Mark Hicks
The Detroit News

PONTIAC -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to announce today plans for a $54 million film studio project that could bring about 5,000 new jobs to the state, her spokeswoman confirmed Monday.

"This is the direct result of the aggressive film incentive that the governor called for in her State of the State in 2008," Liz Boyd said late Monday. "The film incentives were designed to not just bring new film projects to Michigan ... but also to grow an industry that will provide long-term job growth for the state."

The project is pending approval of incentives during a Michigan Economic Growth Authority board meeting scheduled for this morning, Boyd said.

The state is not expected to fund construction, but is offering about $15 million in film-related tax credits, plus as much as $101 million in state tax credits over 12 years, if criteria are met, according to the Wall Street Journal.

If approved, Motown Motion Picture LLC could be operational this year in an estimated 600,000-square-foot space at General Motors Corp.'s former Centerpoint truck plant, she said, adding that the complex could create about 3,600 direct jobs and more than 1,500 indirect jobs.

Since Michigan approved aggressive tax incentives last April to lure Hollywood filmmakers to the state, 71 projects have been approved, with 37 films already completed, Tony Wenson, chief operating officer of the Michigan Film Office, told The Detroit News last week. Nearly 3,000 direct jobs have been created, with total wages reaching $57 million, he said.

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