LANSING — The Pickle Recipe, a film created by former Detroit advertising executives and produced by West Bloomfield natives, has demonstrated the right formula to qualify for an incentive from the Michigan Film Office.
The film is eligible to receive a maximum incentive of $491,706 from the state based on an anticipated spend of $1,412,129.
In addition to private investment the production will direct to Michigan-based vendors, the estimated spending includes plans to hire 127 cast and crew, 119 of whom will be Michigan residents and 301 extras, making for an equivalent of 12 full-time employees.
“From writing to directing to producing, this film showcases the many talents of Michigan filmmakers,” said Jenell Leonard, commissioner of Michigan Film Office. “We are excited about projects like this drawing Michiganders home to tell their stories in their own backyard and invest in the communities where they grew up.”
The story is about a down-on-his-luck party emcee, who is desperate for cash and corrupted by his shameless uncle to steal his grandmother’s top-secret pickle recipe.
Production began shooting in May throughout metro Detroit. Filming is expected through mid-June in Detroit, Hamtramck, Royal Oak and West Bloomfield.
The Pickle Recipe is based on the script by Sheldon Cohn and story by Gary Wolfson, both of whom were former executives at the Doner advertising agency of Southfield. The film is produced by Jason Potash and Paul Finkel of West Bloomfield. Potash and Finkel recently produced Beside Still Waters and Dial a Prayer, starring Brittany Snow and William H. Macy, both Michigan-based productions.
West Coast transplant and Michigan resident Michael Manasseri directs the film. Manasseri directed and produced Sucker, a 2013 a science fiction movie filmed in Pontiac. The film stars comedian Jon Dore, Lynn Cohen and Academy Award nominee David Paymer.
The Pickle Recipe is the latest of approved incentive projects from the Michigan Film Office. Total approved incentives amount to $1,809,683. Of that amount, a projected $5,177,776 is estimated to be spent collectively in Michigan by the four productions with an anticipated 218 workers to be hired and 32 full-time jobs created. Disbursement of state funds by the Michigan Film Office is contingent on verified documentation of spending submitted by the production company.
The Michigan Film Office was established in 1979 to assist and attract production companies and promote the growth of Michigan’s film industry. The office administers the incentive (cash rebate) program for film, television and other digital media production in the state.
For more on the MEDC and its initiatives, visit michiganbusiness.org. For Michigan travel news, updates and information, visit michigan.org.