Today, the Free Press has development updates on the three studios currently underway in the Metro Detroit area: Raleigh Michigan Studios (Pontiac), Unity Studios (Allen Park), and Wonderstruck Animation Studios (Detroit).
A rendering of the proposed Raleigh Michigan Studios
The studio is not even up and running yet but it already has it’s first name change. The Motown Motion Picture Studios that is set to be operating in a former General Motor’s Pontiac plant will now be officially known as Raleigh Michigan Studios. Why the name change, my guess is an effort to capitalize on the draw of the Raleigh name which recently booked two straight years of productions for all four upcoming Marvel Studios movies (Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers) at it’s Manhattan Beach, CA studio. Some in California are calling these productions the largest to be shot in their state in decades.
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The studio had been getting some flak from Motown Records, which thought the name of the studio was too similar to the record company.
In addition, you can find out more about the largest investor in the project, the Bloomfield Hills based shopping mall developer Taubman in today’s Detroit News.
The DetNews looks in depth at the State’s Film tax incentives. But wait, the Michigan’s Film Tax Incentives are bringing young, creative people to live here – PERMANTLY!
The independent movie The Irishman is currenlty filmming at the remains of former Tigers Stadium in Detroit, which has pushed back it’s demplotion by one day. The Irsihmen will also shoot in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, Eastern Market and Corktown. On a side note, earlier this decade the HBO movie 61* was filmed in Tigers Stadium.
More then 5,000 people showed up or tuned in yesterday to hear about the new Allen Park Film Studios.
S3 Entertainment Group in Ferndale offers first ever Hollywood Film Camp.
The City of Romeo opens up a new film office.
CEO and Chairman John Rakolta Jr. of construction company Walbridge talks about their plans to build the new MoTown Movie Studios in Pontiac.
MiFilmtourage looks at the cast for the upcoming Rob Reiner move Flipped which is set to start shooting in Ann Arbor later this summer. The film is based on the best selling novel “Flipped
The Metro Time has a behind the scenes look for the casting call for the upcoming Monster Garage Detroit Edition on Deiscovery Channel later this year.
This weekend a film crew will start shooting in Genesee Township outside of Flint, Michigan for a National Park Service movie on the 1862 Civil War Battle of Corinth (fought about 20 miles from the famous Battle of Shiloh.)
WXYZ Detroit has the first look at the new MoTown Motion Picture Studio opening up later this year in a former GM Plant in Pontiac Michigan. The 7 sound stage studio is expected to bring in over 3,000 permanent and over 10,000 support positions to Southeast Michigan. They also stated in the news piece that Steven Spielberg is looking to shoot an upcoming movie at the vacancy Pontiac Silverdome.
Grand Rapids Wood TV 8 has a behind the scenes look at the upcoming 50 Cent and Chris Klein crime drama Caught In The Crossfire, which is currently shooting in Grand Rapids
Michigan Economic Development Corporation has recently passed a Renaissance Zone for the city of Pontiac that would exempt Motown Motion Pictures LLC movie production studio from property taxes. The studio will be exempt from most property taxes through 2025. The studio plans to create several thousand new jobs and will get a state tax credit of over $100 million over the next 12 years. The initial investment for the planned studio expected to be about $40 million and could go to as high as $70 million once the land is accrued by it’s former owner General Motors
Tonight in her “State of The State” address, governer Granholm will announce the development of the $54 million Motown Motion Picture Studio; a new 600,000-square-foot space at General Motors Corp.’s former Centerpoint truck plant. The studio complex will create about 3,600 direct jobs and more than 1,500 indirect job. (read more)
S3 Entertainment Group and 23rd Street Studios are vying to have the Michigan’s first studio complex. Both projects have initial budgets of $40 million and both expect to be a go-to place for film-oriented businesses to be located (read full story)
