metro
Return To Detroit
Director Bryan
Binder comes
back to his
roots to film
Breakaway.
Actress Marisa Stober
takes direction from
Bryan Binder as
cameraman Joe Elrom
waits to film.
Chloe Logan
Jewish News Intern
T
here's a new film director in town.
Bryan Binder of Farmington
Hills is working on Breakaway, a
feature movie he wrote and filmed in his
hometown.
The film is about a young woman
named Emily Burns who wakes up to real-
ize she has been captured. Ensuring the
safety of her young daughter and husband
is her motive for escape, and time is lim-
ited. The film relies on Emily's character
for the majority of the movie, which takes
place in the confines of a single room.
Binder spent three weeks writing this
thriller, which was in production for 15
days, and is now being edited. When done,
Binder and producer Jason Dizik will take
the movie to film festivals worldwide.
With "Backstage with Bryan" as his
bar-mitzvah theme, Binder, 25, has always
been passionate about filmmaking.
"It was one of those things where I was
interested — and it was always a hope and
dream — but it did not seem realistic," he
said. "But some time around the later part
of senior year of high school, I enrolled at
Columbia College Chicago. I was actually
nervous about how that was going to go
over with my parents because I was locked
in at Michigan State. Fortunately, they
were very supportive"
It was not long before another curveball
changed Binder's plans.
"It made more sense to me, because I
wanted to be in Los Angeles in the long
run, to grow where I planned to be," he
said. "I didn't want to sit there in Chicago,
learn filmmaking and then relearn it in
Los Angeles:'
12
August 4
2011
He moved to Los Angeles after one
semester in Chicago to pursue his dream.
There, he worked as an assistant to his
cousin — actor, director, writer and pro-
ducer and former Detroiter Mike Binder
on the films Man About Town and Reign
Over Me. He also worked on the develop-
ment of other films and TV pilots.
Binder recently came back to Michigan
to establish his production company,
Three-Ring Entertainment, and work on his
feature film. Although Binder did not make
use of the Michigan Film Incentive, many
of Breakaway's investors are Detroiters,
ranging from family and friends to movie
lovers and supporters of Detroit.
"I'm very fond of the commitment to
being in Detroit:' Binder said. "The busi-
ness was set up in Detroit specifically so
that I could build and stay in Michigan."
Since coming back home, Binder has
reconnected with family. His sister Jamie,
28, of Farmington Hills, works as his publi-
cist and was Breakaway's costume designer.
—
Reuniting With Friends
Being able to work with one of his
close friends was another incentive for
Binder to set up shop in Metro Detroit.
Bloomfield Hills resident Jason Dizik, also
25, and Bryan have been friends since
they attended nursery school together at
Temple Beth El. They also graduated from
North Farmington High School, the loca-
tion of Breakaway's set. Binder even took
part last year in Jason's wedding, officiated
by Rabbi Norm Roman of Temple Kol Ami.
"Being able to stay in Michigan and
work with Bryan, whom I've been making
videos with since sophomore year of high
school, has been a lot of fun," Dizik said.
"It has also been very rewarding and will
hopefully help the area recover from the
economic downturn."
Binder is equally thrilled about
Michigan opportunities.
"It is amazing how much untapped tal-
ent is in Michigan as far as production
goes," Binder said. "We had a hardworking
crew, and that's a major reason why I want
to continue shooting in Michigan. You
have all these people who moved away to
look for jobs, but we are starting to see a
boomerang effect. Ideally, we want to see it
more than the current rate
Marisa Stober, 26, of Bloomfield Hills,
is one of the talents Binder came across.
An Andover High School graduate and
member of Temple Beth El, Stober had
known Binder for years. Professionally,
they worked together on a project in Los
Angeles. Now that Binder and Stober
are back in Michigan, they are working
together again. This time, Stober is playing
Breakaway's main character, Emily Burns.
The Breakaway role follows Stober's work
in Silver Lake, The Art of Power, Jingles the
Clown and the short film World of Art. She
also had roles in Disney's The Wannabes
Starring Savvy and the short-lived ABC
TV series Detroit 1 8 7.
"It was nice to be back home, working
together and meeting new young people in
the area," Stober said. "Most of my friends
have moved away to find employment and
opportunities elsewhere. I hope we can
keep working here."
Among other members of the local
Jewish community cast in Breakaway
is preschooler Ava Manson, 4, of West
Bloomfield. Cast as Madison Burns, Emily
Burns' daughter, Ava appears in four
scenes and has speaking parts. When
asked if she ever thought she would be in
-
a movie in Detroit, she exclaimed, "No!"
This is Ava's first movie role.
Another film that Binder wrote, War
Birds, in scheduled to be shot in Michigan
in the near future. Other projects include
a documentary, another feature film and a
reality show, which are also scheduled to
shoot in Michigan in the next year. I I
Bryan Binder and Jason Dizik
-
Breakaway director Bryan Binder and
actress Marisa Stober at the film's wrap
party.