Keystone Studios 100th Anniversary Collection Approved for Digital Media Incentive
LANSING -- Keystone Studios 100th Anniversary Collection has been approved for a digital media incentive from the Michigan Film Office. The project encompasses digitally restoring and remastering 75 classic films from Mack Sennett and Keystone Studios, to air on Turner Classic Movies Network.
The restoration is being led by award-winning director and film historian Paul E. Gierucki and his producer partner, Brittany Valente. CineMuseum LLC and Bottom Line Entertainment LLC are producing the project. Southfield-based Kinetic Post will complete the digital restoration and remastering work.
"Kinetic Post is home to talented workers and is a leader in Michigan's digital media industry," said Carrie Jones, director of the Michigan Film Office. "Projects like Keystone Studios 100th Anniversary Collection showcase our digital media infrastructure and help us make the case for Michigan as we work to attract post-production and digital media projects here to the state.
The project was awarded an incentive of $154,595 on $507,983 of projected in-state expenditures. Existing employees at Kinetic Post will do the work.
The surviving original Mack Sennett and Keystone Studios silent and sound motion picture materials have been gathered from archives, museums and private collectors to be painstakingly restored in high-definition for the first time ever. These reconstructions, mastered from 35mm nitrate, archival negatives, the Library of Congress paper prints, preservation copies and in some cases the lone known surviving film print, premiere a wealth of rare, unknown and alternate footage. Many of the titles in this new collection have been forgotten, locked away in vaults and unseen for nearly 100 years.
The restored and remastered films of Keystone Studios, best known for the Keystone Cops, will be sold in a 10 disc DVD/Blu-Ray collection. Actors in these films include Charles Chaplin, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, and W.C. Fields.
To date in 2012, 11 projects have been awarded a total of $16,795,765 on $57,143,315 of approved production expenditures for the year. These projects are expected to create 1,005 Michigan hires with a full time equivalent of 249 jobs.
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. Film Review Committee, comprised of senior MEDC staff including the Michigan Film Commissioner, reviews all completed applications.
Using the statute to guide approval decisions, preference is given to projects that best meet the following criteria:
* The production is financially viable.
* Utilization of existing infrastructure (studios, post-production facilities, equipment rental, etc.).
* The number and wage levels of direct jobs for Michigan residents created by a production.
* Ability to show Michigan in a positive light and promote the state as a tourist destination.
* Magnitude of estimated expenditures in Michigan.
The Michigan Film Office was created in 1979 to assist and attract incoming production companies and promote the growth of Michigan's own film industry. The Film Office also administers the incentive program for film, television and other digital media production in Michigan.
