by
Update: The singer-turned-filmmaker is in town.
Michael Bolton landed Monday for two days of interviews, appearances and a guest-of-honor seat Tuesday night at the a landmark theater in northwest Detroit.
The celebrity diner poses during lunch Monday at a Detroit icon. "Loved my four-square with olives," he tweets to us Tuesday. (Instagram photo)
"I'm here! Ready!" he tweets. "Feels great to be back in Detroit!! Seeing all the continued growth."
The occasion is the premiere of "American Dream: Detroit." (Details below.)
Earlier coverage, May 11:
A five-year documentary project that singer Michael Bolton calls a "love letter to Detroit," premieres Tuesday at 26 theaters around Michigan and about 420 others nationwide in a one-day event.
The Grammy winner behind "American Dream: Detroit" plans to watch at the historic Redford Theatre in northwest Detroit.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $16 here (plus $2 "processing fee") via printable e-ticket, mobile phone or box office pickup. Doors open at 6 p.m. at 17360 Lahser Rd., near Grand River Avenue.
The documentrary, directed by Christina Kline and Bolton, also will be screened at the same time tonigh at Fairlane Megastar 21 in Dearborn, the Maple Theatre in Bloomfield Hills, Emagine Novi 18 and AMC Forum 30 in Sterling Heights.
A promotional blurb says it "illustrates why the history and the future of Detroit matters in the global landscape." Among notables interviewed on screen by the singer are Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Alice Cooper, Dan Gilbert, Bill Ford, Chris Ilitch, John Varvatos and Mitch Albom. Two clips are below.
Earlier article, April 9:
Michael Bolton, who loves Motown, isn't from around here. He's a native of New Haven, Conn. But he grew to love Detroit, and now he's about to release a documentary, "American Dream: Detroit."
"I didn’t set out to make a documentary about Detroit," Bolton, 65, tells People magazine. "I was first pulled into the city by its rich musical history and then a much deeper story started to reveal itself. I didn’t know where it was leading, but I felt so personally compelled to follow."
His film, in development since 2012, originally was titled "Gotta Keep Dreamin." Bolton screened scenes at a Detroit media event in October 2015, when he voiced hopes of adding interviews with Kid Rock, Madonna, Eminem and Bob Seger. None had answered his requests, the Grammy winner told reporters then.
Bolton says he's moved by the ways Detroiters are working to bounce back from an economic recession and 2013-14 municipal bankruptcy.
"These people have become my heroes," People quotes him as saying. "I was so immediately and irresistibly inspired by this relentless will, because it renews the spirit for me of the American Dream that I grew up with and that fueled me to chase my own dream."
The film includes interviews with Dan Gilbert, Christopher Ilitch, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Bill Ford, Mitch Albom and Alice Cooper.
