For years The Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township was an art house that catered to an older film-going audience. Jon Goldstein thought it could be more, so he bought it. $1.5 million later the Maple boasts a topnotch coffee house, full service bar, and, of course, movies.
Transformners 3! Alex Cross! Detroit 1-8-7! The Giant Mechanical Man! The Michigan Film Office has put together a movie tour map of Detroit-area film locations. Get yours at the Convention and Visitor's Center. Read all about it here.
The owners of Royal Oak's Burn Rubber aren't only getting their own Internet program, it's being supported by the Michigan Film Incentive and produced by Detroit native son, Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem). Excerpt: "Detroit Rubber will follow Rick Williams and Roland “Ro” Coit, owners of the Royal Oak sneaker shop Burn Rubber. In addition to opening a new boutique, called two/eighteen, the show will highlight these Michigan entrepreneurs as they balance family, a growing business and day to day struggles. The show will be released on the premium YouTube channel Loud." Read the rest here.
For 84 years the Redford Theatre has been a silver screen gem, boasting old world charm, a dedicated base of volunteers, and one of the few remaining Barton organs in the country. Nicole Rupersburg gives you the nickel tour and explains how the movie house is looking for the next generation of supporters.
Moonlink Studios, a provider of production and satellite services in Michigan, has opened two new stages in metro Detroit where live shoots can be done and productions can be recorded. The expansion of the company, which also rents recording and production equipment and staff, opens doors for metro Detroiters who have been learning production and film industry skills - even as cuts to the state's tax incentives have led to uncertainty in the industry. One of Moonlink's new stages is in Southfield and was the site of ESPN's sports analyst Jalen Rose's basketball analysis during the London Olympics. The other stage is in Ann Arbor is located at Domino's Farm office Park and has been used by CNN International and CNBC networks already. The two new stages bring the company's total number of stages to five. The other three, in Warren, Troy and Detroit, can all be used for live shots or recorded productions. Moonlink, based in Oak Park, was formed when RingSide Creative Integrated Media Studio and Jeff Moon Production Services Inc. went into partnership last year. Read the metromode story here. Through the partnership the companies became the largest single source provider of start-to-finish production and satellite services in Michigan. Moonlink rents stages, crew and equipment, including cameras and satellite trucks that cover the Midwest and Eastern half of the country. Source: Amy Weishuhn, spokesperson, Ringside Creative and Moonlink Studios Writer: Kim North Shine
Governor Snyder's opposition and capping of the Mitten's film incentive program all but gutted what was once a growing --albeit expensive-- industry. Still, there are glimmers of hope. The legislature doubleed the capped amount and smaller productions are still popping up. The Freep covers a recently shot indie starring Benicio Del Toro. Excerpt: "Although shooting in metro Detroit under the Michigan film incentives has slowed to a trickle, the set was an upbeat place for the local contingent of roughly 20 actors and 75 crew members -- high numbers for an indie that has about the same number of out-of-state actors and about 40 out-of-state crew members. "Picard" gave the local film community a chance to work on something meaningful -- and, just as critically, to work at all during a year when reduced incentives have led to fewer job opportunities. The movie was approved for just under $2 million in incentives on an estimated $6.9 million of spending in the state." Read the rest here.
This just cool. Really cool. Watch it here. The Free Press explains... "A Birmingham design studio called Pluto released a 45-second video on YouTube that will knock your socks off. Pluto (hellopluto.com) is a media company that creates CGI content for television commercials, websites and other applications. They’ve been in Birmingham for 15 years."
The Michigan film tax incentive may be struggling on life support but it's not dead. And new production with local flavor has been approved and will be shooting this summer locally. Excerpt: "Beside Still Waters was awarded an incentive of $79,324 on $276,281 of projected in-state expenditures. This is the first approval made utilizing the $25 million allocation for Fiscal Year 2012. The project is expected to hire 34 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of 1.5 jobs. In the film, a young romantic named Daniel Thatcher invites a group of estranged high school friends to his summer home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. They enjoy one last weekend in the home where they spent their childhood summers, rekindling old friendships and creating new memories." Read the rest of the story here.
The Michigan film incentive may be on life support but some Dearborn teens are determined to keep the cameras rolling. Excerpt: "Prom-iscuous," the 13th annual Dearborn High School feature film about a senior prom, is so well-written, produced, directed and acted the ban on lewd dancing is the only indication this is a film put on by adolescents. Kelley Thierry, 17, wrote "Prom-iscuous" and Taylor Stanislawski, 17, directed the film, which premieres May 23 and 24 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. The "mock-umentary" involves MTV following six kids as they prepare for the prom. All of the students are enrolled in the class Advanced Movie Making, taught by Kurt Doelle, whose credits include the 2011 Arts Educator Award from the Dearborn Community Arts Council and the district's Teacher of the Year award a few years back. But please don't ask him about it because he simply doesn't do the ego thing. At all. Read the rest of the story here.
Bagpipe. Kilts. Haggis. Groundskeeper Willy. Most Americans have a limited knowledge of Scottish culture. Troy's St. Andrew's Society of Detroit aims to change that. And they've hired a Ferndale film studio to help them. Excerpt: "Though M-1 Studios has developed a strong background in industrial and commercial work since opening in 2008, it's not the production company's first time working with a cultural association. M-1 also produced a series of videos for Heritage Works, a Detroit organization that promotes youth and community development with cultural programming focusing on the arts of Africa and the Diaspora." Read the rest of the story here.
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