Caseville Gets Permission To Close $1M Grant For Film Studio

CASEVILLE, Mich. (AP) - The city of Caseville has been given permission to close its account on a nearly $1 million government grant to build a movie-making studio.

Michigan Economic Development Corp. wrote a letter to the city in January saying it had completed the necessary steps to close the account reports the Huron Daily Tribune.

In 2009, local filmmaker Robert Brown began pushing his idea to build a post-production sound studio called Charity Island Pictures. City officials signed a document in 2010 that secured $935,000 of taxpayer money to build a studio.

Brown was supposed to contribute $125,000 in "machinery and equipment" and create 15 full-time jobs. But that never happened.

A judge found in 2015 that Brown violated his agreement with Caseville and ordered him to vacate the studio.