Oscar-winning film comes from state-started studio in 'a little too small town' in La., not L.A.

The most important movie people rarely recognized at the Academy Awards are those who finance motion pictures. That's perhaps to be expected, because it's a private business, but the primary investor in one movie on of tonight's winners, list of nominees, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (left), is from the public sector: the state of Louisiana.

"Forty states offer film production tax credits, trying to draw producers and studios and the trickle-down effects of a big-budget picture. Louisiana took a slightly different approach," reports Markeplace of American Public Media, presenting a story by Kate Archer Kent of the Bayou State's Red River Radio.

State Economic Development Ssecretary Stephen Moret "wanted to show off Louisiana's creative talent," Kent reports. "So the state gave seed money to open an animation studio in Shreveport. It's called Moonbot Studios. The state shelled out nearly $700,000 for the studio's first film. . . . It's a wordless, whimsical story that portrays the power of books. Moret says with an Oscar nod, Louisiana hit the jackpot." A clip from the film appeared on CBS's "Sunday Morning" today. UPDATE, 10:45 p.m.: The film won the Oscar for best animated short film.

Moonbot attracts young animators like Beavan Blocker, right (photo by Archer). "Blocker says sometimes Shreveport feels a little too small town," compared to the West Coast, for example, Archer reports. "So is propping up the industry worth the investment? Cornell University professor Susan Christopherson studies how states use incentives to lure film projects. She says doling out millions of dollars to producers each year isn't a prudent way to spend public money." (Read more)