Cameras start in close, zooming out as Forest Whitaker rolls over and whispers into his lover’s ear, “Did firing that guy make you as hot as it made me?”

The camera tilts up and the skyline of Detroit is visible out of the hotel window until it pans down to catch Whitaker’s mayoral sash draped over a chair while the sounds of canoodling are heard.

The scene depicting Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s situation could very well be made. And thanks to legislation approved by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the movie won’t have to be filmed in some Hollywood studio – it could be made in Detroit.

More importantly for the rest of the state, filming movies helps make Michigan seem cool. On Monday, Granholm signed legislation that would provide generous tax benefits to lure filmmakers to Michigan.

Sure it’s fun to insult “Cool Cities,” where the only evidence of such coolness are the street signs proclaiming so. But it is important to change Michigan’s perception to the rest of the nation and keep our college students from leaving the state at the first chance.

It’s not just the films themselves, but the people they employ. While Grosse Pointe probably didn’t see a big population bump following the nearly-eponymous John Cusack movie, film industry is a sexy career that can help keep a desired demographic in Michigan.

Those who want to produce that Kilpatrick movie, television series or video game, can now do so with a tax rebate of 42 percent of production costs in Michigan

Since last year there has been a 14-fold increase in scripts submitted in just three months, The Detroit Free Press reports.

It’s going to cost Michigan an estimated $19 million in FY 2009, the Free Press reported. The bighearted tax benefits need to generate more interest and income for the state than that.

And Michigan is just one of at least half a dozen states to just recently seriously pursue the film industry – perhaps getting into the competitive film industry could backfire, they could pack up and leave if Idaho offers a 43 percent tax incentive and free French fries.

Then there’s that whole snow and bad winter weather thing. We at least have the lakes for summer. But “Escanaba in da Moonlight” and “Diehard 2″ chose Michigan for its winters, so coolness doesn’t necessarily dry up when the mittens come out.

If this works, a previously unheard-from high tech industry will be established in Michigan. Hopefully investing in keeping bright and educated people in the state will pay off.

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