Five Projects Approved for Film, Digital Media Incentives

The Michigan Film Office announced today that five projects – Mickey Matson and the Helm of Darkness, Destined, Preachers of Detroit, Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon and 1-to-1 Fan – have been approved for film and digital media incentives.

LANSING – The Michigan Film Office announced today that five projects – Mickey Matson and the Helm of Darkness, Destined, Preachers of Detroit, Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon and 1-to-1 Fan – have been approved for film and digital media incentives. Mickey Matson and the Helm of Darkness will film in Ludington, Manistee and Mackinac Island, while the remaining four projects will be filmed or produced in metro Detroit.

“These five projects showcase our efforts to support independent films and series in the state, as well as projects within the digital media industry,” said Margaret O’Riley, director of the Michigan Film Office. “This year has illustrated that Michigan can support a major studio project and at the same time be a terrific place to make independent films.”

The third installment in the Mickey Matson series, Mickey Matson and the Helm of Darkness centers on a mythical battle helmet worn by the Greek god Hades that gives the bearer powers of invisibility and mind control. Hidden away for centuries, it surfaces in Northern Michigan where Mickey Matson must keep it safe from those who would use it for evil.

The projected was awarded an incentive of $222,613 on $733,078 of projected in-state expenditures. It expects to hire 47 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of four jobs.

Oxygen Media’s Preachers of Detroit is a television series that will focus on powerful themes of faith, family and friendship as seven men and women of the cloth share their lives, transformations and triumphs in and out of the pulpit in Detroit. 

Preachers of Detroit was awarded an incentive of $405,811 on $1,393,255 of projected in-state expenditures. The project expected to hire 85 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of 12 jobs.

The feature film Destined is set in Detroit with one event setting in motion two very different stories. Each storyline involves the same characters whose paths are altered by this one event, and the different paths main character Rasheed takes in each tale. Filming will take place in Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Destined was awarded an incentive of $256,018 on $875,072 of projected in-state expenditures. This project is expected to hire 90 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of 9 jobs.

Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon is a feature film where Tommy Silver faces the guilt he carries from the loss of his mother who died in childbirth. This unbearable weight is now threatening to destroy his closest relationship. Filming will take place in Detroit, Wayne and Novi.

The project was awarded an incentive of $102,855 on $376,976 of projected in-state expenditures. This project is expected to hire 68 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of three jobs.

The project 1-To-1 Fan is a mobile app that will provide a digital gathering place for fans of sports stars. Customers create and customize their mobile app, via an interactive game, to allow them to follow major athletes through social channels as well as engaging with other fans and in marketing events. The project, being developed by Southfield-based PIXO Group, was awarded an incentive of $61,001 on $174,635 of eligible Michigan investment and expects to create 11 Michigan hires with a full time equivalent of 3 jobs.

These are the final projects that fall within Fiscal Year 2014 funding, with 27 projects total being awarded $63,761,132 on $245,498,437 of approved production expenditures for the year. These projects are expected to create 2,181 hires with a full time equivalent of 1,298 jobs.

The Michigan Film Office was created in 1979 to assist and attract incoming production companies and promote the growth of Michigan’s own film industry. The Film Office also administers the incentive program for film, television and other digital media production in Michigan. For more on the Michigan Film Office, visit: MichiganFilmOffice.org. 

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