Made in Michigan: The Movie

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William Parker High School in Howell, built three years ago at a cost of $72 million, sits largely vacant, a victim of an economic recession, poor government planning, and declining population levels. Open for just one year, students were transferred to Howell High School in 2008. Local residents were not pleased.

In the same year, the Michigan Legislature passed a series of bills allowing for up to 42 percent in tax credits for films made in Michigan. Once signed into law, the initiative was an immediate hit, drawing mostly small- and medium-budget independent films, with the occasional blockbuster thrown in. Television shows were eligible for these credits, as well.

Enter S3 Entertainment Group in Ferndale, which was hired by an investment team in the spring of 2009 to produce a 26-episode television series to be called The Wannabe’s. After weeks of scouting high school locations and large warehouses throughout the Detroit region, S3 Entertainment learned that Parker High School in Howell was available. Shooting started in August.

With a cast and crew of 120 people, and a budget of $11 million, S3 Entertainment and its partners set the scene. Scheduled to air this fall, the show is about a handful of young, talented entertainers who are sent by their parents to a boarding school in metro Detroit. The students believe the school will help hone their talents in preparation for successful careers as hip-hop and pop artists.
Arriving on campus, the students soon learn the school specializes in classical music training. Enter rebellion and angst. After acting up, the students are disciplined. The punishment: Work after school in a malt shop.

Enter fate. Encouraged by the malt shop owner, Mr. Moody, the prodigies wear disguises and entertain customers with live performances. “The plot is very family-friendly, sort of a cross between Hannah Montana and Saved By The Bell,” says Ron Lacy, executive producer and CFO of Savvy Productions in Ferndale, the company set up to produce the series. The name of the business references the show’s six main characters, an actual musical act from Texas called Savvy that has toured with Disney productions. To get the most out of the film set, Savvy is recording a series of videos there to help support its tour business.

Lacy, former CFO for a management-consulting firm, joins dozens of people on the set who have either switched careers or transitioned due to Michigan’s fluid economy. “If people want to know that business and government can work together to start new industries and provide employment, they need look no further than the film and television industry,” says Jeffrey Spilman, managing partner of S3 Entertainment. “Just look at the direct and indirect spending that’s come forward since the legislation has passed.”

To be sure, in addition to employing a cast and crew, the producers hired construction workers to convert the school’s large gymnasium into Mr. Moody’s Sweet Shop, while a black box theater was rigged for lighting and sound to accommodate smaller scenes. Empty classrooms were transformed into an avenue of departments — wardrobe, makeup, engineering, props — while the school’s media center was stocked with computers, books, and furniture. Just outside the media center, glass display cases house rented medals and trophies.

Local apartments were rented for the cast and their family members, with other relatives and friends lodging nearby. In turn, there are more direct benefits for old-economy-converts-turned-entrepreneurs like Dave Hawk, a former manufacturer’s rep who opened a restaurant near the school — benefits that aren’t credited in his original business plan.

“It all started when some members of the crew came into the restaurant,” says Hawk, owner of TJ’s River BBQ, a 110-seat eatery along Grand River. “It just evolved from there. The next thing I know, I’m catering the food for The Wannabe’s. Then the producers invite us as part of a cast visit to Lansing, and now I’m catering different events up there. We got some other film work, too. It’s been a great sideline to my restaurant business.”

Naturally, Hawk hopes the show is picked up for a second season. The principals of Savvy Productions are confident the series has legs. The show will be seen first in Australia, followed by Germany, and around 10 other European markets. If it proves successful, The Wannabe’s will air in the lucrative British and American markets.

“That’s the pattern,” Lacy says. “If it airs in the U.S., you could see it on the ABC Family Network, Discovery Kids, or Nickelodeon. And it all started in Michigan. Without those tax credits, the state would still be attracting one or two film projects a year.”

 

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