State Film Office Gives HGTV $211K for Ransom Gillis Show

Dan Gilbert isn't the only one funding the renovation of Ransom Gillis House. The state is lending a hand, too, to the tune of a $211,031 incentive from the Michigan Film Office, according to a release. The money will go to the production company managing the shoot as HGTV Rehab Addict Nicole Curtis films a series about restoring Ransom Gillis for the cable network.

According to the Michigan Film Office, Chasing Light Entertainment will receive the state incentive funds for their project, and released an estimate of production costs showing a budget of $844,125. This included employing 22 people on the shoot, twelve of them Michigan residents. The film office says that this equates "to two full-time positions."

While the Snyder administration has taken pride in killing the incentive program for film and other digital media—legislation passed this summer eliminating the incentive program altogether—the incentive agreement providing the Ransom Gillis/HGTV money stands because it was approved before the new law went into effect. Other films that received incentives include Transformers (which…transformed part of downtown into a robot-destroyed Hong Kong), and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which wrapped filming earlier this summer.

·Michigan Film Office [Michigan Film Office]
·Ransom Gillis House Ready for its Closeup [Curbed Detroit]
·Dan Gilbert Sponsors Nicole Curtis Rehab of Ransom Gillis House [Curbed Detroit]
·Snyder signs bill ending incentives for film industry [Detroit Free Press]
·Detroit's Hong Kong is Ready to Begin Shooting Transformers [Curbed Detroit]