Spring Break
Local actor makes great strides in film industry; sees bright future for Michigan's economy
Anne Duffy
Issue date: 5/11/09 Section: Diversions
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Kelly, an Ann Arbor resident, is an actor who has the lead in two different movies premiering locally this spring. He was in negotiations for two more films being shot in Michigan - one of them scheduled to begin in May in Ann Arbor.
With production companies like the $146 million dollar Unity Studios coming to Allen Park and creating thousands of high-paying jobs for skilled workers, Kelly envisions this new industry contributing its fair share to lead this state out of its economic quagmire - if the powers that be in Lansing have the foresight to work with movie producers and continue to offer tax breaks and other economic incentives for filmmakers.
"I can see advancement of film production, with highly trained schools from Hollywood coming to Michigan to 'catch our people up,'" Kelly said. "I see large lavish theaters being built to premiere films proudly shot in Michigan and to house large red-carpet events for award ceremonies."
"I see entertainment districts created for nightlife that cater to the film industry where people can network. I see weekly shows on television that specialize in bringing entertainment news about Michigan for Michigan and interviewing casts and production crews.
"I can see universities teaching top notch skills on production, screenwriting, and the like, similar to UCLA. This all will take time, but I can see it happening."
Kelly speaks with some authority. Two of his movies, "The Man Who Collected Food," and "Want," will premier locally here in the spring in red-carpet, VIP affairs. "The Man Who Collected Food" is a black comedy/horror feature film, written and directed by Matt Roth of Rothgar Production Company from Los Angeles. The indie feature was filmed at a sound stage in Madison Heights and at Hollywood Market, a local grocery store in
Royal Oak.
Kelly's other movie, "Want," is a 25-minute short film about a successful businessman who has an affair with a lovely young married woman and tries to get her to leave her husband. The man resorts to sinister and criminal ways to get the husband out of the picture. The film is not finished, yet the script was a finalist in the Cinema City International Film Festival in Los Angeles last month.
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