Some quick production updates for you:
30 Minutes Or Less staring funny man Danny McBride will begin principle photography in Grand Rapids this July.
Also, executive producer Ron Bozman intends to bring the filming of This Must Be the Place; starring Academy Award winners Sean Penn and Frances McDormand, to Michigan in September.
Ex-GM building in Pontiac to house sound stage (Crain Detroit article) By Daniel Duggan Investors building a film studio in Pontiac have finalized the purchase of a former General Motors Co. facility.
Closing on the Centerpoint building beat an April 30 deadline and construction is likely to start May 15, said Michigan Motion Picture Studios L.L.C. Chairman and CEO Linden Nelson.
“Everybody is really excited, and we’re moving forward,” Nelson said.
Under a land contract signed in June, the investors were given equitable title but only paid a deposit. They were required to pay the full sale price by last September, otherwise GM would take the property back. The deadline was later extended to April 30.
Nelson declined to say how much was paid, but verified the closing happened two weeks ago. Southfield-based AlixPartners L.L.C. and the Detroit office of Jones Lang LaSalle were brokers on the deal.
The 368,000-square-foot building will be renovated and an 185,000-square-foot sound stage building will be built. Backed by Hollywood-based Raleigh Studios, investors are Walbridge CEO John Rakolta, developer Alfred Taubman and talent agent Ari Emanuel, brother of President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
The project’s final hurdle is approval by the Oakland County Economic Development Corp. on issuance of $25 million in recovery bonds. Mary Langhauser, the county’s supervisor of financial services, said the EDC board is next scheduled to meet May 18 but would hold a special meeting if needed to expedite the process.
The project’s delays stem from the fact the studio is using funding sources never put together in the past, Nelson said.
In addition to the recovery bonds, the $60 million project is funded by $5 million from investors, $3.8 million of Infrastructure Recovery for the city of Pontiac, $15 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits and $11.1 million in Michigan Film Infrastructure Tax Credits.
An educational division is expected to start training workers by the end of August, while construction on the film studio is expected to be completed by March. An estimated 3,000 jobs will be created.
Daniel Duggan
Crains Detroit
Production work is under way at the Allen Park Studio Center on a feature film starring Pierce Brosnan, city officials said. “Allen Park is proud to confirm that Salvation Boulevard has set up production offices at the Southfield Road location,” Mayor Gary Burtka said. “They have been on site for about a month and a half.” Along with Brosnan, the movie is starring Marisa Tomei, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear and others [read more]
Yes the 1980′s graphic novel was written by long time Metro Detroit native James O’barr. Yes, his comic book; and the original 1994 flick starring the late great Brandon Lee, is set in an apocalyptic Detroit. And yes, it looks as though the remake of The Crow will be shot in Detroit as well, that is if Montreal doesn’t steal it from us.
The Hollywood A-list keep lining-up to shoot movies in southeast Michigan this year.
First off, we have the upcoming vampire, comedy flick Vamps by director Amy Heckerling (Clueless, Look Who’s Talking, Fast Times at Ridgemont High). The film stars Krysten Ritter, Alicia Silverstone and Sigourney Weaver as the Vampire Queen. This will be the second Michigan film outing for Weaver, as she shot her Emmy award nominated role in Prayers for Bobby in Royal Oak and Birmingham, Michigan in the summer of 2008.
Also brewing, is the upcoming aerial action film Northern Lights, which is rumored to star Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song). The production has already reported to have opened an office in Ann Arbor and will be directed by John Moore (Max Payne). Liam’s older borther Chris Hemsworth (Thor) shot the remake of Red Dawn in Detroit last year.
So it looks as though Harold & Kumar 3 (a.k.a. “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas”) will be shooting in Michigan this summer (take a sneak peak at the script here). Not only is it posted as anticipated productions on the Michigan Film Office website, but directer Todd Strauss Schulson tweeted in April 11th that he is currenlty scouting locations in Detroit. The movie is also rumored to be shooting in 3D with a 2011 holiday release date.
Also on the MFO list of anticipated projects, are the second session of the HBO hit comedy Hung and Salvation Boulevard starring the ensamble cast of Jennifer Connelly, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei, Ed Harris and funny man Jim Gaffigan. (Harris and Connely shot What’s Wrong with Virginia in near Holland Michigan this past fall).
With what’s shaping up to be the biggest Michigan movie production year thus far (Real Steal, Scream 4, State of The Union, Hit Somebody), it’s clear there will be no shortage of movie star sightings in Southeastern Michigan this summer.
