While thoughts of the film industry evoke images of the historic Hollywood sign on Mount Lee overlooking the Los Angeles stars below, some film companies have worked with the U.S. government for years, collecting taxpayer money.
Between 2008 and 2021, $1.2 billion in taxpayer money was spent on video production and distribution and other related filming categories, according to our auditors at OpenTheBooks, who looked at federal spending records from that time.
Spending $721 million, the Department of Defense was responsible for most of it, more than the next eight agencies combined. NASA spent $124 million, and the Department of the Interior spent $75 million, respectively.
Of that $75 million in Interior spending, $2.6 million went to Primeridian Entertainment for 29 projects since 2008.
While the international production company based in Beverly Hills may be better known for flicks like “A Hologram for the King” (2016) starring Tom Hanks and “99 Homes” (2015) starring Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon and Laura Dern, the company designed and produced exhibits at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center and Trailside Museum at Yellowstone National Park.
They also provided “multimedia services … for informing the public on the National Science Foundation’s role in the nation’s scientific enterprise.”
The hourly rate for one digital video recording job was $282.62 ($565,000 annually), while surround sound mixing cost $214.11 hourly ($428,000 annually).
A senior graphics/motion designer cost $154.16 each hour ($310,000 annually), and an installer made $136.02 hourly ($272,000 annually), the exhibit designer collected $115.87 an hour, web development and engineering was $100.76 hourly and an unspecified consultant collected $91.37 an hour.
While $2.6 million isn’t much in the context of the $1.2 billion in taxpayer money spent, one hopes the visitors to Yellowstone National Park find the exhibits worth it.
The #WasteOfTheDay is presented by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.
Originally published by RealClearPolicy. Republished with permission.
