Film industry subsidies: Unilateral disarmament. After a decade of escalation, a stupid trend may have peaked. LOTS of states would love to be California and have their own little Hollywood. Film crews would then come to town and spend money in hair salons and hotels, and local politicians could pose with film stars. So why not call it economic development to justify the huge tax credits that lure film producers? As of last year, more than 40 states had such incentives, costing them a record $1.4 billion. Even California itself plays the game, believing that it has to defend itself against the poachers. In 2003, when only a handful of states( principally Louisiana and New Mexico) offered incentives, California made two thirds of America's big studio films. Now it makes far fewer than half. Film LA, an organisation that co ordinates permits for film shoots in Los Angeles, says that without California's own tax credit, 2010 would have been the worst year since the mid-1990s for filming in Hollywood. As its marketing blog gibes: It is extraordinarily unlikely that the 137 productions that filmed in Michigan since 2007 chose to shoot there for creative reasons, a favourable climate or a deep and talented film crew base.
