Michigan Entertainment Network

“Playing Jesus is obviously very humbling,” says Troy actor-singer Kenny Watson. – Kimberly P. Mitchell/Detroit Free Press

By John Monaghan Detroit Free Press Special Writer
March 24, 2013

Religious inspiration comes in many forms. Kelly Garver Nieto’s hit her like a ton of Babylon bricks while she was attending her first-ever Good Friday service in 2000. It was while praying the Stations of the Cross, which uses 14 sequential images to depict the crucifixion of Jesus, that the former nonbeliever experienced what she calls a “life-changing vision.”

“I looked at the altar and saw all the details of this grand theatrical production,” the entertainer and former Miss Michigan remembers. “And I heard God say, ‘This is why you are here.’ I knew in my soul that this would become my life’s mission.”

More than a decade and 40,000 viewers later, her musical Passion play arrives at Music Hall tonight for an 11-performance run that continues through Easter. Titled “The Cross and the Light” and costing an estimated $400,000, the show uses Broadway-style sets, costumes and lighting to bring Christ’s final hours to life.
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LANSING – The Michigan Film Office announced today the feature film Transformers 4 has been approved for a film incentive from the state. Transformers 4, expected to film this spring in metro Detroit, opens soon after the end of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, where a great battle left a city torn – but with the world once again saved.

“It speaks volumes about all Michigan has to offer that Transformers is returning once again to our state,” said Margaret O’Riley, director of the Michigan Film Office. “This project will shine another bright spotlight on Michigan and provide tremendous opportunities for our cast, crew and support services.
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The Heritage Tour: An Educational Symposium and Documentary Film Screening

On March 18 at the Community Arts Auditorium on the campus of Wayne State University, beginning at 9AM, filmmaker and composer Elvin Ross will debut his film “Kunta Kinteh Island: Coming Home Without Shackles.” It is an hour documentary about the slave trade and the effect it has had on Americans whose ancestors were Kings and Queens. The event is FREE.
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LANSING – The Michigan Film Office announced today the feature film Silver Bells has been approved for a film incentive from the state. A Christmas story, the project features a tale of redemption and family traditions. It is being produced in association with the Salvation Army and will film in Manistee, Grand Rapids and Ludington this month.
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Michigan Motion Picture Studios

By Julie Hinds | Detroit Free Press Movie Writer

“Oz the Great and Powerful’ was shot on the seven sound stages of the now-named Michigan Motion Picture Studios in Pontiac. For months, it kept the state-of-the-art facility humming with activity.

“There were days in the cafeteria where they served 2,000 people breakfast and 2,000 people lunch, with the extras and the grips and everybody that was working on this film,” said Linden Nelson of Michigan Motion Picture Studios.
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