State tax breaks bring movie studio to Manistee

KATHERINE YUNG, Detroit Free Press

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By Jason Overholt

Story Created: Oct 26, 2009 at 12:00 PM EST

Story Updated: Oct 26, 2009 at 12:00 PM EST

MANISTEE, Mich. (AP) — When it comes to making movies in Michigan, the summer tourist haven of Manistee doesn't immediately spring to mind. But for Harold Cronk and Matthew Tailford, it's proving to be the perfect place to create their version of Hollywood North.

In the summer of 2008, the two friends toured western Michigan, looking for the right locale to set up a new movie production company and studio. When they got to Manistee, they immediately recognized the potential: beaches and sand dunes, farm country, million-dollar homes and a Victorian-era downtown that could easily pass for a studio back lot.

Along Manistee Lake, they discovered a marina with several buildings large enough to transform into seven sound stages. Nearby, an old ironworks factory could be converted into preproduction offices for producers and others.

From this vision, 10 West Studios was born. Though much more ambitious production studios are being planned in Pontiac and Allen Park, 10 West is the first tangible evidence that Michigan's 18-month-old film tax credits — the most generous in the nation — are doing more than just bringing movie stars to the state.

With so many independent movies being made, Cronk and Tailford are leveraging their film industry experience, network of business contacts and ingenuity to entice low-budget productions to Manistee. To make this plan work, they need to offer an affordable, hassle-free and enjoyable experience.

That means keeping costs low, being efficient and working closely with the community. The two friends, who met as elementary art teachers in Reed City, have invested close to $3 million in the studio, using their own savings and money from private investors in Michigan. So far, they have hired five full-time employees.

"We're not going after the $40-million film," said the 41-year-old Tailford, from Sylvania, Ohio, president of 10 West, which was named after the east-west highway south of Manistee. "We're not competing with Detroit. We're here to supplement them."

Tailford and Cronk, 34, say that without Michigan's film tax credits, opening a studio in Manistee would have been difficult. They, like everyone else in the industry, are hoping that the state doesn't water down or eliminate the incentives.

"We are just trying to prove to the state that this is a viable business," Tailford said.

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Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com

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