Film still courtesy Mike Targus
In "Defending the Corridor," the future of Detroit's Skid Row rests in one man's hands.
A short film is getting a local premiere this coming Thursday. It's a 25-minute film made by an area native, starring a half-dozen locals, and it's set in the Cass Corridor of 10 years ago, before the high-end leather retailers, expensive watch shops, and dog bowls with water piped in on the street.
The film is a dark comedy called "The Corridor. Defended" and it's written and produced by Wayne State University graduate Mike Targus. A decade ago, back in the days in which the film is set, Targus had just graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in acting, and had spent a year or two helping his pal Jerry Belanger open the Park Bar, during which time he had some of the experiences that inspired the film. He's been out in Los Angeles since then, and his production company produced “39 to Go,” a web-series starring Jon Polito. Now he returns to town with a short firm to the place his journey began.
And what more fitting venue than the Elizabeth Theater, located just upstairs from the Park Bar. That's where, this coming Thursday, attendees will see what's billed as "a very authentic look a the city and its people, something that is often lost in mainstream television and cinema's portrayals of Detroit."
The film stars Targus, Hollywood character actor M.C. Gainey, and plenty of Detroit-area talent, Detroit-area settings, and an earful of Detroit-created tunes on the soundtrack, which includes the Detroit Cobras, the Dirtbombs, Timmy's Organism, and former Mutant Art Lyzak's LADetroiters.
The screening takes place at 8 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25, at the Elizabeth Theater, upstairs from the Park Bar, 2040 Park Ave., Detroit; tickets are $5 and are available at the door or by calling the Park Bar Box Office at 313-454-1286 or emailing [email protected]. For more information, call 313-454-1286, or see parkbardetroit.com or miketargus.com.
