It was back in 2008 after former Governor Jennifer Granholm passed some lucrative tax incentives for the film industry that the Michigan Motion Picture Studios was founded (originally Raleigh Michigan Studios) by a group of local entrepreneurs. Built upon a former General Motors complex, the studio broke ground in 2010, and was completed in 2011. While financial troubles surround the studio, the opening this weekend of "Oz: The Great and Powerful" marks a spectacular display of just what 170,000 square feet of studio can do. More importantly, this film shows off Michigan in such a unique way. It shows off its talent.
It was only fitting that we celebrated this occasion by making our first trip to the Ren Cen 4 Movie Theater downtown Detroit in the GM Renaissance Center with Regina and Tommy. While it would have been nice to catch the charity preview of this film in Birmingham at the Palladium, we wanted to check off this Detroit theater from our to-do list. After walking through the Ren Cen maze to find the theater, I felt like we were back in the 1980s as it was just a long theater with staggered rows. Although they do sell beer!
Earlier in the evening, we grabbed dinner at the Union Street Saloon, a place that we have probably driven by over 100 times, but never been into. While nothing special, this place is your standard bar and grill in the Midtown district.
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