There were some distinctly Hollywood moments when Grand Rapids’ first major film production of the modern era landed in the city for a month-long shoot.
Although you couldn’t ask the star of "The Steam Experiment," Val Kilmer, for an autograph, you could have potentially shopped for eggs at the neighborhood Meijer store with actor Eric Roberts, made him breakfast in your apartment and helped read lines for his role in the film. The movie’s director, Philippe Martinez, was quick to offer a cigar, while actor Armand Assante wanted some specific listening music. His locally chosen personal assistant, Rebekah Fuller from the Compass Film Academy, found his tunes at Best Buy.
There was celebrity laundry to be picked up and washed, a daily sushi delivery from a downtown restaurant and embroidered T-shirts and caps to be designed and delivered on a moment’s notice.
And if that wasn’t enough, there was even some silver screen suspense: When it appeared as though Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would land for a town meeting a week earlier than expected, during what would have been the production’s heaviest filming downtown, local support staff had to scramble for a back-up plan in the event the Republican presidential ticket’s security detail pre-empted the movie making.
“There was a great concern that McCain and Palin were coming in the week before,” says Todd Tofferi, special events coordinator for the city. “We had lane closures and equipment trucks on Monroe Street, Michigan Avenue and around the Amway Grand Plaza. We don’t think the Secret Service would have allowed any of that while the candidates were here.”
The potential conflict was just one more learning experience for the West Michigan film industry as it begins to see the results of the state’s generousnew tax incentive package for film production, designed to woo movie makers to Michigan.
When clearing the set means clearing the streets
“They started shooting during Celebration on the Grand, the busiest weekend of the year for Grand Rapids,” says Tofferi, whose department issues permits for all special events in the city, from block parties to ethnic festivals, and is responsible for coordinating the various events and managing conflicts. “With everything that was going on, I was getting 100 calls a day.”
The $4.8 million thriller was shot primarily at night, which “made life easier” for Tofferi. Off-duty Grand Rapids police officers and marked patrol cars, used to coordinate outside shots, may show up in scenes. The film’s overtime costs for police assistance amounted to $3,000.
“We’re not sure yet how much they spent (in total), or how much revenue was generated for Grand Rapids,” Tofferi says. It all adds up: The crew and cast spent a month at the Amway Grand Plaza and other hotels, eating in restaurants or using catering services, working with area businesses, renting local equipment and shopping at area stores.
“The producer and film crew are pleasantly surprised at everyone’s cooperation and the word is getting back to the industry out west,” Tofferi adds.
Let the credits role: Where the money was spent
Bill Streeter, owner of Street Wear Inc., had to move quickly when the West Michigan Film Office contacted him to design embroidered polo shirts and caps for cast, crew and extras. Working with a production assistant from the film, Streeter had only three days to develop a prototype with the movie’s logo, make changes and deliver the product. Three orders later, he was embroidering fluffy bathrobes for the stars of the film.
While the financial reward was not great — around $2,500 — Streeter says the exposure for the company, plus his introduction to other local businesses working on the production, was a great learning experience.
“It has been a great project, with a lot of hard work,” Streeter says. “But this has been totally new for us and very exciting. All of this has taught me how to be better prepared the next time.”
"The Steam Experiment" also needed local actors, extras, stand-ins, stage help and film assistants. Maureen Fahey Dreher, owner of Fahey Dreher Casting, was chosen as the film’s casting director for local talent. She read the script and cast about 45 people.
“It was a challenging experience to deliver what the director wanted,” Dreher says. “The most challenging was coming up with a stand-in for Val Kilmer.”
That would be Terry Kehoe, a local model, actor, and member of the band, Mid-Life Crisis. Kehoe worked long nights for a week, dressed in the same clothing, makeup and hair style to test lighting and blocking for every scene in which Kilmer appeared. He didn’t make a lot of money or get much sleep, but he was happy for the experience.
Compass Film Academy supplied 20 film interns. These mostly non-paying jobs included set production assistants, “gofers”, script supervision and art department assistance.
Compass, a one-year Christian film school in Grand Rapids, provides training and mentoring for everything from writing and producing to cinematography and film history to students of all ages. It has provided interns for movies filmed nationwide. The work can include holding a parking spot, crowd control or demanding “quiet on the set”. They check to be sure props are in the right place for a scene or that an actor’s shirt is still buttoned the same way after he comes back from a scene break.
Getting West Michigan up in lights
Pulling it all together is the biggest challenge, as movie scouts, directors and production companies may make contact through the Michigan Film Office, the West Michigan Film Office, led by Rick Hert, executive director of the West Michigan Tourist Association, or by simply breezing into a potential location on their own.
Hampering the effort is a lack of funding, says Hert, who has taken on this role in addition to his regular duties. While a few members of the association have provided some money with eyes toward the potential influence of the movie industry on tourism, it’s a struggle to keep up. Sitting in limbo is an informative guide called “Film Friendly”, available to communities to learn the details of dealing with the movie industry. Hert needs $4,000 to get it printed.
Still, all this activity has generated around $300 million in movie projects for Michigan. The lion’s share is headed toward Southeast Michigan, but inquiries about Grand Rapids and West Michigan locations are come in every day.
Right now, Hert is working with three small budget movies scheduled to begin shooting this month in Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and South Haven. “It’s like a scavenger hunt, but the industry is definitely interested and we’re all working together to make this happen,” he says. “I’ve got $60 million in potential projects on my desk and three film studios are going to be built in West Michigan. The industry is exciting and new and it’s coming at us fast. We need to know how to make it work.”
And there are no guarantees that an inquiry or location selection will lead to a movie. “We can get the script and location needs, spend hours hunting it all down, even weather reports,” says Hert, who has 160 scripts on his desk. “We try to be the local problem solver, but you can lose a movie for very simple reasons.”
Hert spent hours looking for a slaughter house and a horse that would be pregnant this fall for a low-budget movie interested in filming here this year.
“We lost it simply because the production company has a deal with Drury Inn & Suites for lodging and we don’t have any here,” he adds. “They went to Troy, instead.”
The movie “The Fifth Mafia” was prematurely announced as a done deal for Grand Rapids, but ended up heading for New Mexico partly because filming was rescheduled for the winter months — scenes representing Los Angeles and Guatemala just wouldn’t work in the frozen north. Dreher, the local casting director, found enough Hispanic people to represent 155 Guatemalans in the film before the production jumped ship.
A casting director for nearly 25 years, Dreher says Grand Rapids is up to the movie industry’s challenge, regardless of some expected disappointments — this is an exciting time for the area, with talk of new talent agencies in the works.
“We have to increase the data base for training of local actors. Most come through the theater system, but you need to act for film and we’re setting up training sessions for movie themes, because the audition is very different.” she says. “The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees also needs more people for stage and production crews, because there are only so many members to go around in this community.”
Organizations such as Compass Film Academy should help in this respect, as will new efforts from firms such as Holland-based
Tic-Tock Studios, which has launched a
basic film training program in partnership with Grand Rapids Community College.
A veteran journalist formerly of The Grand Rapids Press, Mary Radigan is a freelance writer based in Grand Rapids. This is her first story for Rapid Growth.All Photographs Courtesy of Paul Jendrasiak (who enjoyed drinks with actor Armand Assante after shooting wrapped one night)
Photos:
Lights fill the street while shooting at Bulls Head Tavern (Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in the background)Veteran actor Armand AssanteThe director is interviewedFilm crews inside Bulls Head Tavern