And the film credit goes to Sterling Heights man

Electrician Chris Doherty, who's working on a new made-in-Michigan feature film, could be the poster boy for film industry incentives: the 56-year-old Sterling Heights man, who worked steadily until virtually all construction stalled last year, is best boy -- an elite crew designation -- on his first feature film, "Annabel and Bear."

"I had been working on hospitals and power stations," he says of his long career. "Then pretty much everything dried up. Now I'm working in film. It's been a fantastic experience."

Doherty, who retrained this year at the Center for Film Studies in Madison Heights, and through the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, praises the usefulness of his training.

But he's been shocked by the disparity between what he learned in his programs compared to graduates of other in-state programs.

"There are very significant shortfalls in other programs," he says.

In the wild (mid)west Michigan film industry, where press releases keep touting new studios that haven't fully materialized, gossip abounds, and "producers" lately seem more populous than auto executives, there's a mini-gold rush in trade schools for the movie business.

The game is Michigan Works! dollars, allocated for retraining laid-off and low-income workers. The program pays tuition at licensed trade schools -- and entrepreneurs recognize the potential marriage between the unemployed, the allure of Hollywood and the availability of tuition dollars.

That's why the few licensed trade schools -- there are only seven operating in Michigan -- are welcoming the recent hiring of Richard Jewell. "We're in favor of anything that makes the industry better," says Mort Meisner, a former TV producer and founder of the Center for Film Studies. Jewell, a Detroit actor and educator, joined the Michigan Film Office two weeks ago to develop curriculum guidelines for the state's burgeoning number of film trade schools. Some had been advertising without licensing. Fees vary from $105 for one-day programs to longer programs that cost $7,000 or more, with little guidance about quality.

Jewell's hoping that in his role, he'll be able to provide guidelines for curriculum, duration and faculty that will help trade schools meet an industry standard. The goal, after all, is to create a permanent industry, not fly-by-night trade schools and disappointed graduates. "If you're not a quality school providing a quality education, we don't want you here," he says.

Rationality and oversight were needed. State rebates on productions costs alone won't work.

"Hollywood isn't going to fly in its best boys and gaffers forever. They're going to say, 'We can't afford this,' " says Dick Kernen, vice president of industry relations at the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Southfield, which is licensed in Michigan and nationally accredited.

Mike Beamish, an administrator at the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, and who oversees 400 Michigan trade schools, says the state licensing program is working.

"We haven't received any formal complaints," he says. "Remember, this film industry is just really, really new."

As for Doherty, whose experience and training impressed the crew, he appears to have achieved a Hollywood dream here in Michigan: While some retrained carpenters are thrilled to get $12 to $15 an hour working on a film, Doherty's getting more.

"He's getting a major screen credit as best boy electrician," says Roberta Beaudet, line producer on "Annabel and Bear."

Laura Berman's column runs Tuesday and Thursday in Metro and Sunday online. Reach her at lberman@detnews.com">lberman@detnews.com or call (313) 222-2032.