Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Ewan MacGregor in Michigan Central Depot

13. October 2004 • Murph
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Detroit’s abandoned Michigan Central Depot will likely appear in The Island, a science fiction movie starring Ewan MacGregor and Scarlett Johansson. From the Detroit Free Press:

According to the Internet Movie Database Web site, the movie is scheduled to open in 2006. The site says the movie is about a man—played by Ewan McGregor—who “goes on the run after he discovers that he is actually a ‘harvested being’ and is being kept along with others in a utopian facility.”

It is uncertain whether the depot will be that utopia. Most of the windows of the 18-story building are broken and the structure is surrounded by overgrown weeds. But the building—with its Greek façades and marble floors—was once an architectural masterpiece.

Mayoral spokesman Howard Hughey obviously isn’t thinking about The Crow:

“Without knowing exactly what they are shooting in Detroit, it’s still very exciting to know that people from Hollywood have an interest in our city,” Hughey said. “When they are here we certainly hope to show them how magnificent our city is.”

> Detroit Free Press, 13 October: Michigan Central Depot’s new role: movie set