The Riviera will have nine auditoriums with wall-to-wall screens, the latest in film projection and sound technology, and new style theater seating with high-backed rockers and VIP recliners.
The Maple Theater in Bloomfield Hills is undergoing a second round of renovations and bringing on a partner theater, The Riviera, which is scheduled to open in Farmington Hills in May. The Maple, which was built in 1977 and eventually made the best of being too small to show most large run commercial films by featuring independent films, will have a larger lobby and lounge to add to the comfort of patrons. The renovations are expected to be completed by April. The theater, which is operated by Cloud Nine Partners LLC, was renovated to add a coffee bar and cafe in 2012, when Cloud Nine bought the three-screen theater from Landmark Theaters. The theater will remain fully operational during renovations. In the meantime, construction will begin Feb. 1 on The Riviera at 9 Mile Road west of Middlebelt in Farmington Hills. "We're very excited about this," says Ruth Daniels of Cloud Nine. "Michigan is a wonderful state for movie-going. It actually has more independent theaters than most states. And let's face it who doesn't love something new and updated." The Riviera, which is owned in partnership by Cloud 9 and Dipson Theaters, an operator eight movie theaters in Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania, will have nine screens and a screening room for private parties and corporate events. Dipson operates the theater that will be replaced by The Riviera. The existing theater closes at the end of the month. Birmingham design firm, Ron and Roman, will design the new theater, which will reelect a luxury feel, a cocktail lounge, specialty food menu and premium comfort, convenience and technology. Ron & Roman is also redesigning the Maple Theater. "It will be a very drastic change," Daniels says of the changes happening at the movie theater that will become The Riviera. "A movie is all about the experience and we want to give the best possible movie-going experience. I go across the country and see some of the amazing things people are doing with theaters," she says. " This is going to be amazing." Source: Ruth Daniels, Cloud Nine Partners LLC Writer: Kim North Shine
The Michigan Film Incentive may be a pale shadow of what it was a few years ago, but that doesn't mean all the movie talent has fled the state. Case in point: Deb Scott and Think So Animation. A New York transplant with big screen cred, her Ferndale studio will offer classes to those who want to learn the art of computer graphics and animation.
In an e-world, consumers can now get their fill of TV at the gas station, all brought to them by Birmingham-based Gas Station TV. Excerpt: "Rockbridge Growth Equity pumped new capital into Gas Station TV, a company that provides pretty much exactly what you would think -television at gas pumps. Consumers have likely seen Gas Station TV network without even realizing it. It’s currently in 42 states, and at more than 2,600 stations, featuring content from AccuWeather, Bloomberg TV, ESPN and CNN." More here.
Pluto has seen itself as a post-production studio for many of its 16 years, but the downtown Birmingham-based content studio has been working to make the transition to "full content creation" in recent years. "We are trying to broaden our client base," says Dave Corbett, creative director of Pluto. "Also, with services we don’t have, we want to bring in top talent from across the country." Pluto has traditionally worked with firms, like Leo Burnett, Commonwealth, Lowe Campbell Ewald and Team Detroit, that handle advertising and marketing for automotive companies. It provides post-production services, along with visual-effect and interactive services. It is also teaming up with other firms, including coastal-based Spotwelders, on Chevrolet and Ford campaigns. Pluto has also attracted a some out-of-town firms to bring work to Metro Detroit. Nice Shoes, a New York City-based firm, is opening a remote-color-correction suite inside Pluto's studios in Birmingham and Detroit. "Our goal is to provide enough services so the creative community doesn't need to go out of town," says Natasha Marin, director of business development for Pluto. "We want to offer services that are as good if not better than what you can find out of town." Expanding Pluto’s service offerings has allowed growth in its staff. It has hired two interns for visual effects positions over the last year, expanding to 30 full-time workers, 5-10 independent contractors and one intern. Source: Dave Corbett, creative director of Pluto and Natasha Marin, director of business development for Pluto Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Finding music on the Internet is pretty easy these days. Whether it's mainstream hits or independent artists toiling underground, there is no shortage of services that specialize in bringing a certain type of music to your computer. Ourtunez, a Macomb Township-based software startup, thinks it can carve out its own niche by exposing people to all sorts of contemporary music, ranging from mainstream to independent musicians. "Our main differentiator is indie music," says Chris Ciaramitaro, co-founder of Ourtunez. "While we have all of the mainstream music, we have all of the great independent artists from across the nation." Ciaramitaro and his co-founder, Sam Munaco, loved to search out new bands in high school. As free time became more sparse as they got older, they found less and less time to do it. So the friends decided to make their own easy-to-use, web-streaming service that mixes both mainstream music and independent artists. "We started out grassrootsing it," Munaco says. "We found them on Facebook, told them about our product and went from there." Ourtunez has attracted a number of bands from across the U.S., including Taddy Porter (Oklahoma), New Hollow (Ohio) and Kaleido (Detroit). The team of five people launched the service in September. It now has 200 independent bands and 10,000 users. "If we continue to have the numbers we had last month, we'll double in December," Ciaramitaro says. Source: Sam Munaco & Chris Ciaramitaro, co-founders of Ourtunez Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Livio is looking for a few good entrepreneurs to come to work in Ferndale. The tech start-up has four job openings for software engineers, and it's looking for people with an entrepreneurial mindset to fill those positions. Why would someone with entrepreneurial ambitions want to go work for someone else? Jake Sigal, Livio's CEO, explains that his company is looking more for someone with "an entrepreneurial attitude about software engineering." "We look for problem-solving skills rather than expertise," Sigal says. He adds that other qualities Livio is looking for are software developers who are so passionate about coding that they do it in their free time. The company also wants people who can thrive on finding innovative solutions and can work without a lot of direction. Livio has already hired four software engineers over the last year, expanding its staff to 15 employees and two interns. Sigal started the company in 2008 as Livio Radio, making radios that could play Internet music websites like Pandora. It has evolved since then to include Livio Connect, which helps stream Internet radio, and other apps, from smart phones to an automobile's sound system. The company is currently working on a new platform called Livio Car Keys that Sigal describes as a platform serving as a marketplace for automobiles and mobile apps. Livio has continued to grow over the last year, thanks mainly to what Sigal describes as the company's ability to pivot and turn around products quickly. That sort of nimbleness is thanks to the start-up's entrepreneurial culture, which is what Sigal wants to maintain with this latest round of new hires. Source: Jake Sigal, CEO & founder of Livio Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Oak Park-based MJR Digital Cinemas is opening its next theater in Troy, creating jobs and drawing an estimated 800,000 visitors annually to the spot that will also introduce a new concept in movie-watching. The MJR Troy Grand Digital Cinema 16 will be located at the corner of Maple and Livernois roads and house 16 screens and 3,200 seats. Ground will be broken on the 74,000-square-foot facility in September, and opening day is expected by late April 2014. The $16-million project will also dedicate one of its theaters to the MJR Epic Experience, a new concept that focuses on designing a theater around extra comfort and a higher level of customer service. The 460-seat theater will have a larger screen and larger, overstuffed leather seats with more space between seats. The Epic Experience Theater will also come with the MJR Studio Bar & Lounge. “Troy has great demographics and is the perfect community in which to build a brand new and truly state of the art facility,” MJR CEO and founder Michael Mihalich says. The Troy Grand will be MJR's ninth theater in southeast Michigan. “The city of Troy is so proud to partner with MJR in transforming the Maple Road-Livernois corner into a first-class entertainment destination,” Mayor Dane Slater says. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Cindy Stewart, city of Troy; Dane Slater, Troy mayor; Michael Mihalich, CEO, MJR Theaters
Some people take video games like Madden 360 and Call Of Duty very seriously. As seriously as say, golfers, pool hustlers, and card sharks. But how do online gamers put their money where their joystick is? Royal Oak's Beyond Gaming makes that possible.
M-1 Studios has expanded into a studio in Ferndale as its business of video production, editing services and documentary filmmaking continues to grow. The four-year-old company is hiring employees and adding space to keep up with the growth, says Mike Madigan, director of business operations. The new space at 362 Hilton Road in Ferndale gives M-1 more studio and production room -- and business opportunities. Commercials, including iMercials and social media video productions, are expected to be in high demand. In-studio and on-location interviews can be done here, with the use of green screen technology. The editors, producers, screenwriters and video techs also work on animated productions, voiceovers and narrations, and filming training videos, documentaries. Other services, including DVD covers and labels and VHS to DVD transfers, are available as well. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Mike Madigan, operations manager, M-1 Studios
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