An Open Letter to Governor Rick Snyder

(I actually sent this to the governor on 3/16/11…minus the gratuitous images that make the blog version more fun to read)

Dear Governor Snyder,

Congratulations on your success in the last election and best wishes for a productive and successful term as our new leader. However, I must take issue with your assertion that you are “one tough nerd.”

As I’m sure you’re aware, your decision to repeal the various tax breaks to moviemakers that had previously been used to lure film projects to Michigan directly resulted in the production company that was going to shoot portions of “The Avengers” in Michigan to pull out of our state and make their movie elsewhere.

Here's the thing: no legitimate, self-respecting nerd would ever do anything to prevent a movie starring Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Hulk from being made in his home state. to paraphrase Lloyd Bensen:

"Governor, I am a nerd. I know nerds. Nerds are friends of mine. Governor, you're no nerd."

All joking aside, I hope you will seriously reconsider your decision to repeal the tax incentives to attract more movie projects to Michigan, and here’s why:

Outside of our state, the rest of the nation sees our entire state is little more than the city of Flint – closed plants, foreclosed homes and an angry, frustrated and largely unemployed population of former production workers.

By attracting high-profile, glamorous and inherently creative businesses and industries into our state, we can make great headway toward changing the perception of the rest of the nation – the whole world, really – of what our state is really like. We are knee-deep in brilliant designers, engineers, writers, performers and other high-value professionals. The movie industry is a spectacular platform to accomplish this.

Additionally, moviemaking is a goldmine for tourism. Case in point: the largely forgettable Christopher Reeve romantic period piece, “Somewhere in Time”, which was shot on Mackinac Island in 1980, continues to attract tourists to the island and the Grand Hotel. In the same vein, don’t you think that real nerds would come by the thousands to see the spot where The Hulk knocked Thor through the side of a building in downtown Detroit?

Movie making will help us to retain our current pool of talented, creative, innovative citizens and help to attract new ones to Michigan.

Again, I sincerely wish you great success as you tackle the many and daunting challenges facing our state. Oh, and I’d like you to issue a public retraction of your claim that you’re a nerd. But mostly the “great success” thing.

Regards,

Ed Keeter

What's your opinion? Was Gov. Snyder right to repeal the tax incentive program for the film industry? Or am I right that the film industry is an invaluable component of our efforts to re-invent Michigan in the new economy?