180 seconds goes by very quickly, especially when you are presenting a story visually. That is what makes the 3 Minutes in Lyon Film Festival a challenge; telling a story that the viewer can understand and appreciate while entertaining them with a unique and visually appealing presentation. Up for the challenge?

The 3 Minutes Lyon in Film Festival also allows entrants to express their ideas and display their multimedia talents without the need for significant finances and resources that a professional film requires.

3 Minutes in Lyon Film Festival welcomes entries of all types from crazy, witty comedy sketches, to stop-motion Lego creations, documentary style, music video, man-on-the street or anything you find entertaining and unique.

Entry Deadline – May 10, 2010

Free Screening Night – May 21, 2010

Festival Awards Night – May 23, 2010

More Info at: lyonfilmfestival.org

Sink your teeth into a movie role! Detnews.com reports a casting call will be held for an upcoming flick called “Vampire Tales” from 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9,  at 1515 Broadway Theater, 1515 Broadway St., Detroit.

The film is about a vampire trying to make it big on a reality TV show. The film will be shot in New York City. Roles available: a male and female vampire, ages 20 to early 30s, any ethnicity or race. Also needed are six male and female reality show contestants, ages 20 to 45, and extras ages 12 to 45.

For information, visit http://www.timgreenefilms.com/.

Titled “187 Detroit,” the pilot marks ABC’s first drama pickup that will be in the running for next season. According to a post on the blog “Positive Detroit” the show is shot in the style of a fictional documentary crew following a top homicide division and has a realistic yet sometimes humorous tone. 

The pilot was produced by ABC Studios and Mandeville, executive produced by Jason Richman, David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman.  Read more at this link.

In the meantime, if you haven’t seen HBO’s “Hung” yet (shot in Detroit, with a particulaly awesome downtown opening sequence) . The DVD set of the first season is available for pre-order at amazon.com.

Lights, camera, action! At Risk Entertainment is holding a casting call on January 2, 2010 at Summit on the Park in Canton at 1 p.m.

The casting call is for the latest film by the production company titled “Locked in a room”. The movie will begin filming in Michigan in February.

Click here for the production company’s website.

Think you’re the ultimate Survivor? Then head to WWJ-TV’s open call for Survivor on Thursday, December 17th, from 3-7pm, at Gardner White Furniture in Canton, for your chance to audition!
Location:
Gardner White Furniture
39453 Ford Road
CANTON, MI 48187

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009

Time: 3 – 7pm

Applicants must be 18 and over. Please review the official application and eligibility requirements before attending and bring a copy of the COMPLETED application, and a valid Driver’s License with you to the open call. You will not be considered without these items.  You can get all the forms you need at this link.

Upon receiving these items from you, THEY will film your application video, live, on site.

Questions? Call WWJ-TV at (248) 355-7000.

Does your family need to lose 30 or more pounds? Do you want the country watching as you lose it? Jillian Michaels was the health expert on NBC’s The Biggest Loser–and now, she’s looking for Michigan families to whip into shape for her new show, Losing it With Jillian.

There a casting call today and tomorrow from 3-8 p.m. at the Gardner White store at 45300 Hayes Road in Macomb Township.

In the series, Michaels invades a different family every week to give them tough love. She will get to the bottom of the issues each family member faces – ones that affect their health and happiness – and will arm them with the tools necessary to make life-altering changes.

“When your health is out of balance everything else suffers – finances, relationships, work and family dynamics. I’m moving in with families across the country, getting down and dirty and rooting out bad habits in every corner of their lives that are preventing them from health and happiness,” says Michaels.

For more, click here or send an email to jodicasting@gmail.com.

What’s on the minds of students in Michigan and across the country?  C-SPAN is in Metro Detroit this week, letting middle and high school students know about The network’s Student Cam Documentary Competition. Rebecca Stewart is C-Span’s Community Representative.

“We ask them to film documentaries that are five to eight minutes long about an issue of their choice. And, we want them to show multiple perspectives and multiple points of view,” Stewart told WWJ’s Greg Bowman. “They’ll send those into us, along with some C-Span footage, and we’ll judge them,” she said.

This year’s theme is either one of the country’s greatest strengths, or a challenge that the country is currently facing.

What is Stewart expecting to see  from students who enter the competition? 

“Last year we got almost a thousand entries from across the country, and even some international entries. The topics spanned from health care and the economy, to colony collapse disorder. As a matter of fact, one of our winners was about water conservation, and another was the honey beer and what’s going on with them in the United States,” she said.

A total of $50 thousand dollars will be awarded in cash prizes, including 75 student awards and 11 teacher awards .  The best overall entry will be awarded the $5,000 grand prize. 

The deadline for entries is January 20, 2010.

Get details on how you can enter the competition at this link.

© MMIX WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, December 3 through Saturday, December 5, 2009

Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126

Tickets required – Buy Tickets

This popular annual event presents short and feature-length films made by Arab American and Arab World filmmakers, and films focusing on topics of interest to Arab Americans – all of which are accessible to mainstream audiences of all backgrounds. Many of these films are rarely screened in commercially in U.S. theaters; some are in English while others are in Arabic or French with English subtitles. Director Q&A sessions and panel discussions are part of the lineup.

ATTEND THE 2009 ARAB FILM FESTIVAL

All screenings take place in the intimate 156-seat Auditorium on the Lower Level of the Arab American National Museum (AANM), 13624 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, Michigan.

The Thursday, December 3 Opening Night Reception takes place in the AANM Community Courtyard.

Free, lighted parking is available in the municipal lot behind the Museum; enter lot by turning north from Michigan Avenue onto Neckel Street, immediately west of the AANM.

For driving directions, visit www.arabamericanmuseum.org/Directions.id.12.htm or call 313.582.2266.

Film crews have been busy in Michigan over the past year and a half.

The Michigan Film Office says 82 projects have been filmed in the state since April 2008, when it introduced tax incentives that are among the nation’s most generous.

Spokesman Ken Droz from the film office says that 47 of those projects are from 2009. The TV pilots, documentaries, reality projects and feature films and represent a total expenditure of $216 million so far this year.
That amount includes all the money spent in the state on the productions such as crew, talent, extras, production offices, meals and the like.

The state hosted 35 projects and total expenditures of $125 million last year.

Read more at WWJ.com.

AnnArbor.com is reporting “Cedar Rapids,” that the movie — starring Ed Helms of “The Office” and “The Hangover” — has recently started preproduction in Ann Arbor.

According to IMDB.com, the film will also star John C. Reilly… star of films including “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” , “Step Brothers” and “Chicago”.

Shooting was expected to begin in November, according to Kay Seaser of the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Some are saying filming moved to Michigan, from Iowa, because of the Iowa film tax-credit suspension. (Apparently, the city of ‘Cedar Rapids’ in which the film is set is actually in Iowa).

“Cedar Rapids” director Miguel Arteta also directed “Youth in Revolt,” which was filmed in downtown Ann Arbor in the summer of 2008, as well as other parts of Michigan.