How do we help Michigan’s movie industry thrive? Make a great movie.
Michigan Movie Makers brings together a diverse community of creative and practical people. One person can make a movie, but complex projects need a crew of technicians, artists and organizers. We can help each other enjoy wild success.
Once we find each other, we can foster collaboration across disciplines and experience, share and learn from our successes and mistakes, cultivate inspiration, grow our capabilities, get fairly compensated and generate a steady stream of completed projects across a wide spectrum of genres.
After the film incentives triggered many of us to migrate or return to Michigan for a few boon years, legislative wobble squandered momentum for our developing industry and caused the loss of projects, people and resources. Michigan mostly doesn’t have a sustainable film industry yet. To build one, legislative cooperation and public outreach are probably worthwhile, but the most effective industry building strategy for artists is to gather our allies and go for it.
The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T, 1953. Directed by Roy Rowland
I am a teacher in a public school, and I see opportunities each day in my classroom for a clip for a movie. Some situations are inspirational and some reveal the life-style and homelife issues that students face each day. I think someone from the movie industry needs to visit local schools and observe some classroom and lunchrooms to get some good “clips” for a movie about life in today’s schools. It can be called “School Daze” or “Teachable Moments.” I just held a group session with a black assistant principal in a 90% white school. He expressed some stories in his own life and the student laughed “with him” and yet they got something out of his presentation. This would be a great movie scene. The kids were laughing about race issues and no no seemed offended. It is a good example of how people from two or more races can get along while also talking about race issues. The bottom line is there are great things (and bad things) that happen in public schools that can be part of a movie. Have two schools in the movie and both of different cultural make ups. Two teachers know one another and share their teaching experiences with one another. The comparisions might be interesting. Also, have teachers submit unique stories in writing to re-create in a movie. I have some great ones!!! The movie industry doesn’t know what happens in classrooms everyday. Teachers do!