Filming Begins for Detroit Riots Movie

(Originally published Oct. 5, 2016) DETROIT, MI — It's been almost 50 years since the devastating race riots of 1967 in Detroit. A new motion picture, to be released next summer in conjunction with the anniversary of the riots, is being filmed partially in Detroit, and some of the film's stars are beginning to arrive in town for that.

One of the movie's stars, British actor Will Poulter, tweeted a message Saturday that said simply, "DETROIT." Earlier this week, crews were filming at the Ingham County Courthouse in Mason, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Producer Colin Wilson didn't specify how long the crews would be in Detroit, but told the Free Press the local filming would involve some of the story's most important components.

Also earlier this week, sources confirmed that actor John John Krasinski, who starred in the TV show "The Office," will join the cast. It is unknown if he will be in Detroit.

The "Untitled Detroit Project" takes place during the five days of civil unrest that devastated the city in the summer of 1967. Known in local circles at the 12th Street Riot, the 1967 upheaval began in the wee hours on a Sunday morning in July when police raided a speakeasy. The riot lasted for five days, surpassing the ugly violence of the city's 1943 riots (pictured above) with 43 dead, nearly 1,200 injured and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed. President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions.

» For more on this story, go to the Detroit Free Press.

Photo by Ninian Reid via Flickr Commons