Elmore Leonard new TV show!

There is a theory in TV criticdom that one can usually tell how high a network's expectations are for a new series by how much money they've sunk into its press kit. The media guide for Justified, the Old West saga for the 21st century premiering at 10 p.m. Tuesday, March 16 on FX, is gorgeous: muted tones of red, gray and brown, thick paper stock, full-page biographies of all its major players, and a die-cut recess to hold the preview DVD. Glitz.

FX probably feels (sorry, can't help it) justified in such promotional extravagance because the voice behind its newest original series is America's greatest living Western and crime novelist — our own Bard of Bloomfield Village, Elmore “Dutch” Leonard.

Evoking the edgy tension of No Country for Old Men, Justified is built around the character of Raylan Givens, a laconic lawman who appears in Leonard's short story Fire in the Hole, the basis for Tuesday's premiere episode,and several of his novels. Leonard, 84, serves as one of the show's executive producers.

Givens is portrayed by Timothy Olyphant, whom you may remember as the insufferably righteous sheriff Seth Bullock on the HBO Western series Deadwood. He's back in a Stetson and boots for Justified yet plays an entirely different type of peacekeeper. Givens hails from the hills of Harlan, Ky., but left at 19 and became a U.S. Marshal to move as far as possible from the shadow of his father, Arlo, a career criminal. Years later, his botched drug arrest in Miami incurs the wrath of his Marshals Service bosses, who reassign him to Kentucky — with the people and demons of his past — as punishment.

Ramrod straight, tight-lipped, no-nonsense and true blue (pick your favorite cliché), Raylan Givens is a perfect addition to FX, the network that has given us such intense and unforgettable characters as The Shield's Vic Mackey, Rescue Me's Tommy Gavin and Patty Hewes on Damages. (Note: Justified is rated TV-MA, for mature viewers only.)

Word is that Leonard is so excited over the treatment his adapted work is receiving that he's writing a new 50-page narrative on Givens expressly to help give the producers some additional insight into the character. And his fellow executive director, Graham Yost, also has local ties, of a sort. Yost, creator of the tragically short-lived NBC series Boomtown and co-executive producer of HBO's current World War II blockbuster The Pacific, is the son of Elwy Yost, the genial host of Saturday Night at the Movies for more than 25 years on TVOntario, seen in Detroit via Windsor television.

Fighter pilot and the monk

Did you hear the one about the fighter pilot and the monk?

If that sounds like the beginning of a joke, think again! We just got an announcement for a speaking engagement featuring those unlikely bedfellows.

In this case, it’s a talk about staying fearless in a tough economy, featuring ordained monk Michael Roach and Navy Blue Angel pilot John Foley. The talks, to be held at the Westin Southfield at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, and Thursday, April 1, seems to be all about staying strong and making lemons out of lemonade.

But, seriously, a Buddhist monk and a fighter pilot? If Buddhism’s reputation for pacifism seems an odd fit for the death-from-above set, it just gets weirder. (Not that we’re experts here, and we understand there are some wrinkles to the Buddhism-equals-pacificism equation.) According to his brief biographical information, Roach is a “scholar, successful businessman, author and a fully ordained monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.”

The two nights of talks are free, but for a $265 fee you can join a three-day retreat, which includes all meals and a brunch on Easter Sunday.

According to Roach, “When I was asked to take part in this series of talks — the Fighter Pilot and the Monk — I saw it as an opportunity to help people who are in need. People in a down economy face all sorts of fears that can hold them back. So I’m excited about sharing a practical, real-world model for dealing with such fears — a model that can free people to see and reach their potential.”

We can only wonder if this sort of event appeals to people whose “fear” is air-to-ground missiles!

PRIZE TO LUST FOR IN MT POLL

And the winner of our Live and Lust Poll III drawing is ... 27-year-old Annika, who told us she looks for hands in a man, small waist-to-big ass ratio in a woman, who wold like two guys at once, and who advises (for long-term relationship mojo maintenance): "Make sure sex is on your list of things to do and give each other sexy surprises." She also gives a thumbs down to sexting with pics and the withdrawal method, admonishing ladies to make sure it's wrapped up: "You cannot trust anybody. Tiger is proof!" Annika wins a gift bag of goodies from Lover's Lane. You get to read a selection of poll answers and suggest questions for Live and Lust IV at letters@metrotimes.com.

Benefit for Mick Vranich on Saturday

Those who know Mick Vranich, whether through his Word Band, his books of poetry, his spoken word performances, or through the private gallery space he runs with his wife Sherry Hendrick, know he is a kind and gentle person who's not easily forgotten. But now is an especially important time to remember the countercultural fixture: He needs help.

We recently learned that Vranich took a pretty bad fall on a construction site, suffering a head injury, a punctured lung and two broken vertebrae. Needless to say, we doubt that Vranich or Hendrick have much in the way of health insurance. This means they'll have to rely on community support instead.

Hence the fundraiser announced for tomorrow night, at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Old Miami, 3930 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-831-3830. Expect an evening of art, raffles, music, auctions and, of course, poetry. If you can't make the fundraiser, we hear you can send checks to him care of the Old Miami.

Get well soon, Mitch.

KSM TERROR TRIAL IN THE D?

Recently, New York City declined $200 million in federal funds for hosting the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged 9/11 terrorists, citing the traffic jams and other hassles it would bring. We can understand Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s reluctance to green light it, even with the generous subsidy. We’ve tried getting around Manhattan just when the president visited; it does become a traffic nightmare. Imagine the snarl a terror trial could cause!

So the wags over at Slate had an idea: They asked their readers to “nominate their own hometowns as alternative sites for the trials.” Surprisingly, the winner in that informal poll was Detroit! (No word from Attorney General Eric Holder on whether he’ll go along with the vox populi on this.)

Calling the choice a “combination of practicality, pride and desperation,” they used a quote from one voter, Casey Lowe, to describe why Detroit fits the bill. While normally we’re happy to hear hometowners toot their horns for the D, we were puzzled by Lowe’s plug for the Motor City, as it either sounded ill-informed or as if he were trying to bludgeon the city with left-handed compliments. Take this doozy:

First of all, large swaths of downtown Detroit are already abandoned, so there is plenty of available space. Traffic and business will be unaffected because the city has none of either.

Looking out the windows of our business in downtown Detroit, we see plenty of traffic and businesses around us, namely Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Greektown Casino, General Motors, dozens of restaurants and bars, consulting companies and more, and that’s just within a few blocks. But, back to Lowe:

[Moreover] if the proceedings are attacked, there will be minimal collateral damage to the surrounding area. To the contrary, the terrorists would be performing a useful public service by demolishing deserted buildings.

Har-de-har-har. Tell that laugh-line to the more than 80,000 people who work in downtown Detroit. We’re sure they’ll be as amused as we were.

In fairness to Slate, we’re journalists too. We love a spicy, provocative quote. But we somehow wish Slate had gone with a better-informed quote to champion our beleaguered city.

As for this would-be humorist Casey Lowe, we sorta doubt he’s ever lived or worked in the city. Perhaps he spent a few minutes driving through it at 3 a.m. in 1983? In any event, he has an open invitation to come down to our offices. We’ll even buy him a coney dog at Plaka Café if he’s willing to visit. You know, just to meet the nonexistent people who don’t work at our nonexistent businesses in all our “deserted” buildings. Your call, Casey.

PBS Looks at Detroit's future

<sub>As part of their on-going series Blueprint America, a program that reports on our nation's complex, ever-changing infrastructure, PBS took a good look at Detroit with Beyond the Motor City.

Here's a clip:



Two animated sequences take a stab at portaying what a new transportation system in Detroit might look like, and how it could operate. The Blueprint America team collaborated with transportation group America 2050 to create those sequences.

Dig it:</sub>

TWO LOCAL GROUPS WIN CASH IN FACEBBOOK COMPETITION

A few weeks back, we took a look at four metro-Detroit organizations competing for a cool million, thanks to an innovative, Facebook-fueled grant giveaway ("Chasing the buck," Jan. 13). Gathering votes from Facebook friends the world over, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Friendship Circle and Sikhcess, both from West Bloomfield, and the Canton-based charity Hand by Hand all made it into the top 100, each winning $25,000.

Metro Times learned Monday that two of the four, Mosaic Youth Theatre and Friendship Circle won further grant money from the Chase Community Giving Program.

Though Mosaic Youth Theatre came up a bit short in the tally, failing to advance into the next round, the hearts and minds behind the Chase Bank grant giveaway were inspired by the amount of support behind Mosaic and found another $37,000 for the acclaimed youth theater organization. Mosaic recently purchased the former home of WTVS and WJBK in New Center, and there’s no doubt the funds will go toward renovations for their new home.

One of the top vote-getters, and one of five recipients $100,000 awards, is the Friendship Circle. Based in West Bloomfield, the Friendship Circle brings families with children who have learning, developmental or physical disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or ADHD back “into the circle” of community by pairing their children with teenage volunteers who are taught to acknowledge their friends’ place in society and make them feel included. Their facility, the Ferber Kaufman LifeTown, is a 23,000-square-foot building with an activity wing, home to eight different kinds of therapy rooms, and a 5,000-square-foot “indoor city” called the Weinberg Village, which is a place where kids with special needs can learn essential life skills. In the to-scale mock town, kids learn to use crosswalks, do basic banking, how to appropriately tip service people, go the pharmacy, pet store, beauty salon, doctor, library and more. With the help from more than 800 volunteers, Friendship Circle serves 2,500 individuals with special needs from 155 different schools.

The grand, million-dollar prize went to Invisible Children Inc., based in San Diego, Calif., a group that that tries to raise awareness of the war in Northern Uganda and educate its children.

Wednesday night, Don't miss: DIA Gallery talk with artist Matthew Barney (Bjork's brilliant hubby).

He's back ...

Boundary-pushing artist Matthew Barney is in the midst of producing a series of performances and music (with composer Jonathan Bepler) for his new project, which, we hear, is a seven act, seven location, opera that draws its inspiration from Norman Mailer's 1983 novel, Ancient Evening. One act, "Khu," is set in Detroit.

Akin to his highly revered work Cremaster Cycle, Barney's recent also plays with themes pulled from Egyptian ritualism.

Barney will be speaking tomorrow night at the Detroit Film Theatre inside The Detroit Institute of Arts. This event is free and open to anyone holding a free pass. Seating is general admission; pass (want a free pass?) must be presented at registration for entrance to the lecture. 
Lecture starts at 7 p.m.
Enter off of John. R.

From Cremaster:

PSST: MONEY FOR MUSICIANS WRITERS, PERFORMERS

Last summer we featured the work of 18 visual artists who — from a field of more than 350 applicants — had been designated Kresge Artist Fellows, and honored with $25,000 fellowships to go along with the title. The grants are part of a program funded by the Kresge Foundation and administered by the College for Creative Studies.

In the latest phase of the program, 18 fellowships are again available to emerging and established artists, but this time for literary arts (criticism in all disciplines, creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, playwriting, interdisciplinary work involving the aforementioned) and performing arts (music composition in all genres, performance art, spoken work, sound, interdisciplinary work involving the same).

The program, Kresge Arts in Detroit, is a community development effort with a goal of strengthening the economic, social and cultural fabrics of our region by strengthening artists. Besides the money, the 18 fellows selected will also receive professional development guidance through ArtServe Michigan. And in addition to the two sets of fellows, the program bestows $50,000 grants on “eminent artists” — painter Charles McGee and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave being the first two given that designation. (Full disclosure:  I served on a panel for the program, but wasn’t involved in the artist selection decisions.)

If you’re an interested in seeking a fellowship this is the part you want to know next: Detailed information about the program, application links, reservation forms for an upcoming information session, etc. are online at kresge.collegeforcreativestudies.edu. The information session will be held Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. at the College for Creative Studies (Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Auditorium, Walter B. Ford II Building, map at website).

Applications are due Feb. 26, and awards will be announced in June.

Metro Times makes the connection

After we asked everybody to share their worst New Year’s Eve stories, we had a ball reading through them. One of the funniest came from former Metro Times staffer Jen Lumpkin, who shared this doozy:

One New Year's Eve, I was a "Kiss Sandwich" — it's true and tragic! I thought a guy was coming up to give me a New Year's Eve kiss and the clock was counting down. This gorgeous 6-foot-tall man was walking my way. I thought it was my moment, until I felt something touch my back. When I looked up I saw that an equally gorgeous 6-foot-tall girl was receiving my kiss. I am only 4-foot-10. So right above my head, lingered two tall pretty people kissing with me in the middle. Kiss sandwiched!

So imagine our surprise when Lumpkin got in touch to point out this Craigslist post:

Jen 4'10, the meat in a kiss sandwich - 31
How about a chance to redo your New Year's moment? Here's a six-footer who promises to never look past you. All it takes is an email.

See, sometimes it pays to share. And with two home slices poised to come together, we’d say 2010 is already looking promising.

Motor City Motors premieres tonight @ 10

From the people behind  The Deadliest Catch comes a brand-new Discovery Channel show, and it's set in Detroit.

Motor City Motors follows custom-bike builders Dave and James Kaye, the dudes who run Detroit Bros. Custom Cycles in Ferndale, as they take on Jesse James' old gig and try to build motor revvin' monsters from the ground up.

Each week the Kaye brothers (with their father, John, the wise old owl)  tap into the   bottomless pool of Detroit gearheads, finding machinists, mechanics and fabricators to take on the task of building a one-of-a-kind vehicle in just five days.

''From turning a 1929 Model T into one of the coolest gassers in the city to transforming a 1992 GMC Suburban into a pothole filler, the builds are limited only by the ingenuity and imagination of the Detroit Brothers and their crews. The Kayes hope the series gives the local community, as well as their own struggling business, a much-needed boost."'

Motor City Motors premieres on Discovery Channel tonight, Monday, Dec. 28, at 10 p.m.

Reckless Eyeballing

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

September 2009

August 2009

July 2009

June 2009

May 2009

April 2009

March 2009

February 2009

January 2009