Grace and Wild’s former production facilities in Farmington Hills is being resurrected after two years of inactivity, through its acquisition by Sterling Group/Detroit.
Sterling’s intention is to manage, maintain and restore the property to its former full production and post capacities, reported Mark Adler, co-founder of the Michigan Production Alliance.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said about the future of the facility, called “the stages at studio center” since owners Harvey Grace & Steve Wild parted company in 2011 after 27 years of business.
“Having a studio of this size and capability will be very important in sustaining and enhancing Detroit’s spot production business.”
When Grace & Wild was operating at full capacity, it was a one-stop, full-service operation, employing between 80 and 100, and offering the full gamut of live action and animation production, stages, post, duplication and finishing services.
“It’s a beautiful, large, self-contained facility, with several big sound stages, a huge cyc, insert stage and several other stages used for satellite uplinks,” Adler said. It also owned and operated its own grip and electric and separate editing and duplication companies within the complex.
Since the studio basically closed in the fall of 2011, when 80 staffers were laid off en masse and the owners split up, it has functioned at a moderate level; production of Five Hour Energy spots has been a client staple there.
A restored and thriving Grace & Wild will give the Detroit area a major boost in production facilities, help build its post community and create jobs, Adler notes.
Currently operating are the Michigan Motion Picture Studios in Pontiac, being kept active with big-budget features, Stage 3 in Warren, Cadieux Stage in Detroit, Stage 3 in Warren, and Ringside’s Combermere studio in Troy.
