Flint: Cloudy With a Chance of Cinematic References

Matt Bach, the energetic and funny public relations manager of the Flint Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, is paid to keep a vigilant eye out for any connection to the Vehicle City. And after seeing the movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, he's really on to something:

I saw this new children's movie over the weekend and couldn't help but draw some comparisons between what happened in the film and our own history in Flint, Michigan. First, the title character is named Flint Lockwood. And Flint lives in town that once flourished due to the booming "sardine industry." The whole town was centered around sardines, but it went in decline after the rest of the world realized sardines are "super gross." Then the mayor gets this great idea to build an amusement park centered around the town's rich sardine history. But just as the museum is getting unveiled it's accidentally destroyed by the inventor, Flint Lockwood.

And I'm not the only person seeing the similarities. This review of the movie actually mentions Flint, Michigan: "Unfortunately, the well-meaning Flint’s ambitions have a tendency to outreach his grasp and not only does the machine not work during his big test, it winds up destroying the sardine-inspired amusement park that the suspiciously Blagojevich-esque mayor (Bruce Campbell) has sunk the town’s remaining funds into (presumably figuring that if it worked for Flint, Michigan, it would work for them) before launching itself into the sky."

Alleged: A Different Kind of Shooting

Nathan West and Ashley Johnson in a scene shot at the Stockton House in Flint. (Photo by Ryan Garza/The Flint Journal)

Brian Dennehy, Fred Thompson, Nathan West and Ashley Johnson are in the Flint area shooting the feature film "Alleged" about the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. Aside from giving Flintoids a chance to mingle with celebrities, Liz Shaw of The Flint Journal reports that the movie is bringing in some cash for the Flint area.

"The film's $4.1-million budget might be small by Hollywood standards, but nearly a quarter of it will go directly into the pockets of businesses right here in Flint and southeast Michigan in less than eight weeks' time -- and that's just for the most obvious, basic expenses."

Shaw gives a nice rundown of the more than $1 million that will be spent in Flint and southeast Michigan:

Housing: $320,000
Caterers' food supplies: $48,000
Set construction materials: $120,000
Antiques and other set dressing and props: $150,000
Dry cleaning: $12,500
Wages for 1,000 locals: $75 per day (20 days shooting total)
Lighting rentals: $40,000
Camera rentals: $88,000
Trucks: $46,000

Let's just hope Fred Thompson's acting is more compelling than his run for the presidency.

Movie wonderland

The remnants of the White Eagle Theater, which opened in 1921 at 3817 Industrial Avenue. (Photo courtesy of waterwinterwonderland.com.)

Judging by the response to the post on the Della Theater, Flint Expatriates love the movies. And if that's the case, you have to visit waterwinterwonderland.com. It's a compendium of all the theaters and drive-ins — past and present — in Michigan. There are some great photos and recollections, and an option to submit comments. Warning...you can spend a lot of time on this site.

Back by popular demand...The Della Theater

A reader named Mary comments on the late, great Della Theater on Welch Boulevard and — Presto! — a photo of the theater is produced, courtesy of Mary Fisher, via Grumkin. Yes, Flint Expatriates suddenly has established a reliable supply line for great photos of Flint in the fifties. (Many of you younger Flintoids may have illegally purchased beer and wine at drive-thru party store that's just out of the frame on the right. I won't mention any names.) The Della was later replaced by a Citizens Bank branch.) As usual, you can click on the photo for a larger image.

Here's Mary's reflection on the Della: "I have wonderful memories of the Della Theater on Welch Blvd. My dad would drop me and my friends off at the theater and come back after the double feature. I felt sorry for the adults that attended those Saturday matinees. The kids were wild. It only cost 35 cents for two movies! Half the time I didn't understand what was going on in second movie — usually a drama that was geared for adults."

UPDATE: I enlarged the photo at home and the marquee reads:
Ginger Rogers
We're Not Married
Carson City

Another Update: A reader has pointed out that it was a Genesee Bank branch that landed near the spot of the old Della, not Citizens Bank. Sorry for the error, and thanks for the correction.

Johnny Tough at the Capitol

The first, last and only time I ever saw a movie at the Capitol Theater was sometime in the mid-seventies when my mom and I saw Johnny Tough! together. The tagline: "He's bad...he's black...he's beautiful...He'll steal your heart!" It was summer; downtown was empty; and there were only a handful of people in attendance. I remember the theater manager actually standing in the lobby wringing his hands and sweating. He knew he'd be out of a job soon.

Johnny Tough! was a wildly ambitious low-budget attempt to make a blaxploitation version Francois Truffaut’s masterpiece The 400 Blows. It didn't quite work, but you have to admire first-time director Horace Jackson's lofty aspirations.

My mom's attempt to help me experience the Capitol of her youth, where she often spent entire Saturdays and watched hundreds of films, was probably even more ambitious...and impossible to achieve.

Film stills courtesy of Moon in the Gutter, a very addictive film blog.