Metro Detroiters launch film and TV studio devoted to Native American stories, culture

• Two metro Detroiters have launched a studio devoted to film and TV projects with Native American content.
• Studio of the Americas is in Atlanta at Tyler Perry Studios, one of the largest production facilities in the nation.

The metro Detroiters behind Studio of the Americas have an ambitious vision of what they hope to accomplish. Their goal is to produce film and television projects that authentically portray Native American stories, culture and traditions.

The venture is committed to "amplifying Indigenous voices, casting Native actors in leading roles, and training the next generation of behind-the-scenes talent," according to a news release on the venture's official launch.

In a recent Zoom interview, Studio of the Americas CEO and co-founder, Northville author Robert C. Wilson, said the goal is to create something that will not only provide content but also "develop a cadre of Native creators in the film industry that will be able to carry on long after us."

“It’s a big mission, but it's heartfelt,” adds chairman and co-founder Clifton Chippewa, an Emmy-nominated industry veteran from Ann Arbor.

Studio of the Americas has offices at a well-known site: the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, one of the largest production facilities in the United States and the former home of the historic Fort McPherson military base.

The fully independent studio has a slate of 15 projects that includes a long-awaited movie adaptation of Wilson's 1980 bestselling thriller, “Crooked Tree,” and a documentary on the impact of tobacco on Native American communities, “Smoke Alarm.”

It also is collaborating with the Georgia Film Academy on an industry training program for Native American students across the country.

Like so many ideas in Hollywood, this one involved connecting with the right people at the right time.

The story stretches back to Wilson’s novel “Crooked Tree,” which is set in Michigan’s north country and involves ferocious bear attacks interwoven with a Native American legend. The reviews praised “Crooked Tree” for being a great read and for its treatment of Native American themes.

"An intelligent horror story with skin-crawling entertainment. ‘Crooked Tree’ is one of the rare books that uses Indian lore with intelligence and respect," wrote the Denver Post. The New York Times called it “an intense, meticulously researched thriller that handles Native American beliefs with both suspense and dignity."Through the years, “Crooked Tree” attracted attention from major Hollywood studios and players, including, at one point, William Friedkin, the acclaimed director whose films included "The Exorcist." Wilson says Friedkin would have been a perfect fit, noting that New York Newsday once described "Crooked Tree" as a cross between "Jaws" and "The Exorcist."

“Crooked Tree” was republished in the mid-2000s by the University of Michigan Press and drew interest from Johnny Depp and his production company, according to Wilson. Eventually, Wilson himself decided to produce a film adaptation, which he says came close to being made during the era of Michigan's film incentives, which ran from 2008 to 2015.

More than a decade ago, while reaching out to Native Americans in the movie industry about becoming part of a “Crooked Tree” adaptation, Wilson was introduced to Chippewa by Kristi Hoffman, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and costume designer who has worked on "Real Steel," "The Revenant" and "Captain America: Civil War."

Chippewa, a member of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe, was a hairstylist in Ann Arbor when his career intersected with filmmaking. A friend invited him to help with the hairstyling for extras for "61*," the 2001 HBO film about Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris’ home run contest that was filmed at the now-demolished Tiger Stadium.

During Michigan’s film incentives, Chippewa was busy with work on movies like the George Clooney political drama “The Ides of March” and the Sam Raimi-directed “Oz the Great and Powerful.” He was part of the three-person team nominated for an Emmy for hairstyling for the 2009 TV movie “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story,” which starred Cuba Gooding Jr.

When Chippewa first heard about the “Crooked Tree” project from Hoffman, he says his first thought was, “Whoa, that’s cool!” When he asked Wilson whether he could see the script, “I read it and I was like … 'Why hasn’t this thing been made? It’s amazing!'"

More than a year ago, a friend of Chippewa's helped Wilson and him get in contact with Motion Picture Association chairman Charles Rivkin, who subsequently offered to call Tyler Perry Studios. The two were then invited to Atlanta to see Perry’s massive complex.

Wilson and Chippewa spent the day with Steve Mensch, the then-president of Tyler Perry Studios, who they say was incredibly kind and supportive of their idea. Mensch died in a plane crash in December.

”We hit it off, and he invited us to establish Studio of the Americas ... within the Tyler Perry complex,” says Wilson.

Chippewa says Tyler Perry Studios continues to be supportive of their vision, noting: "They’re all really nice. They’re just really out to help us a lot. Everybody loves the project.”

Although Studio of the Americas is financially separate from Tyler Perry Studios, Wilson says having access to the complex's infrastructure is a big advantage. Their original business plan called for having to raise $100 million to build their own facilities.

The first project on Wilson and Chippewa's slate is the documentary “Smoke Alarm,” now in production, which has obtained what Wilson calls “a generous grant” from Global Action to End Smoking.

The president of that organization, Clifford Douglas, is a friend of Chippewa who also has a Michigan connection. Douglas, a University of Michigan and U-M law school alum, was the former director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network and, in that role, the former leader of the statewide Smoke-Free Environments Law Project.

“Smoke Alarm” will be narrated by Eugene Brave Rock ("Dark Winds,” “The Revenant”), who said in a February news release: "The work and vision of Clifton Chippewa and Robert Wilson of Studio of the Americas align with a deep sense of cultural storytelling, creativity and purpose. Their mission to cultivate emerging voices and honor cultural narratives is truly inspiring. And the stories they tell are flat-out blockbuster entertainment.”

Wilson and Chippewa are looking now to secure production and distribution partners, financing and talent agency representation. There are 15 different movie and streaming properties connected to Tyler Perry Studios, and Wilson and Chippewa view "Crooked Tree" as the first of a potential four-movie franchise.

Wilson, who has a condo in Northville and a family cottage in the Grayling area, and Chippewa, who lives in Ann Arbor, says they commute to Atlanta about once a month and expect to be there more as things proceed.

Their offices are part of a century-old barracks situated in front of the parade grounds of the old Fort McPherson, according to Wilson. He adds that some of the 2024 film "The Six Triple Eight," a World War II drama starring Kerry Washington, was filmed there.

"When Clifton and I go down there, we stay in one of the (historic) generals’ houses,” says Wilson.

These two metro Detroiters aren't generals, but they say they are on a mission of sorts — one to give more of a voice to the Native community and the countless stories it has to tell.

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.