With all the talk of film studios moving into Detroit, Pontiac and Allen Park, people seem to forget that SE Michigan has long had a state-of-the-art studio operating in its own backyard. For 25 years, Grace & Wild has been the go-to facility for advertising and film production. And with the state's new film incentives, they see an expanding landscape of opportunities.

The recent Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire reminds us that the Indian subcontinent, with a population of nearly 1.2 billion, occupies a rather large corner of the world. It also represents a growing demographic in Metro Detroit. South Asian culture as expressed through Bollywood films, dance and specialty foods has moved beyond local enclaves onto Main Street Michigan.

While there's no shortage of big box multiplexes in Metro Detroit, the region also boasts a handful of vintage and offbeat movie houses that make a trip to the theater all the more magical. Not only do these venues offer a wider range of cinema, we at Metromode swear the popcorn tastes better.

A standard bearer of culture and world class performance for 65 years, the Society may be located in Farmington Hills but it still calls Detroit home. Heck, it's in the name, ain't it? From educational outreach to an uncompromised approach to mission, there's a reason this classical music society thrives even as other cultural institutions struggle.

Ollie up, folks! Ride Metromode's skateboard to the bowls, ledges, and rails of Farmington Hills' future Riley Skate Park …and then read about Ann Arbor's roll towards building its own skater sanctuary.

With the proliferation of personal info on the Internet today – everything from bank account access to your boyfriend's pet name – life is becoming a paperless open book. Metromode talks with some area experts who are helping to keep some of those pages from prying eyes.

Okay, it's more like 61 miles. Nevertheless, Metro Detroit offers a world of gastromomic pleasures, if you know where to look. Let food writer Jeff Broder act as your compass, pointing the way to a savory quartet of ethnic restaurants.

To most Metro Detroiters the difference between Farmington and Farmington Hills is non-existent. Unless, of course, you live in one or the other. Could the merger of these two communities be a model for municipal cooperation, prompting the rest of the region to rethink its inefficient and redundant ways?