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Metro Detroit - In the News

September 9, 2008

Hollywood may cast Smith Terminal's sequel
Nathan Hurst / The Detroit News

ROMULUS -- The final credits aren't yet rolling for the aged Smith Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The dated structure, with its '50s-era control tower and dilapidated concourses, retires as an active passenger terminal Sept. 16. But some believe the Smith is slated for a sequel, this time starring as the nation's premier set for movies and TV shows featuring airport scenes.
And while many travelers think the aged terminal can't bow out soon enough, film producers and airport officials alike say the Smith is a moviemaker's dream.

"You wouldn't believe the interest we're getting from Hollywood," said Scott Wintner, a spokesman for the Wayne County Airport Authority who's working to help coordinate with film producers looking to shoot at Metro. "They say there's a lot to like about the Smith."

Airport officials have been actively courting filmmakers, partly to help snag revenue through permit and production fees. It's an effort that could become much easier after the Smith ends its nearly 51-year career processing passengers Tuesday night.

Without the daily hubbub and security concerns of an active terminal, the Smith will be, for a time at least, the largest and oldest defunct terminal in the country without immediate plans for its demolition, while retaining all the aesthetic makings of an airport.

"It's not often you have a facility like this that doesn't have thousands of passengers and active airlines operating at the same time," Wintner said. "And since it'll just be sitting here, we're happy to welcome anyone who wants to film here."

The circumstances that will keep the Smith building around are based in complicated contracts between the Airport Authority and the airlines that operate there. While the Smith's C concourse has to be destroyed immediately to make room for completion of the new North Terminal, the main terminal building and the A and B concourses don't have a demolition time schedule.

Airport officials say the Smith can't -- and won't -- be reopened for passenger service per contracts with the airlines serving Detroit, but the airport authority offices are in the Smith mezzanine.

Because building new offices on the airport grounds could cost the airlines or their passengers more, plans call for keeping the authority housed where it is. And until those plans change, the Smith, with its funky blue-glass façade and old-school luggage carousels, may soon become the airport set of choice for Hollywood.

Airport Cashes In

The state has already gained favor with the entertainment industry as a friendly place to do business for moviemakers.

New tax incentives that give an effective 40 percent discount on production costs have filmmakers and TV producers flocking to the state.

Already, Metro Airport has started to cash in on some of the business through the Smith Terminal.

One ABC television pilot, "The Prince of Motor City," filmed in one of the terminal's passenger rotundas. Other recent filming at the terminal includes a smattering of MTV reality show episodes and a documentary on Motown musicians.

A feature-length film tentatively titled "Bat Out of Hell," a movie in which coach passengers are forced to overtake a covey of vampires seated in first class, has been scouting out the Smith for scenes depicting pre-departure at Los Angeles' LAX airport and landing at New York's JFK.

Airport officials hope to finalize a contract with the film's producers within the next few months.

'Putting Michigan on Map'

The oldest surviving airport terminal at Metro -- originally completed in 1957 -- has long been the bane of travelers who dislike its low ceilings, dated fixtures and a drab, dark ambiance.

"It's gross," said Courtney Phillips-Leone, a frequent business traveler from Westland who takes flights in and out of the Smith about once a month. "It's like flying into another decade."

That's music to the ears of moviemaking types. Just about everything that makes the Smith Terminal repulsive for passengers makes it perfect for producers.

Those staid, dreary waiting areas are distinctively nondescript, making them perfect for a scene about a flight departing just about any city in the world. Change the signage, producers say, and those funky rotundas on the Smith's A and B concourses can go from Detroit to Dallas to Denver in just a few minutes.

The same goes with the ticket counters in the main lobby. Because all of the airlines using the Smith will be moving to the new North Terminal for its Sept. 17 opening, movie producers would be able to make the space into whatever they want. Add some vintage Pan-Am or TWA logos, and the Smith could easily become a '70s-era passenger terminal with minimal effort.

Jeff Spilman, a managing partner of S3 Entertainment Group, a Ferndale firm that helps Hollywood producers find what they need to work efficiently in Michigan, said having an airport terminal like the Smith available will almost certainly help boost Michigan's already growing reputation in the film industry.

"When you look at valuable assets like an airport that are willing to accommodations for producing a film, that's vital for bringing crews back time and time again," Spilman said.

"This is the kind of diversity that's putting Michigan on the map" for moviemaking.

You can reach Nathan Hurst at (313) 222-2293 or nhurst@detnews.com.