Production of new Mickey Matson film in full swing
MANISTEE — There have been characters of all sorts on the S.S. City of Milwaukee this week.
That's because the new 10 West Studios film "Mickey Matson and the Pirates Code" is being filmed there in the ship's engine room, deck, stairwells and more.
"It's going fantastic," said director Harold Cronk. "We are getting wonderful performances from our cast, our crew is kicking butt and we are getting a lot of footage every day.
"Of course, the S.S. Milwaukee is incredible as a set. It's so rich and has so much texture. Anywhere you point the camera, you're going to get some amazing production value because the scope of (the ship) is excellent.
In total, the studio and its more than 30 crew members will film on the ship for 11 days and around Manistee at the library, historical museum and the old Century Boat factory on Ninth Street. Filming is also set to take place at West Shore Community College.
"We have planned some really high production value shots," Cronk said. "We're going to do anything that we can to make the movie a studio-quality picture. That's our goal, to eventually be making those big budget films. We see this as a way of achieving that. We have to show what we can do with a little before we can be trusted with a lot.
"We're trying to make the Mickey Matson franchise a calling card for us to help us take the next step," Cronk said.
The studio is renting the S.S. City of Milwaukee for a daily rate, plus donating items needed around the ship, such as life boat covers.
"It's fun," said Linda Spencer, S.S. City of Milwaukee director. "We watched them set up a little bit, and we see them a little bit here and there, but we try to keep out of their way. They are treating the ship right and doing well. We're glad to have them here."
According to Spencer, the S.S. City of Milwaukee will hold the premier of the film on the ship next year.
The film was awarded an incentive of $232,090 on $766,151 of projected in-state expenditures earlier this month by the Michigan Film Office. The project is expected to hire 49 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of three jobs.
"Everybody has just been fantastic in working with us," Cronk said.
