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STATE FILM SUBSIDIES: NOT MUCH BANG FOR TOO MANY BUCKS


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But at least you seem to finally be admitting that tax "incentives" are just extortion and bribery. So yeah, we are making progress. :D

 

Um no that would be an extreme stretch. Business and government have worked together in North America and other countries for over 200 years, get used to it. You'll never stop it Brian I don't know why you waste your time?

 

In the time this thread has been running there are more tax credits for film in the USA not fewer. Why isn't your campaign catching fire with film workers?

 

R,

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Um no that would be an extreme stretch. Business and government have worked together in North America and other countries for over 200 years, get used to it. You'll never stop it Brian I don't know why you waste your time?

 

In the time this thread has been running there are more tax credits for film in the USA not fewer. Why isn't your campaign catching fire with film workers?

 

R,

Well, for starters, I don't have a "campaign." I'm merely providing information.

 

For why more film workers aren't speaking up, I can't speak for them. Most just go with the flow and/or have bought into the concept that tax "incentives" are a net positive without really having studied the realities. So there is some willful ignorance that is prevalent, but that is nothing new.

 

And this Conservative drive for the past thirty years is WAY beyond "government and business working together." It's Corporate power infiltrating what is meant to be a government of, by, and for the People. In other words, it's Fascism. The Monied Interests are raping and eviscerating this nation under the guise of "freedom" and "the free market." Business has zero loyalty nor responsibility to the nation, the overall economy, to humanity, to freedom, or to democracy itself. Because of this truth, GOVERNMENT is not supposed to be "working with" business. Government is meant to regulate business and human behavior in order to promote the general welfare for the greatest common collective good.

 

The scales have moved to the extreme where business interests are all that matter and the needs of society are held up for disdain. And that is the ultimate truth of this "tax incentive" scam which funnels more money to the Monied Class who is hoarding an estimated $32 TRILLION in offshore tax havens (i.e., not "creating jobs!") while cities, States, and entire nations are gutted from the inside out due to the lack of adequate tax revenue from those who hold most of the capital. We used to have a thing called the Corporate Death Penalty which would be used to "kill" any business which had proven to be a net negative to the needs of the People. It's time to bring that back AND to prosecute the actual people who are in charge and make these destructive greedy decisions.

 

The way for "film workers" to combat this cancer can't be through joining the "tax incentive" game by whining to their own local government to fork over bribe money just for a few jobs. It's a much bigger problem than that as evidenced by the Boeing example. This demands a very large effort to go after Corporations on the charge of extortion and prosecuting complicit elected officials on charges of bribery. Clearly a very large and complicated legal battle that would rock the very core of "Reaganomics/Milton Friedmanism" and call Conservatives on every lie they've delivered since at least 1980.

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And this Conservative drive for the past thirty years is WAY beyond "government and business working together."

 

I'm sorry to inform you Brian that your beloved liberals have been just as bad. Are you going to tell me that government tax incentives did not exist under Carter, Clinton, or Obama? Sorry, but all three have doled out billions to private industry via all sorts of programs.

 

The idea that it's all been carried out by republicans is ridiculous. Heck, your beloved democrats are the biggest supporters of film tax credits in the USA, it's usually republican governors that want to get rid of them. And you're on here blaming conservatives? Crazy talk.

 

R,

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  • 2 months later...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hunterschwarz/how-a-case-about-invisible-dental-braces-could-change-the-wa

The case attracted the attention of the Motion Picture Association of America and Google because of the implications it could have on whether digital file transfers are considered imports under the Tariff Act. Google said they were not, but in a filing, the MPAA disagreed.

In order to protect American industries that create content that is increasingly being distributed digitally, like films, music, and software, the MPAA said the commission needs to include electronic transmission in its definition of “articles” protected by the Tariff Act. It also noted the rise of piracy and other forms of illegal trade, particularly in other countries.

But the MPAA’s interest in protecting films from piracy could prove to be a weapon that could be used against it, said Daniel Lay, who runs the website Vfxsoldier and organizes protests for visual effects workers.

“If the MPAA is saying films are a tangible good, and those goods are heavily subsidized by a foreign government, the law allows us to put duties on that,” Lay said.

 

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I'm sorry to inform you Brian that your beloved liberals have been just as bad. Are you going to tell me that government tax incentives did not exist under Carter, Clinton, or Obama? Sorry, but all three have doled out billions to private industry via all sorts of programs.

 

The idea that it's all been carried out by republicans is ridiculous. Heck, your beloved democrats are the biggest supporters of film tax credits in the USA, it's usually republican governors that want to get rid of them. And you're on here blaming conservatives? Crazy talk.

 

R,

Clinton and Obama aren't Liberals. They are Center Right Conservatives.

 

Democrats aren't necessarily liberal either. Party affiliation has little to do with economic ideology.

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http://progressivepopulist.org/2014/04/05/busted-tennessee-governor-offered-volkswagon-300-million-incentives-reject-uaw-union-video/

BUSTED: Tennessee Governor Offered Volkswagen $300 Million in Incentives to Reject UAW Union

Volkswagen workers who are employed at the Chattanooga, Tennessee plant had the right under federal law to vote on whether they wanted union representation or not, without intimidation, fear or coercion.

So it was somewhat surprising, on the surface, when they voted down having union representation. Many of us smelled a rat, and rightfully so.

The “rat” in this case was a combination of anti-union groups associated with the Koch Brothers and Grover Norquist contributing millions of dollars to Tennessee Republican politicians, including their governor, Bill Haslam, and some good old fashioned bribery on the part of the governor.

Enticed by those millions in campaign funds from anti-union groups, Tennessee Republicans then carried out the process of intimidating the workers to vote down union representation, topped off by a $300 million offer of taxpayer dollars from Governor Haslam to Volkswagen that would allow the Chattanooga VW plant to expand – but only if the plant’s workers voted down union representation.

This charade was exposed by journalist Phil Williams of WTVF-TV in Nashville. This past week, he revealed confidential documents that may end up being the smoking gun, and could have far-reaching implications. The documents reveal the $300 million incentive offered by Haslam to VW.

Before the vote by the VW workers, Haslam both implied and denied that the incentives were attached to whether the plant had UAW representation or not. But, as the report shows, the incentives were “subject to works council discussions between the State of Tennessee and VW being conducted to the satisfaction of the State of Tennessee.”

You can see all the documents obtained by WTVF’s Williams here.

If the allegations are true that Tennessee Republicans coerced the outcome of the union representative vote, then that would be a violation of those worker’s rights, under federal law.

The bottom line is that this is the absolute worst of corrupt American politics. The anti-union billionaires like the Koch Brothers used their wallets to influence Tennessee Republicans to affect the outcome of the VW worker vote in their favor, combined with the governor essentially using $300 million in taxpayer dollars for ransom, all has the end result of curtailing worker’s rights and hurting their chances to improve their earnings, benefits, and health & safety.

In short, the big guys f*cked the little guys, and it was done in an illegal way.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Extortion paid for with another bribe.

The Netflix series “House of Cards” will shoot its third season in Maryland after reaching a deal with Governor Martin O’Malley.

Production company Media Rights Capital had threaten to leave the state because it looked like Maryland would fall short of meeting the same level of tax credits the show received in previous seasons, igniting a debate among lawmakers over the value of incentives. Some elected officials said that it felt like extortion.

The show will receive a total of $11.5 million this year — less than the $15 million the production company had been reportedly expecting, but apparently enough to stay in the state.

The series had delayed the start of season three to June as state lawmakers raced to come up with funding. Although the Maryland General Assembly earlier this month still came up short in boosting its tax credit program, O’Malley’s office said that they negotiated with MRC in the weeks since then to come up with the $11.5 package that includes productions credits and state budget grants.

 


http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/house-of-cards-maryland-filming-1201164393/

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  • 1 month later...

http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/casualties-of-the-subsidy-trade-war-prime-focus-london/ Casualties Of The Subsidy Trade War: Prime Focus London

 

Tuesday morning I woke up early to do an interview with the BBC about the VFX industry. I argued that while the UK is benefiting from recent increases in subsidies for the film industry, I warned that Canada was offering much larger subsidies that pay 60% of labor wages.

A few hours later I get contacted by some people in the UK with indications that Prime Focus would shut down their London office after the email above was sent to employees. One would suspect the reason why an Indian VFX firm like Prime Focus would shut down operations in London was to ship more work to India but that was not the case. The email clearly confirms what I told the BBC earlier that morning: The subsidies in Canada are larger and US studios that receive them have demanded more VFX work be sent there.

For films that pass an EU mandated cultural test, productions can take advantage of a government subsidy that pays 25% on the first £20M and 20% on the rest of expenses in the UK that are capped at 80% of the total qualified expenses. What makes the UK subsidy very special is that it covers above the line talent salaries such as actors. So it’s quite probable that 20% of Sandra Bullocks $70M payday for Gravity may have been paid by UK taxpayers.

What’s not so nice for VFX is that the above the line talent and physical production costs can quickly hit that 80% expense cap which the Prime Focus email alludes to. While Canada doesn’t offer to pay above the line costs, they offer to pay the wages of VFX labor that have established residency. No caps, no cultural test, no other requirement that could be a big hurdle. So you can see why it makes sense to do your shoots in Louisiana, Georgia, and the UK where above the line talent is subsidized and go to Canada for VFX.

The Freight Train Mentality

In another part of my interview with the BBC I explained that many artists in the industry suffer from what I call the “Freight Train Mentality”. I’ve found that when it comes to subsidies many people ignore my predictions because it initially benefits them but when they finally get run over by the reality that some other location is willing to offer more or their subsidy program falls apart, they change their tune on subsidies.

That realization became very apparent for a few people at Prime Focus London who were very much against my efforts. Just last week an artist called me out on twitter which I’ve posted a few snippets. I think it’s an important teachable moment:

screen-shot-2014-06-11-at-12-26-42-am.pnscreen-shot-2014-06-11-at-12-31-14-am.pnIt turned out the artist above was a PFL employee and admitted he had no idea how quickly things could have turned and retracted his statement. I told him no hard feelings. There were also staunch opponents who may have changed their tune also. If you remember some people were so motivated in derailing my efforts that they tried to find out who I was when I was blogging anonymously. The hope was that a threat of blacklisting would somehow intimidate me. Well even some of those people have come around after yesterday.

Some of them were people who not only acknowledged the subsidy race but endorsed it a while ago:

I am in London, and benefitting directly from these subsidies. I plan on going to Australia, New Zealand, and possibly Canada for work.

I chose this industry precisely because it allows for international mobility.

If the susbsidies are stopped what reason do California located film studios have for outsourcing work to far off lands like London or Sydney, with massive time zone differences and no appreciable gain in quality? None.

So don´t count on my support for this anytime soon.

 

The person who made the statement above was also a PFL employee. My guess is things quickly change when you fall in love and marry. Sorry that this happened to any of you but I hope you understand why I feel passionately about this issue and why it’s practically impossible to continue working in this industry with an expensive and permanent cycle of displacement.

A Facebook friend said it best:

You can tap dance around sympathy until empathy punches you in the face.

Soldier On.

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Where industry infrastructure exists with proper sound stages and indigenous crew. Duh.

 

Pretty silly answer, movies are shot all over the world. Even though you find it impossible to accept this fact.

 

I'm shooting my next movie in South Africa. Why? Because that is where the story is set. I just returned from the location scout and I have to say I am very impressed with the people I met in the film community there. No wonder so many US shows are now shooting there. Oh and they also have a 35% tax credit, no unions, and a great exchange rate.

 

R,

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Congrats on going for another one! I am only 13 days out from starting my first. I meant to ask you about where you got your movie poster done as I was thinking ahead to that.

 

God speed brother :)

 

The ATW art was done by Anchor Bay. They only do art for their own titles. There are a lot of companies in LA that do movie art. But the best ones cost some bucks and very few indie filmmakers have the foresight to spend the money. Even though your art is the single most important part of any movie.

 

R,

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‘Happy Happy Welfare!’ Duck Dynasty Cast Makes $70,000 Courtesy of Louisiana Taxpayers Per Episode!

Everyone who is involved with Duck Dynasty, the popular A&E show that features rednecks engaging in the fascinating act of blowing on duck calls and doing other rednecky things to the enchantment of millions of ‘Murikans, is rolling in the bucks.

The 20 cast members make a total of $200,000 per show, or $10,000 each. Not bad money for wearing camouflage and playing in the mud, huh?

Well, as it turns out, much of that money comes from the state of Louisiana, as in taxpayer money. How much? Try $70,000 per show.

That’s right… the “happy happy happy” folks are laughing all the way to the bank and depositing YOUR money into THEIR fattening bank accounts – if you happen to be a resident of Louisiana, anyway. 35% of their weekly income comes from Louisiana taxpayers, thanks to an incentive program enacted in 2002 designed to entice film producers to make movies in the state. So many of them have taken advantage of the generosity handed out by the state that Louisiana is now dubbed, “Hollywood South”.

Hey, never mind taking care of the poor people in the state, right? After all, Louisiana has the second highest poverty rate of any state in the union.

But, you ask, is the incentive program making the state any money? After all, sometimes you have to spend money up front in order to make money later. That’s the nature of most any venture out there, whether done publicly or privately.

The answer to that question is a resounding “no”. Louisiana recently conducted a study which, according to Inquisitr, found only 15 cents of economic benefit for every dollar spent by state taxpayers are used to prop up Hollywood productions, including reality shows such as Duck Dynasty.

Furthermore, the incentive program has a history of bribery and corruption in Louisiana.

Offering these incentives amounts to pouring money into a black hole, only in the case of Duck Dynasty, they are making out like bandits. Not only are the cast members making a third of their incomes from taxpayer money, they are also making money off of the publicity they have received.

 

Take their duck calls, for example, the product that made the Robertson clan millionaires in the first place. As Eonline reports:

Last year (2012), they sold 60,000 of their Duck Commander callers. This year, they are projected to sell over 750,000, and at an average price of $59.72 (they range from $19.95 to $179.95), they are set to make—wait for it—$44,790,000 on their duck calls in 2013!

Not to mention that Phil and Willie Robertson have each written books that so far has amounted to tens of millions of dollars in gross sales. And you can’t venture into a Wal-mart these days without seeing Duck Dynasty apparel and accessories – either for sale, or being worn by the customers.

We’re not begrudging the Duck Dynasty empire for making money. It’s the free enterprise system, after all. But there is something grossly wrong with already well-paid cast members and filmmakers profiting in part off of the taxpayer’s backs, and it is a microcosm of what is wrong with our capitalist economic system. Because of incentives like this, the wealthy continue to become wealthier, while many of the rest of us struggle just to put food on the table and pay for housing.

All during a time when one political party – the Republicans, of course – is trying to do everything they can to stop taxpayer money from going towards helping the increasing number of poor people in our country.

The Duck Dynasty cast owes much of their success to the taxpayers of Louisiana, who unwittingly have helped to fund their show and fatten their wallets. We’re just not too sure that Louisiana residents would be too thrilled if they were aware that they are losing big-time economically in this shell game.

Watch the chief economist for the state of Louisiana discuss the money drain that the incentive program for film and TV productions has been.

VIDEO on link: http://firebrandprogressives.org/happy-happy-welfare-duck-dynasty-cast-makes-70000-courtesy-louisiana-taxpayers-per-episode-video/

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Once again Brian you have distorted the facts on this topic, and so has this article to a degree. The show triggers a Louisiana state tax credit of $70, 000.00 per episode. 100% of this $70,000.00 does not go entirely to the cast line item. It goes to the entire budget which includes the entire crew, and secondary in state expenditures like catering. You have written this up to make it sound like the cast of the show is getting rich courtesy of the tax payer....not true.

 

Also, Louisiana uses a rather bizarre style of tax credit. The producer gets a tax credit, which he then has to sell to a corporation that owes tax, so that that corp can lower their taxes owed. This means the producers tax credit must be sold via a broker and may trigger a savings to the producer of 75-80% on the dollar. It's really a ridiculous system.

 

Ontario and Canada use a simple refund on the dollar system that pays the producer directly. There are no middle men, & if the tax credit is $500,000.00, then the producer collects $500,000.00.

 

R,

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Once again Brian you have distorted the facts on this topic, and so has this article to a degree. The show triggers a Louisiana state tax credit of $70, 000.00 per episode. 100% of this $70,000.00 does not go entirely to the cast line item. It goes to the entire budget which includes the entire crew, and secondary in state expenditures like catering. You have written this up to make it sound like the cast of the show is getting rich courtesy of the tax payer....not true.

 

Also, Louisiana uses a rather bizarre style of tax credit. The producer gets a tax credit, which he then has to sell to a corporation that owes tax, so that that corp can lower their taxes owed. This means the producers tax credit must be sold via a broker and may trigger a savings to the producer of 75-80% on the dollar. It's really a ridiculous system.

 

Ontario and Canada use a simple refund on the dollar system that pays the producer directly. There are no middle men, & if the tax credit is $500,000.00, then the producer collects $500,000.00.

 

R,

 

In other words, the taxpayers are unwittingly financing your movie and are not seeing any of the backend profits that you enjoy ON TOP OF the tax money you already extracted during production.

 

It's a brilliant system to funnel money to the top while making it seem as though labor is benefiting. They get jobs for a while then get taxed on that income...while you don't get taxed, get taxpayer paid subsidies, and don't have to share profits with your co-producing partners, the taxpayers. So taxpayers get the shaft on both ends, labor picks up the tab for the costs of running society, and you get to skate off with money upfront and all the profits later.

 

Nice work if you can get it. Fascism is truly taking hold with flags a'wavin' and trumpets blowing.

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Pretty silly answer, movies are shot all over the world. Even though you find it impossible to accept this fact.

 

I'm shooting my next movie in South Africa. Why? Because that is where the story is set. I just returned from the location scout and I have to say I am very impressed with the people I met in the film community there. No wonder so many US shows are now shooting there. Oh and they also have a 35% tax credit, no unions, and a great exchange rate.

 

R,

 

We've been over this before. There's a distinct difference between shooting a movie in a story-specific location and choosing a location to manufacture your product based purely on who coughs up the largest bribe. That you can't acknowledge this difference either illustrates some level of ignorance on your part or an intentional unwillingness to publicly acknowledge the criminality of the system you are defending.

 

For instance, a movie that is set in New Orleans has justification to actually shoot in New Orleans. But a movie that is set in Los Angeles yet shoots in New Orleans only because of the tax bribe falls into the category I'm discussing.

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Brian the only person in this discussion that suffers from ignorance and intentional unwillingness to publicly acknowledge facts is you.

 

This is a hilariously stupid and moronic comment to make:

 

"For instance, a movie that is set in New Orleans has justification to actually shoot in New Orleans. But a movie that is set in Los Angeles yet shoots in New Orleans only because of the tax bribe falls into the category I'm discussing."

 

Do you even understand one iota of the movie business?????????????????????????????

 

Please explain to me how many movies set all over the USA and the globe have been shot in Los Angeles!!! They have these things in LA called, wait for it, back lots. Giant sets that can re-create a number of different locations. So by your inane logic, a movie set in NYC cannot be shot on a lot on Hollywood, it must shot in NYC. A movie set in London must be shot in London, not LA, and so on and so forth.

 

BTW Brian, I am heading into my fourth motion picture as a producer. On the last three I used tax credits as a part of my financing, and I will be doing so again on this next one.

 

So how is your campaign going to end tax credits for film around the globe? It looks like you've flopped worse than Pluto Nash.

 

R,

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Richard, I don't think for a second anyone expects to be able to change these ridiculous systems - but normally one might hope to embarrass the people who partake of them.

 

That said, of course, I've met more than a few film producers who were readily identifiable as psychopaths and as such didn't actually have the ability to feel shame or embarrassment, so perhaps it's a fool's errand anyway.

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That said, of course, I've met more than a few film producers who were readily identifiable as psychopaths and as such didn't actually have the ability to feel shame or embarrassment, so perhaps it's a fool's errand anyway.

 

You and I have already been down this rabbit hole together, not biting today. Yawn.

 

Don't you want your buddy Maxim Ford to help you here? The two of you can go skipping off to your communist dreamland together, holding hands through the meadow.

 

R,

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Richard, I don't think for a second anyone expects to be able to change these ridiculous systems - but normally one might hope to embarrass the people who partake of them.

 

That would mean trying to embarrass about 99.99% of film producers. Somehow I don't think any will care, I know I don't.

 

R,

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  • 1 month later...

This one made me a little angry this week. Basically, NY screenwriters want NY taxpayers to subsidize their jobs so they can stay at home while making everyone else from LA commute to NY.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-onlocation-new-york-tv-writers-20140813-story.html

New York TV writers want piece of state's production incentive

Writers who live in New York complain they're being snubbed by TV shows that film in New York but are written on the West Coast. And a group of high-profile writers wants New York to pass a new tax credit for productions that hire scribes locally.

The group hired a lobbyist in Albany about five years ago to start working on an amendment to the tax law. The team was advised to narrow its proposal to minorities and female New York-based writers in this initial stage, Fontana said, in order to "better speak to legislators" in the state.

The bill proposes a tax credit of up to 30% of compensation with a maximum of $15,000 for each New York-based writer that is a women or member of a minority group. The tax credit can't exceed more than $3.5 million a year, a portion that will be removed from the already existing $420-million rebate pool.

One reason L.A. has traditionally been the main hub for TV writers is because studio executives prefer them to be nearby, Peterson said. Show runners also tend to live in Los Angeles, offering another reason to keep a writing room on the West Coast.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, a writer based in New York, is hoping New York legislators can push through the incentives. She considers herself lucky to have a deal to develop a pilot for CBS Television Studios.

"I know a very established TV writer who commutes to L.A. and she has children, and that's a tremendous hardship," Takeuchi Cullen said. "It's such a difficult job to get and a career to break into, and I think a lot of people will do anything it takes. I think that in this day and age there's no need for studios to insist that the only place that you can write a TV show is L.A."

 

Edited by Brian Dzyak
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Do you even understand one iota of the movie business?????????????????????????????

 

Please explain to me how many movies set all over the USA and the globe have been shot in Los Angeles!!! They have these things in LA called, wait for it, back lots. Giant sets that can re-create a number of different locations. So by your inane logic, a movie set in NYC cannot be shot on a lot on Hollywood, it must shot in NYC. A movie set in London must be shot in London, not LA, and so on and so forth.

 

 

 

R,

 

I never claimed anything of the sort in that word-salad you PRODUCED above. What I've clearly stated (because this is the way movies ARE made by anyone who's bothered making real movies that people go watch) is that when necessary, a production goes out on location to capture scenes that require an actual location that cannot be reproduced on a stage, on a backlot, or with VFX. After that, the production returns back to home base to finish out any stage and/or backlot work.

 

But that's not what happens anymore. Instead, productions seek out distant locations exclusively for the highest bribe being offered by States or nations. Sometimes, they even write scripts based on the locations handing out the bribes. And as we've seen in some cases, some productions even openly extort governments to get larger bribes than were offered before. (i.e. House of Cards)

 

That's the difference which resembles nothing like what you wrote above. So check that attitude a bit.

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