Loading ...The Ann Arbor Ad Club is pleased to host a panel featuring screenwriter Jim Burnstein and local luminaries, Tina Heaton and Chris Aliapoulios to discuss the budding Michigan film industry on Thursday, November 12. Ron Dewey will be moderating the discussion. He is a 20year veteran journalist at WWJ 950 Newsradio, who covered the filming of “Red Dawn” in Royal Oak. The Ad Club event will be held at Ann Arbor Spark, 330 East Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, beginning with active networking and refreshments at 5:30 p.m. The program is from 6-7 p.m. Ad Club members attend for free, non–members pay $35 and students pay $10. Register at www.a2ac.org.
The panel will examine the emerging film industry in Michigan and how it directly impacts marketing communication professionals. The state offers the biggest film incentives in the nation, up to a 42 percent tax break for films produced in the state – and they’re working. Last year over 35 movies were made in Michigan, generating approximately $120 million in revenue for the state. Nearly $60 million went directly to Michigan residents who worked on those films.
Burnstein has several major film scripts to his credit, including “Renaissance Man” (1994) and “D3: The Mighty Ducks” (1996). He was also the producer for an independent film, “Ocean of Pearls,” which played in several Detroitarea theatres thesummer of 2009. A longtime resident of Plymouth, Mich., Burnstein is responsible for building one of the country’s top screenwriting programs at his alma mater, the University of Michigan. He currently serves as the vice chairman of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council and was a leading proponent of Michigan’s film incentive law that has dramatically increased film production in the state since its passage in 2008.
Heaton, an independent entertainment publicist who was responsible for the state-wide campaigns of movies like “Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “Cars” will also be on the panel. Thanks to her efforts, “The Lion King” world premier was held in the IMAX at Henry Ford. After leaving professional life to focus on her family, she returned to promoting movies such as “Youth in Revolt” and “The Irishman,” due in part to Michigan’s film incentive law.
Aliapoulios is editor founder of the Michigan Movie Magazine, a bi-monthly magazine, which covers the movie industry in Michigan. Having worked as a Ford executive for 20 years, he quit his job to seize on a growing business opportunity.
Founded in 1991, the Ann Arbor Ad Club (A2AC) is a local chapter of the American Advertising Federation, a national organization that represents the advertising industry in its entirety. A2AC provides advertising, marketing, and business professionals throughout Southeastern Michigan opportunities to network, connect, and learn. Visit www.A2AC.org or call Chad Wiebesick, President of A2AC, at (734) 661-1792 to learn more.
Ann Arbor, MI