Grand Rapids' Mustard Plug hits the silver screen

By John Sinkevics | The Grand Rapids Press | August 29, 2008

The Great Lakes State's kings of ska go Hollywood today.

Yup, Mustard Plug's tune, "Beer (Song)," is featured in the movie, "College," which hits movie theaters across the country starting today.

http://blog.mlive.com/soundcheck/2008/08/grand_rapids_mustard_plug_hits.html

Calif. entertainment co. plans studios in Mich.

Associated Press - August 26, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A Michigan-born filmmaker's entertainment company has announced a three-phase plan to create motion picture soundstages and production facilities in three locations around the state.

The first phase is to be Great Lakes Studios, a soundstage with support services to be built somewhere in southwestern Michigan, said David O'Malley, a partner in Los Angeles-based V-One Entertainment Group.

O'Malley, a Battle Creek native, said Great Lakes Studios will fill 30,000 square feet with a soundstage, offices, editing suites and conference rooms. He hopes the facility will be operational by November, although he said events were "still unfolding."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-greatlakesstudios,0,2733279.story

Hollywood films lensed in Michigan

By DAVID LEWIS - Variety Magazine - August 25, 2008

ROGER AND ME
(1989)

Michael Moore's landmark debut documentary features the aggressive filmmaker detailing the economic decline of his hometown of Flint, Mich., and its leading employer General Motors. Moore and his small crew explore much of the area -- from run-down neighborhoods where families are cruelly evicted on Christmas Day to nearby Detroit suburb Bloomfield Hills, where many auto execs own mansions. Moore later shot much of his Oscar-winning "Bowling for Columbine" in Michigan cities like Auburn Hills, Decker, Fenton, Flint and Troy.

GROSSE POINTE BLANK

(1997)

The titular Detroit suburb (also inspiring the short-lived Darren Starr TV series "Grosse Pointe") provided the setting for the 1997 John Cusack starrer about a hitman attending his 10-year high school reunion. Grosse Pointe's Lakeshore Drive and its opulent mansions can be seen in the film, which was otherwise primarily lensed in L.A.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117991114.html?categoryid=3223&cs=1

Michigan native whips up new studio

By JUSTIN KROLL - Variety Magazine - August 25, 2008

For most people, a trip back home is fun and relaxing, even nostalgic, but for Hopwood Depree, it was a life- and career-changing moment.

"It was about two years ago when I took this weekend trip back home to Michigan and made the decision to come back home," Depree says. "All of the foreclosure signs across the street and friends that had lost their jobs made me want to think of a way to help them out."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117991119.html?categoryId=3223&cs=1

Lights, Camera More Action Coming to MI

WWJ (950) - August 26, 2008

Michigan-born filmmaker's entertainment company has announced a three-phase plan to create motion picture sound stages and production facilities in three locations around the state.

The first phase is to be Great Lakes Studios, a soundstage with support services to be built somewhere in southwestern Michigan, said David O'Malley, a partner in Los Angeles-based V-One Entertainment Group.

O'Malley, a Battle Creek native, said Great Lakes Studios will fill 30,000 square feet with a soundstage, offices, editing suites and conference rooms. He hopes the facility will be operational by November, although he said events were ``still unfolding.''

http://www.wwj.com/pages/2855640.php

Warner Bros. reports are unfounded

By Leslie Shepard-Owsley - Spinal Column Newsweekly

August 27, 2008 - The media frenzy reporting that Warner Bros. studios toured the now shuttered Ford Wixom Plant last week for a second look as a potential site may be nothing more than rumor, according to sources from Ford, the city and the Michigan Film Office.

Though the filmmaker giant had formerly shown some interest in the vacated premises four months ago, city officials have not heard a word since, according to City Manager Mike Dornan. While it is altogether possible that Warner Bros. independently drove by the facility without informing city officials or the Michigan Film Office, no one from either office could confirm such reports.

http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/Articles-i-2008-08-27-55925.113117_Warner_Bros_reports_are_unfounded.html

More plans for West Michigan movie studios

By John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press | August 26, 2008

In the wake of my story about the impending construction of movie soundstages in Michigan, Rick Hert, executive director of the West Michigan Film Office, just tipped me off that another California-based company, 10 West Studios, is planning to build a production facility in West Michigan.

According to 10 West Studios' Web site, it's going to offer a variety of services on 1,500 acres of land, and Hert said the studio will be located in a boathouse in Manistee.

http://www.mlive.com/grpress/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/08/addendum_more_plans_for_west_m.html

State revels in plans for movie soundstages

by John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press | Wednesday August 27, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS -- With the introduction of significant financial incentives, the construction of movie soundstages in Michigan seemed inevitable.

The first in West Michigan will be Great Lakes Studios, in the southwestern part of the state. It will be followed by studios in Ann Arbor and the Grand Rapids/Grand Haven area, according to David O'Malley, a partner in California-based company V-One Entertainment, which is spearheading the studios' development.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2494590764743043579

Documentary film festival seeks to inspire

Crain's Detroit - August 25, 2008

The upcoming Detroit Docs International Film Festival is meant to do more than showcase more than 65 local and international films.

It may serve as an inspiration for the next great documentary filmmaker.

At least that's one of the goals for Bob Anderson, executive director of Detroit Film Center, which hosts the Oct. 29-Nov. 2 event.

http://crainsdetroit.com/article/20080825/SUB/808250336/1033

From Pewabic to Pronto!, Michigan seeing film celebs everywhere

BY JULIE HINDS • FREE PRESS POP CULTURE WRITER • August 26, 2008

Where did Drew Barrymore play the drums? Where did Sigourney Weaver eat? Where did Marcia Gay Harden shop? You don't have to flip through a supermarket tabloid to track the whereabouts of the stars. Just keep your eyes open in metro Detroit.

Celebrity sightings have heated up this summer as several movie and TV projects have come to Michigan to take advantage of the new film incentives -- and more productions are on the way.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080826/ENT03/808260309/1035/ENT

Michigan film crews ready for rush

By JUSTIN KROLL - Variety Magazine - August 25, 2008

When Michigan, the state responsible for making the majority of cars on U.S. roads, can't find jobs for its autoworkers, you know film industry folk are having a tough time finding employment there as well.

That was certainly the case for Tim Magee, the business agent for IATSE Local 38, Detroit's Stage Employee Union (Michigan utilizes a union policy for film crews instead of a "right-to-work" one), who says times had been slow for the pic biz in Michigan as recently as this past winter.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117991117.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Entertainment company announces plans to build soundstages for movie production statewide

By John Serba | The Grand Rapids Press | Monday August 25, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS -- With the introduction of significant financial incentives, the construction of soundstages in Michigan seemed inevitable.

The first in West Michigan will be Great Lakes Studios, located in the southwestern part of the state. It will be followed by studios in Ann Arbor and the Grand Rapids/Grand Haven area, according to David O'Malley, a partner in California-based company V-One Entertainment, which is spearheading the studios' development.

http://www.mlive.com/grpress/news/index.ssf/2008/08/entertainment_company_announce.html

Looks like Holly won't have Jack Black

By Carol Azizian | The Flint Journal | Monday August 25, 2008

HOLLY, Michigan -- Is Jack Black coming to Holly?

The word from the blogosphere is that Black has backed off from his involvement in the film, "Ye Olde Times," which reportedly will be shot in Holly.

"I was doing that as a favor for a friend 'o mine," Black told Orlando Sentinel movie critic Roger Moore, according to an online posting earlier this month. "Now he's not involved. I won't be either."

The film centers on two rival Medieval shows vying for supremacy in the world of Renaissance fairs.

http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/08/looks_like_holly_wont_have_jac.html

Hollywood Has a Lot to Offer to The Motor City, experts say

By Garrett Godwin - AmericanJR.com - August 22, 2008

Hollywood came to the Motor City yesterday with the Model D Speaker Series on Film at the College of Creative Studies, which is right across from Wayne State University.

Speakers include Tony Wenson of the Michigan Film Office (www.michigan.gov/filmoffice) and Erik Tungate of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (www.degc.org), a private non-profit corporation dedicated to give aid in economic and community growth; their services include attracting new businesses, and help find available development sites as well as finding settings for film projects to shoot in Michigan.

http://americajr.com/news/hollywoodinmotorcity0822.html

Michigan the Hollywood of the Midwest?

By Sue White | The Saginaw News | Saturday August 23, 2008

Is it the weather? No, filmmakers are coming to Michigan to get a big tax break with hopes of starting a Hollywood Midwest.

Prozak didn't film his $125,000 music video last spring at Saginaw's Temple Theatre and former Moose Lodge because Michigan offered him a 42 percent tax incentive.

"It was before they started giving money back," said the horror-core rapper from Saginaw. He is playing to sold-out audiences around the country, including The Fillmore in Detroit at 6 p.m. today, as his new album, "Tales from the Sick," climbs the Billboard charts.

http://www.mlive.com/saginawnews/living/index.ssf/2008/08/michigan_the_hollywood_of_the.html

Moviemakers help local businesses

By Randy ConatBIRCH RUN TOWNSHIP (WJRT) -- (08/19/08)

While it's fun having a Hollywood movie production crew in Mid-Michigan, there's another side to the story.

The local economy is getting a boost from all the spending they're doing.
It's not every day you get to see Drew Barrymore in Saginaw County. It's cool to see movie cameras for the film "Whip It." And they've transformed the former Ken's Diner on Gera Road into a movie set.

Even better, though, local people have been hired and Birch Run-area stores are seeing an uptick in business.

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=6337092

In on the action: Film incentives spur Burton's Erick Donaldson to pursue movie biz

By Carol Azizian | The Flint Journal | Thursday August 21, 2008

MADISON HEIGHTS, Michigan -- With mounted animal heads, chains, shackles and a torture chamber, the Detroit-area movie set of "The Man Who Collected Food" is definitely creepy.

So is the subject of this dark comedy/horror flick about a guy who refuses to open vintage food packages that he collects and then resorts to cannibalism for sustenance.

None of that matters to Erick Donaldson, a 31-year-old Burton resident who's been a prop master on the set -- created in a large, unused warehouse in Madison Heights.

http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/08/in_on_the_action_film_incentiv.html

Greentrees Films Producer Jack Binder Announces Gaea: Beyond the Son™ Sci-Fi Epic Motion Picture

August 21, 2008

Feature Film Producer Jack Binder (Reign Over Me, The Upside of Anger) today confirmed his deal to Produce the science fiction adventure film, Gaea: Beyond the Son via his Greentrees Films banner. The motion picture focuses on a father separated from his son through war, over thirty years and across two solar systems. "The Gaea Universe is a richly textured world of human relationships, futuristic space travel and exploration. The story's strength lies in its endearing characters and wonderful settings," said Binder.

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2008/8/prweb1235254.htm

Jack Black to shoot ye olde film in Holly

Tom Long / Detroit News Film Critic - August 21, 2008

Jack Black may be joining Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page and Clint Eastwood in Hollywood's slow migration to Michigan.

Black, starring in "Tropic Thunder," is scheduled to shoot "Ye Olde Times," a comedy about dueling Renaissance fair theater groups, in the near future, according to the Internet Movie Database. According to the Web site, shooting will be in Holly and the film is scheduled for release in 2009.

"Ye Olde Times" is on a list of 17 films the Michigan Film Office has listed under the heading "Anticipated" on its Web site.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080821/ENT02/808210373

Jack Black to shoot ye olde film in Holly

Tom Long / Detroit News Film Critic - August 21, 2008

Jack Black may be joining Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page and Clint Eastwood in Hollywood's slow migration to Michigan.

Black, starring in "Tropic Thunder," is scheduled to shoot "Ye Olde Times," a comedy about dueling Renaissance fair theater groups, in the near future, according to the Internet Movie Database. According to the Web site, shooting will be in Holly and the film is scheduled for release in 2009.

"Ye Olde Times" is on a list of 17 films the Michigan Film Office has listed under the heading "Anticipated" on its Web site.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080821/ENT02/808210373

Birch Run's own pig gig

By SUE WHITE - THE SAGINAW NEWS - Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Hollywood came calling, but Kevin D. Klinert wasn't giving the answer it wanted.

''I'll bet the producer called me 28 times, trying to buy my dune buggy for his film,'' said the Birch Run Township man whose house sits across Gera from the set of the Drew Barrymore-directed project, ''Whip It!''

''It belongs to my daughter here, Sarah, and she'd have a fit if I let it go.''

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news-27/121915563939420.xml&coll=9

Barrymore's 'Whip It!' Begins Production

WNEM CBS5 - August 18, 2008

SAGINAW COUNTY, Mich. -- A new comedy film about female roller derby is skating its way to Birch Run Township Monday.

Crew members from the Drew Barrymore-directed movie “Whip It!” have began production at the former Ken’s Diner on M-83 just north of Birch Run Road.

The movie, which stars Barrymore, Ellen Page of "Juno" and Juliette Lewis, began filming in Texas and Southeast Michigan in late July. Page will play an ex-beauty pageant contestant in a small Texas town who sneaks off to skate in the Austin roller derby league.

http://www.wnem.com/news/17219163/detail.html

Movie scene shot in Birch Run Township

NBC 25 - By Tia Ewing - Monday, August 18, 2008

Hollywood is in Mid-Michigan, and drawing quite a crowd. People lined the streets in Birch Run Township to get a look at the action at the "Oink Joint." It used to be Kens Diner, but it got a movie makeover.

Scenes for a new film called "Whip It!" will be filmed at the "Oink Joint." There was a lot of hustle and bustle there today, but we didn't see any stars.

http://www.weyi.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=176478

Drew Barrymore meets Mid-Michigan fans

NBC25 - Tuesday, August 19, 2008

We told you that a movie was being shot in Birch Run Township. It’s a film called “Whip It!” that was using what used to be Kens Diner as a location that had been remade into the “Oink Joint”.

Local residents spent the day at the location watching the action and looking for stars. Their wait paid off. Rob Major of Vassar was one of those lucky spectators. He sent NBC25 an email telling us about getting to meet the film’s director Drew Barrymore.

http://www.weyi.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=177133

Movie execs tour Wixom plant for possible studio

By ALEX P. KELLOGG • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • August 19, 2008

Warner Brothers' executives visited Ford’s idle assembly plant in Wixom on Monday, state and studio officials confirmed today.

Warner Brothers spokesman Scott Rowe said the Burbank, Calif., company was in the “exploratory stage at this point,” adding that “as a matter of practice, we are consistently scouting out places all over the world.”


Warner Brothers may be looking to build a new studio, with the Wixom Ford plant being one option, Rowe confirmed.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080819/NEWS03/80819053

Marriott Hotels Offer Michigan Film Resource

19 August 2008 – Detroit, Michigan – The recently introduced Michigan film tax credit is one of the most advantageous tax incentives available for film production companies. Sweetening the deal, Marriott hotels have launched a new site — 4FilmMI.com — outlining special offers, providing tax incentive information, and introducing film companies to the wide variety of Michigan Marriott hotels.


Introduced in April 2008, the Michigan film tax credits offer 40% cash rebates, with an additional 2% added for filming in one of the 103 core communities. On the heels of this excellent film tax incentive, Marriott hotels created 4FilmMI.com to serve as a resource and highlight special offers for Michigan film production, including discounted room and suite rates, production office space, and food & beverage discounts.

http://www.newsbureau.ca/Content.aspx?item=1949

Michigan lures production

By Bashirah Muttalib - Variety Magazine - Aug. 18, 2008

The largest production rebate in the U.S. is helping Michigan could result in nearly $300 million in revenue from film shoots this year. New studios are also in the works for the state, which is seeing a production boom in the wake of the rebate.

"There are quite a few films scheduled to shoot," said Michigan Film Office director Janet Lockwood. "Right now we have three in production, three in prep, five finished although not yet gone, a dozen or more incoming."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990750.html?categoryid=8&cs=1

Deal to film Samuel L. Jackson movie at Grand Rapids school is off

By Dave Murray | The Grand Rapids Press | Monday August 18, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS -- Samuel L. Jackson won't be roaming the halls of Iroquois Middle School after all.

A leader in the Michigan Film Office said today that producers of Jackson's movie "Unthinkable" backed away from plans to shoot in Michigan because they were unable to quickly undertake the state's application process for grants.

http://www.mlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2008/08/deal_to_film_samuel_l_jackson.html

No Biz Like Show Biz: Making Movies Stick in Detroit

By: Kelli B. Kavanaugh - Model D - August 19, 2008

How do we get the film industry to not just take notice of Detroit, but to put down roots here?

Erik Tungate, 32, is working on that very issue.

Tungate lives in Brush Park and is an energetic and articulate advocate for the city. The former director of economic and community development for the city of Hamtramck now works for the Detroit Economic Development Corp. and is tasked with any and all film business that comes the agency's way.

http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/tungate15608.aspx

Film crews filling area hotel scene

By Chad Halcom - Crain's Detroit - Aug. 18, 2008

Michigan's four-month-old film-incentive law has generated at least 21,800 room-nights worth $2.4 million booked at local hotels — with most of the Tinseltown treasure landing in Detroit, Dearborn and Oakland County.

Another $850,000 may be collected through dining, room service and other expenses payable to the hotels, before the conventional filming season ends in early November.

It's a total $3.25 million economic windfall, according to 10 local hotels identified as receiving referrals from the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau or the Michigan Film Office.

http://crainsdetroit.com/article/20080818/SUB/808180326/1069

Ferndale movie company scouts Dream Cruise for upcoming films

By Elizabeth A. Katz - Daily Tribune Staff Writer - August 18, 2008

FERNDALE - When it comes to supplying cars for films, what better place is there than the Motor City? And what better weekend is there to find classic cars than on Woodward Dream Cruise weekend?

Jeff Spilman, managing partner and co-founder of S3 Entertainment Group in Ferndale, was on the prowl during the Dream Cruise, searching for mature chrome and metal beauties that could be used in upcoming Hollywood films being shot in Michigan.
"Our goal it to sign up about 500 to 1,000 people," said Spilman Friday, as he began his search for photogenic vintage wheels.

http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/081808/loc_localn04.shtml

Hollywood and the Detroit Film Boom

By: Metromode Staff, 8/14/2008

What does Hollywood have to offer the Motor City? And how does this new found interest in filming in Michigan support our local film industry?

Model D's Speaker Series will take a look at the burgeoning film industry in Detroit at 5 p.m. Aug. 21 at the College for Creative Studies.

Sign up for the free event here. Seating is limited, so you must register to attend.

Speakers will be:

Erik Tungate, business development manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. Erik works to leverage existing incentives and the city's assets to attract the film industry to Detroit;

Tony Wenson of the Michigan Film Office, which is working to lure movie makers to the Mitten state.

Networking and registration start at 5 p.m., and the hour-long program starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by more networking time.

The event will be in the Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Auditorium in the Walter B. Ford II Building at the College for Creative Studies, 201 E. Kirby St. in Midtown.

Free parking is available in the CCS parking structure, which is accessible from Brush Street.

Need a primer on Michigan's incentive package? Learn how your community can take advantage of the Hollywood productions slated to visit the Mitten State, by reading Metromode's article: Going Hollywood: How To Make Your Community Film Friendly

Slashed film incentives send production crew to Michigan

By Michael Hinman - Tampa Bay Business Journal - August 11, 2008

TAMPA — The minute Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi axed film production incentives from Italy’s federal budget, producers there revolted, threatening to boycott film festivals and leave the country for good.

When the Florida Legislature reduced film incentives from $25 million to just $5 million last May, it was like a tree falling in the forest with no one around to hear it.

Film producers in Italy got their way. Berlusconi quickly put the film incentives back into the budget.

Florida, however, is now feeling the burn.

Tampa Bay has lost a higher-profile movie project ready to roll in the area, and there’s even talk a popular USA network series filmed in Miami called “Burn Notice” could be next.

Michigan or bust
“We had booked about 90 percent of our locations and just about had everything ready to go when it happened,” said Jason Weinstein, development director for a psychological horror film being produced by New Castle Entertainment that had planned to use various locations in Tampa’s Hyde Park and a vacant high school in Sarasota to create Ohio-like street settings.

Called “Intent,” the film already had attracted actors like Betty White from “Golden Girls,” Steve Schirripa from “The Sopranos,” and Eric Roberts, who most recently played gangster Salvatore Maroni in the blockbuster hit “The Dark Knight.” But when the Legislature reduced incentives, the chances of “Intent” receiving a $1 million budget incentive washed out.

Weinstein and crew were forced to pack up and move production to Michigan where more than $20 million in tax credits are available for infrastructure investments alone.
It’s a story that will likely play out again soon as Florida seeks to compete with other states that have increased already sizeable film incentive pots, enjoying the estimated return of between $6 and $7 for every dollar invested.

“Now is not the time for us to bow out,” said Lindsey Norris, film commission manager at Tampa Bay & Company. “This one hits close to home. Tampa has been on the cusp of some really big productions in the past couple of years, and we’ve been ever so close. But for one reason after another, we seem to be missing the boat.”
Keeping the money close

Gov. Charlie Crist had sought an increase of Florida’s film incentives to $40 million this year, but a $2 billion budget shortfall meant some line items not considered essential would be cut. Even with the incentive, Tampa had an uphill battle attracting film projects away from other popular locations like Miami and Jacksonville, but now local officials are working hard to keep some 500 film-related jobs in Tampa alone from moving where the work is.

It’s been hard for Bob “Smitty” Smith.

The owner of Smitty’s Craft Service, Smith provides food and drinks for actors and crews of film projects all over the country including 2005’s “The Dukes of Hazzard,” local film “Cocoon” and Tampa’s most recent major production, “The Punisher” in 2004. While he’d like to stay as close to his Odessa home as possible, it’s hard when very little filming takes place in his backyard.

“I was only here for three weeks last year, and that was a vacation,” Smith said. “I understand it’s all about money, but I would rather my friends around here be making money that they can spend close to home rather than having it sent some other place.”
Not much can be done about 2008, but Norris said there’s still hope for 2009. Next week, members of the statewide lobbying group Film Florida will gather in Sarasota to hash out strategies for increasing incentives in the next budget cycle in the spring.

“There are people who live and work here who depend on this industry,” Norris said. “We want those people to stay here. If they go somewhere else, we may never see another production here again.”

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/08/11/story7.html

Reality TV show set to film in Grand Rapids fire station

By Ken Kolker | The Grand Rapids Press | August 11, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS -- At the LaGrave Avenue fire station, firefighters don't sit around playing cards and checkers.

That would make for a boring reality TV show.

A Beverly Hills production company has announced it will film some of the pilot for "Station House" at the downtown station, following the lives of some of Grand Rapids' finest.

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/08/reality_tv_show_set_to_film_in.html

Hollywood dreams and 'Whip It!'

by Tricia Woolfenden | The Grand Rapids Press | August 10, 2008

Nothing smashes the notion of a "glamorous Hollywood career" quite like spending a day as an extra on the set of a major motion picture.

What appears to be a fairly simple job -- "Hey, I'd like to stand around and say a few lines and get a couple million dollars" -- involves a lot of hard work, tedium and sweat.

http://blog.mlive.com/newblack/2008/08/hollywood_dreams_and_whip_it.html

Editorial: Next step: Making great movies

Traverse City Record Eagle - August 03, 2008

In just over four years the Traverse City Film Festival has matured into a financial and cultural juggernaut.

Over six days this year the festival sold about 24,000 tickets for more than 70 films from all over the world. Five film industry discussion panels and other appearances drew 23 directors and a number of actors and other players. Madonna brought a little international glitz. Restaurants and retail shops say they've been swamped, and some have extended store hours to cash in on the crowds.

http://www.record-eagle.com/opinion/local_story_216095603.html

Movie star in town? It's not 'Unthinkable'

By dave Murray - The Grand Rapids Press - Tuesday, August 05, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS -- He's battled snakes on planes and wielded a light saber as a Jedi knight, but will Samuel L. Jackson take a stroll through a Grand Rapids museum or dine in a downtown restaurant?

Maybe the Oscar-nominated star won't, but city leaders are betting the sizable film crew joining Jackson will be spending money around town when they start shooting a movie at Iroquois Middle School later this month.

Movie-making might become big business for West Michigan as production companies start taking advantage of new incentives one local official called "the strongest in the world."

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-43/1217942144214960.xml&coll=6

Grand Rapids "definite maybe" for Samuel L. Jackson film

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WZZM) - A California filmmaker says Grand Rapids is a "definite maybe" as the site of a new feature film starring Samuel L. Jackson.

The Chubb Studio is interested in the vacant Iroquois Middle School as the location for the spy thriller "Unthinkable".

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_story.aspx?storyid=96499&catid=14

Making the music for Drew's flick

Detroit Free Press - August 4, 2008

More made-in-Michigan movie news! Jim Diamond of Detroit's Ghetto Recorders studios reports he spent the past weekend recording some songs for the Drew Barrymore-directed roller derby movie, "Whip It" being made in the area. Nashville artist Landon Pigg (he also is in the movie) and the band the Turbo Fruits are doing the music.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080804/ENT07/808040309

Bloomfield Hills eighth-grader to star in Clint Eastwood movie

BY KIMBERLY LIFTON • FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER • August 4, 2008

When Michigan lawmakers approved big incentives for moviemakers to film in the state, the big benefit was supposed to be economic.

For Michael Kurowski, 14, fresh from eighth grade at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic school in Bloomfield Hills, it was a chance to just be very cool.

How cool?

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080804/ENT01/808040315/1036/ENT