PLATINUM PERSONALITY

BY SHARON LUCKERMAN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BA__AN

IN DETROIT

Dark Heaven Movie poster

Husband-and-wife

filmmakers use local

backdrops for

creepy thriller

"Dark Heaven."

16 • OCTOBER 2004 • PLATINUM

D

oug Schulze of Birmingham is
the rare independent filmmak-
er whose first film Hellmaster
aired on prime cable TV net-
works HBO and Cinemax.
His latest effort, Dark Heaven, a dramatic
thriller, won the Audience Award at Yale
University's Film Fest New Haven in 2002
and was picked up by a national distributor
— so you will now find it at your neighbor-
hood video store.
His wife, Julie Schulze, a media specialist
by day at Cranbrook Schools Brookside, pro-
duced Dark Heaven and helped with the
post-production process.

"The film's about a cop dealing with
extreme loss," said Julie, 29, who grew up in
Southfield and graduated from Michigan
State University. "He's trying to resolve
issues of loss of faith before his life ends. It's
creepy and very disturbing."
Her husband, who also wrote the film, said,
"I've always wanted to explore spiritual sub-
ject matter in film, and the time was right."
They both agreed that their interfaith mar-
riage — she's Jewish and he's Catholic —
made them sensitive to handling the subject
matter. "We're not targeting any one religious
belief, but exploring faith and spirituality,"
said Doug, 39.