To say Janet Lockwood, director of the Michigan Film Office, is thrilled is an understatement. Earlier this month, the Michigan film production incentive package was signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich.). The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland), chair of the state’s House Commerce Committee, passed in the Senate and in the House in December.
“After having worked toward this end for nearly four years, I am somewhat over the moon. I have Rep. Bill Huizenga, the governor and several other key legislators to thank for the final push, along with great support from Michigan crew people. It’s very cool,” says Lockwood.
In a nutshell, commercials, TV series and films are eligible if they spend at least $200,000 in Michigan. (It can be cumulative over the course of a year.) Companies must submit applications to the film office and treasury and be pre-approved before becoming eligible. The bill includes a graduated scale depending on how much a company spends in Michigan. Between $200,000 and $1 million, a company receives up to a 12 percent refund; between $1 million and $5 million, a company receives up to a 16 percent refund; between $5 million to $10 million, a company receives up to a 20 percent refund; and anything more than $10 million only receives 20 percent on the first $10 million. There is a total of $7 million available per year for four years.
Lockwood hopes to have the measure up and running by Feb. 1. and says she is already getting calls on it even though it has yet to be widely publicized.
Huizenga is confident this bill will help bring Michigan to the forefront within the film industry. “By offering these incentives, filmmakers will be more likely to shoot commercials, TV series or full feature films in Michigan and in turn contribute greatly to our economy,” he said when the bill was passed. “This action says to the industry, Michigan is open for business.”
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More