• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Wis. tax credits help pay for Depp's entourage

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin taxpayers contributed $450,000 toward Hollywood director Michael Mann's salary when he came to the state last year to film the big-budget Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemies."

Records obtained by The Associated Press show the state's film tax credits not only covered a quarter of Mann's $1.8 million salary, they paid for a portion of his assistants' salaries, entertainment, meals and stuntmen's living expenses.

The state's tax credits even covered about $100,000 of the cost of Depp's entourage of chauffeurs, hair stylists and assistants, said Zach Brandon, executive assistant at the Wisconsin Commerce Department.

Filmmakers even tried to claim $8,600 toward the $35,800 wrap party, but the Commerce Department denied that, Brandon said Friday.

He said the 1-year-old film tax incentive program needs major overhauls to make it more lucrative for the state, but he wasn't sure whether any changes would make it into the budget Gov. Jim Doyle's introduces Tuesday.

Doyle's spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner declined to comment Friday.

David Fantle, director of public relations for VISIT Milwaukee, defended the tax breaks and said it's too soon to start thinking about making wholesale changes.

"Let's keep watering the plant and let it grow and make some more educated decisions when we have a longer track record of its success," Fantle said. "I think it's a zero sum game to start nitpicking the benefits."

Communities where the film was made are preparing for a burst of tourists once "Public Enemies" hits theaters this summer, Fantle said.

"It has and will continue to create great visibility for the state of Wisconsin," he said.

The state Department of Commerce provided the records under the Freedom of Information law. They detail, with some proprietary information blacked out, the expenses the filmmakers submitted to qualify for tax breaks under state law.

The records only include position titles and no names, but Mann, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, was the film's sole director. He's also one of the film's producers, which the records showed were paid $347,067. Of that, $86,750 was refunded through the tax credits.

Previously released records showed the film brought in $5 million in economic activity but cost the state $4.6 million in tax credits to Public Enemies Productions LLC, a subsidiary of Universal Studios.

Under the tax credit law, the filmmakers were allowed to submit expenses and salaries that weren't paid in Wisconsin. Those included Mann's $1.8 million salary, for which the film company received a 25 percent credit.

The 25 percent tax refund was good for three different categories: Salaries or wages of Wisconsin residents ($468,000), salary in Wisconsin for out of state residents, excluding Depp and other actors ($2.6 million), and all other expenses paid in Wisconsin ($1.3 million).

The film production company received all of its 5 percent state sales tax back for nearly $144,000.

Taxpayers also covered 25 percent of the total cost for these expenses:

— $103,175 paid to the executive producer.

— $4,427 paid to the model maker.

— $8,332 for costume cleaning.

— $6,356 for "studio administration."

"Public Enemies" was the first big-budget film shot in Wisconsin since tax incentives for filmmakers took effect at the beginning of last year.

From mid-March until June 30, "Public Enemies" filmed in Madison, Manitowish Waters, Oshkosh, Columbus, Milwaukee, Darlington, Beaver Dam, Eureka, Oregon and around Mirror Lake in Wisconsin as well as Indiana, Illinois and Los Angeles.

The film is a screen adaptation of Bryan Burrough's 2004 book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34." It describes the FBI's transformation when confronted with crime sprees by bank robbers John Dillinger, Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Lester "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis.

Depp stars as Dillinger, and Christian Bale co-stars as FBI agent Melvin Purvis. Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard is Depp's love interest. The movie has been set for release July 1.