We are home to such an amazing, diversely beautiful and talented community.. Lindsey Smith of Michigan Radio has followed the story of the video for a while, and as she reports on today's All Things Considered, it's what Grand Rapids, Mich., came up with in response to Newsweek, which included it on a list of "America's Dying Cities" subtitled, in case anyone missed the emphasis, "Cities With Bleak Futures Ahead."

Bliss said he chose American Pie because its inspiring, and there are worlds within the lyrics that lend themselves to interpretation. Renowned movie critic Roger Ebert calls it the best music video ever made without apology to Thriller creators Michael Jackson and John Landis.

"Some of my best writing comes from pressure", he said. All rights reserved (About Us). This is crucial for the development of Michigans Film, music, art community and local economy.. And it just came out of the blue, McLean said of the video. (Scroll down to watch the video.).

New legislation would bring back film incentives in the form of tax credits instead of rebates. The measures are still in committee in Lansing. It's certainly a technical accomplishment, and it's great fun, and it's a project that did many, many things right, down to the choice of the lesser-known live version of "American Pie," which includes an almost ghostly audience singalong at the first chorus that's just right for the moment when it appears. People wave handkerchiefs from balconies. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

To order The Pacific Palms Conference Resort in City of Industry stood in for Michigan State Universitys Music Hall in the scene that sees Oz abandon his lacrosse game to perform in his schools jazz choir with love interest Heather (Mena Suvari, who skipped American Wedding).

You know, its a tremendous video, just on its own, for the song.

It's a little counterintuitive, but a massive crowd ballet that specifically identifies no one turns out to be a surprisingly powerful translation of a impersonal economic projection to a story about individual people.

What's a group activity without Nerf guns?

Whatever you're looking for, you can probably find by searching above or selecting a categories below. However, the American Pie post-prom party scenes were actually filmed at a gorgeous waterside property in a small community called Lake Sherwood thats nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains. And Thursday, the Grand Rapids Press ran an editorial crediting urban experimentalist Bliss with having single-handedly changed the image of the city U.S. President Gerald Fords birthplace and so vividly reaffirming the locals sense of pride. Not bad for a kid who has never made a video, directed or appeared in any kind of professional performance, or even written a script. I dont want to be doing this when Im 30.

Hes the filmmaker. Change). The climactic act of American Pie sees the four friends fulfill their virginity-losing pact at a prom after-party hosted by their classmate Stifler (Seann William Scott) at his moms cottage on Lake Michigan. 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

The house Jim lives at is a Colonial-style home located on Cedar Avenue in Long Beachs Los Cerritos neighborhood, while his prom date Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) lives in a house located a block south on the same street.

Theres no background musicians in that. When the movie was finished shooting and everyone went back to Hollywood, Herz said, he had made plenty of contacts in Los Angeles.

The movie is a mix of coming-of-age comedy and gross-out gags and tells the tale of four friends Jim (Jason Biggs), Oz (Chris Klein), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) and Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) who make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate high school. So off he went to seek his fortune in the land of perpetual warmth. While he isn't one of the authors, Adam will be an executive producer for the upcoming and more than likely final episode called "American Reunion". Rehearsed in segments for a week in advance, and shot over four hours on a Sunday afternoon city authorities shut down the city core so that Blisss enormous cast and ATV-enabled camera crew could complete five full takes, only one of which actually reached completion the video took six months to organize, and the last half were 40-hour weeks, Bliss said. How Old Was Tom Cruise When He Made Top Gun In 1986?

In this video produced by Michigan Radio, some of the characters who appear in the Grand Rapids Lip Dub introduce themselves.

Mark Moormann is the man whos making the movie. (LogOut/ Herz was one of the celebrity guests during the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck in 2001. So where does Grand Rapids, and its 2011 lip dub, fit into bridging that gap? Second, where is a back-story on the American Pie YouTube video? Dungeons & Dragons Movie Reveals First Look At Cast In Costume at Comic-Con, Where Was American Pie Filmed? There's a pillow fight and a concert; there's a wedding and a couple gently grinning from the back of a pickup.

Videos. There's a procession of fire trucks and police cars.

Its been in the works for two years. More than perhaps anything else Grand Rapids could have done, the video is a highly watchable, good-natured reminder that including "Grand Rapids, Mich." on a list of dying cities is unavoidably a comment on the futures of the people who live there: kids doing gymnastics, guys with guitars, couples getting married, women in shorts and flip-flops, men with big beards, people who love swing dancing whether they're great at it or not. Its the right length for a lipdub, and the live version has the audience singing along, which suited our purposes perfectly. "Every single person I knew who promised me a job couldn't get a job themselves, " he said. Oh and it's one ten-minute continuous shot, primarily from the back of a constantly moving John Deere Gator as it drives the streets of Grand Rapids. Youve kicked the slats out not for the first time.First, please send me the link to ref the comment on my comment on the FallOut shelter. Thats what the movie is about, really, is this journey and then whats happened after.

Shes produced content for the likes of Culture Trip, WhatCulture and Prague.TV and started writing for Screen Rant in 2019 firstly as a news writer before progressing onto writing mini-features. Maybe when Im 40 I could see myself running some big public event, but thats a long way off.. 11am FRIDAY JULY 8 Local Spins on WYCE 88.1 FM: 11am FRIDAY JULY 15 Local Spins on WYCE 88.1 FM: 11am FRIDAY JULY 22 Local Spins on WYCE 88.1 FM: Speakpipe: Leave a voice message for Local Spins, Rob Bliss created a sensation with an elaborate 2011 lip-dub video, Albums That Changed My World: Dunesville co-director Brenna Harms Michigan marvels, Rick Springfield belies age, beguiles besotted fans, brings orchestral Human Touch to GR, Outdoor community concerts unite Michigan music lovers, showcase regional talent, Molly, After Ours to kick off return of GRAM on the Green concert series Thursday, Beaver Island Music Fest Revisited: Musical magic returns for best time of the summer, Seven Steps Up listening room set to close later this year; historic building to be sold. Black Pigeon Studios says the event aimed to bridge the gap between Hollywood and Michigan. Helen is a lifelong fan of the horror genre which started in the 1980s when films like Gremlins and Cats Eye scared the life out of her as a kid. One of the Songs of the Century: Don McLean brings his tour to Grand Rapids in June.

If you were online over the Memorial Day weekend, you may well have seen The Grand Rapids Lip Dub. Will Supermans DCEU Return Happen At Comic-Con 2022? rights reserved.

A fifth entry in the main American Pie movie seriesis reportedly in the works after a long gestation period, although nothing concrete has been confirmed as yet. Its the brainchild of a man named Spencer Proffer, McLean told FOX 17. A one-stop shop for all things video games. Its actually growing day by day.. I just loved seeing so many happy faces., Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be registered Torstar account holder. Hes a multi-instrumentalist and composer and would rather be digging into his musical career, he said. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. And they used a solo version.

It was not going to be like any other song ever, and it took me three months to figure out where I was going with it. Fast forward to Friday, June 17, 2022. Little did McLean know, his 1971 hit record influenced Grand Rapids in a major way, several decades later. And along with impacting the city, it also impacted McLean.

It is the largest and longest LipDub video, to date. If you want to throw me a bone for years of Michigan goodness, click the Patreon button below! Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Now, as McLean prepares to bring the 50th anniversary tour behind American Pie to DeVos Performance Hall on June 17, downtown Grand Rapids Black Pigeon Studios will host McLean as a guest speaker for a pre-concert event aimed at bridging the gap between Hollywood and Michigan and putting the state back on the film industry map. The May 22, 2011 grand production reportedly cost tens of thousands of dollars, included a major shutdown of downtown Grand Rapids and filled the streets with marching bands, motorcades and even some explosives.

Its a dream come true, a beautiful thing, he said. 1 single would be an understatement.

So I checked it out and I said, I couldnt believe it. It was like a Spielberg video for somebody. Maybe you saw it after Roger Ebert called it "the greatest music video ever made." View the photo bigger and see more in Garys In the City (Grand Rapids) slideshow. Helen loves a good movie musical too and has probably watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig And The Angry Inch, The Blues Brothers and Little Shop Of Horrors more times than is healthy. Adam Herz is the brain behind the popular "American Pie" franchise.

Copyright 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Other parts of American Pie were filmed around the greater Los Angeles area. He wrote the screenplay in three weeks, then earned $650,000 when it was sold to Universal. So what's a lip dub? But I didnt expect it would go around the world so fast and so big. Maybe someone e-mailed you the link. Those credits drew several big-name productions. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto

This is crucial for the development of Michigans film/art industry and local economy, he said, noting Black Pigeon plans a series of Bridge the Gap events featuring celebrities and industry leaders.

However, American Pie was actually filmed in Southern California mostly in the Long Beach area. (LogOut/ "My credit cards were maxed out.

Everythings going to be part of that documentary. Related:Why Eugene Levy Didn't Return For American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules.

Sikkema hopes his appearance here helps show that Grand Rapids has a profound global impact in art on the world. It was filmed in May of 2011 for Experience Grand Rapids by Scott Erickson Filmsand produced & directed by Rob Bliss.

In turn, we hope that each top executive, celebrity influencer we bring into the community will see that Michigan is an amazing landscape for film., A JUNE 17 SPEECH AND CONCERT IN GRAND RAPIDS, McLeans June 17 speech and the event at Black Pigeon, 342 Market Ave. SW, will precede his 8 p.m. concert at DeVos Performance Hall. A lip dub, in theory, isn't much more than people lip sync-ing to recorded music, but it's fair to say YouTube has transformed it into something of a competitive sport with groups trying to top each other. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. There are too many guitars to count.

Its just me and guitar., It may be hard to believe now, but more than a decade ago, in 2011, Newsweek named Grand Rapids Most Boring City in America., Community members responded with a citywide Lip Dub to a live version of McLeans American Pie.. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Winds cause damage, knock out power in parts of West, W MI doctors: Biden diagnosis shows COVID still circulating, That creepy white van is actually your kids cell, GOP gubernatorial candidates split on whether Trump, Buckle up: Seat belt use up slightly in Michigan,, Beach and Boating forecast: July 21, 2022, Abnormally dry conditions expand across West Michigan, Murphys 3-run homer helps As split DH with Tigers, Griffins announce new matchup in 2022-23 schedule, GR native finishes 8th in discus at World Championships, No tomorrow is promised: Local AUDL team rallies, Former Caledonia baseball standout drafted in 2nd, Culler Beauty foundation adjusts to your unique shade, Head to the lakeshore for the Holland Farmers Market, Help Exalta Health by hitting the golf course, Tips to protect your money during inflation, Enjoy a golf outing in the Manistee National Forest, VAI graduate school names new associate dean, Surfing to save: Nonprofit uses surf therapy to reach, KCAS Pets of the Week: Clarence and Pablo, marching through downtown with their lips moving to the words of the 1971 classic, In parts of W MI, winds cause damage, knock out power, MI sheriff: Creepy white van is your kids phone, GOP candidates split on whether Trump should endorse, Seat belt use up slightly in Michigan, study finds, Court rejects bid to nix Kelley because of Jan. 6, Mayan Buzz closing; owner accused of unpaid rent, MSP: Two dead in crash between pickup and semi-truck, FBI: No sign of Jimmy Hoffa under NJ bridge, Calhoun Countys new alert system offers more options, Mural, sculpture installed in downtown Muskegon, Primary preview: 87th House District Democrats, 19-year-old arrested for death of Battle Creek teen, Studio Park Arts Marketplace expands pop-up shop, Whats in store when Whole Foods opens in Kentwood, Total Liquor to take over former Israels showroom, Grand Rapids West Side gets new dog park. There are news vans. This event will speak to every creator and the knowledge gained will be priceless. Teen comedy American Pie was the directorial debut of fraternal filmmaking duo Paul and Chris Weitz and hit the big screen back in 1999.

But, despite offers to stage similar feel-good events in other American cities, Bliss, who earns his living as handler of the Internet business of local TV station Wood TV, says enough is enough.

Get articles like this right in your News Feed. There's a ukulele. The documentary is called The Day the Music Died: The Making of Don McLeans American Pie. (Newsweek's editorial staff has since pointed out that the piece appeared at Newsweek pursuant to a content-sharing agreement with a site called Main Street, and that the magazine didn't produce it.).

High schools and universities have done many of the best-known lip dubs, including this one currently at 1.7 million views that was shot backwards. I wanted to change the public image of Grand Rapids because Ive lived here all my life, and I know its not a dying city.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Eleven years ago, Don McLeans classic song American Pie was put to a lip dub that showed the city was not dying, as one national magazine put it. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. If you know Grand Rapids and the people who were making it vibrant in 2011 many who continue today youll definitely see some friends. On Friday, McClean visited Grand Rapids for the first time to sing at a concert and sing his praises of the city. The video, titled Grand Rapids LipDub, was uploaded to YouTube on Memorial Day weekend, and quickly went viral. Helen Armitage is a freelance writer based in the UK who has been writing online since late 2013. And with that in mind, director Rob Bliss and his friend Scott Erickson raised nearly $40,000 themselves to make the video. It was like a Spielberg video for somebody, McLean said of the video released in May of 2011. As of Friday, the moving, uplifting and strangely eerie epic, depicting Grand Rapids as a lively, healthy and cheerful community, had been viewed 1.9 million times.

Thisll be the day that I die.. They had the youth and enthusiasm.. American Pie was made on a relatively slight budget of $11 million but was a huge box office hit that grossed over $235 million worldwide. In any case what fun!! It was the first screenplay he had written -- not a bad way to start your career. Its got a lot of vibrancy and youth and the architectures interesting Im excited about tonight and I was happy to do this event, McLean told FOX 17. To say that Don McLeans classic song, American Pie, created quite the stir in Grand Rapids 11 years ago reviving interest in the hit some four decades after he released the No. Michigan in Pictures posts a photo a day from the great state of Michigan.