Metro
AROUND TOWN
Star Gazing
Anti-Defamation League honors Hollywood insiders for their showbiz success.
Above: ADL's Betsy
Kellman of Huntington
Woods and honoree
Harvey Grace
Left: Bob Brown,
executive producer
Director Harry Winer with his mother, Melba Winer, of West Bloomfield
S
he grew up in West Bloomfield,
attended the University of
Michigan and after graduation,
moved away to Los Angeles to pursue an
acting career. Now, in the kind of twist
you might expect to find in a screenplay,
Marisa Stober, 25, of Birmingham is back
in her old stomping grounds, attending
auditions and acting in some of her first
movie roles right here in her home state.
She has appeared in two feature films;
a horror film called Jingles the Clown
being distributed by Lionsgate and an
indie political thriller shot in Michigan
and Washington, D.C. She's also currently
working on a short film.
"I love being home and being able to
pursue what I love. It's really the best of
both worlds:' Stober said. "As long as the
jobs keep coming, I'll stay here'
The up-and-coming young Jewish
actress was among a crowd of hundreds
of film industry enthusiasts who gath-
16 October 29 * 2009
ered Oct. 14 at the Townsend Hotel in
Birmingham for an event called "Lights,
Camera, ADL Takes Action:' During the
$200-per-person fundraiser, the Anti-
Defamation League/Michigan Region
honored six Hollywood insiders with
Michigan ties: producer Gary Gilbert;
comedian/actor/writer/director Michael
Binder; director Harry Winer; television/
radio entrepreneur Harvey Grace; pro-
ducer/independent film consultant Bob
Brown and actress Selma Blair. Blair
did not attend in person, but sent a video
message for the crowd. Actor Zach Braff
from the hit TV show "Scrubs" served as
the evening's master of ceremonies. The
event included live and silent auctions, a
cocktail hour, dinner and dessert.
Positive Flicker
"The movie industry may be the one
bright spot in Michigan's economy:' said
ADL regional director Betsy Kellman of
Huntington Woods.
She also said the organization
focused on the industry because
of the way movies tackle civil
rights issues like hate, discrimi-
nation and anti-Semitism, which
the ADL deals with everyday.
"With the loss of hundreds of
thousands of jobs and the weak-
ening of Michigan's manufactur-
ing economy, the film industry
holds the promise of jobs and
excitement for this beleaguered
state Kellman continued.
Thanks to a 42-percent tax incentive bill
passed by the state Legislature in 2008,
an increasing number of film projects
have rolled into town. The Michigan Film
Commission says in a year and a half,
more than $100 million was spent on
movie productions and more than 2,000
new jobs were created. Acting superstars
like George Clooney, Al Pacino, Clint
Eastwood, Drew Barrymore,
Sigourney Weaver and Hilary
Swank have all been spotted
on location in various local
communities. But in these
tough economic times, some
lawmakers are considering
cutting the tax incentive for
films.
"For me, the thought of
them cutting the incentive
is very scary:' Stober said. "It
was exciting to be in a room
full of people talking about their support
for Michigan's film industry.
"The event also really motivated me
to keep moving forward with my career.
It was really cool to see that these were
people who grew up down the street from
my father in Detroit or went to a Jewish
sleep-away camp with my mother and
they realized their dreams of making it big
in show business:'