BINGHAM FARMS, Mich. – Two years ago the building off Telegraph Road in Bingham Farms was home to a bustling high-tech graphics hub where Hollywood's presence was felt.
Now, Speedshape is all gone, and lot of unpaid bills are left in its wake. The offices are abandoned. The carpeting is gone. A wall poster is the evidence that movies were ever the focus here.
Back in 2011, the state of Michigan gave the Weinstein Company just less than $2 million to push $4.5 million in spending for "Spy Kids 4." Weinstein contracted Speedshape to do the work.
Speedshape left town owing a lot of people money. First and foremost on the debt list is JFK Investments, the landlord. Its president said Thursday that Speedshape rang up $250,000 in debt that it skated on.
The movie CG company also owes Oakland County just more than $20,000 in personal property tax. Office furniture is the only thing left of value at the offices, and JFK likely will end up fighting over it.
The Michigan Film Board released a statement on Speedshape Thursday evening:
"It is disappointing Speedshape left Michigan in this fashion. We did not have jurisdiction over them. We still believe digital media and animation has great potential," the statement reads.
The Speedshape logo claims it has offices in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and London. Local 4 has not found evidence that any of that is true.
Local 4 attempted to contact the company's owner by phone and email on Thursday but never heard back from him.