The real strength of this game While presented like a shooter, is the environment of post-war the game is an RPG at heart. With Nevada, which has an almost a variety of skill allocations to unlimited amount of content to choose as your character lev- offer. Long overland journeys are els up, the game can be full of encounters with strug- played with a wide array gling settlers looking for help of styles and strategies. and gunfights between rival With a high Science factions. There is no short- skill, you might ' age of quests or buildings to hack into a comput- explore, with only a few scraps er to turn automat- of evidence describing the ed turrets ndemise of the departed against the or mutated inhabit- guards of ants. A survivor a fortress, of the nuclear while a 0 holocaust, high Sneak>, New Vegas is skill might booming with let you slip 8 lights, people and casinos in full swing with a variety of gambling minigames to play; it's a bright speck in the middle of the chaos. Simply exist- ing in this nuanced world is satis- fying enough, and that alone is a remarkable achievement. What happens in post-apocalyptic Vegas ... Unfortunately, the nuclear wasteland of Nevada shares a similarity with its software: mas- sive bugs. The game often drops to extremely low frame rates and eventually freezes. This usually requires a full reboot, causing a loss of large chunks of playtime that must be gruelingly repeat- ed. 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