"Michael Bay's 'The Island' which is being distributed by DreamWorks is scouting for locations in Detroit.

One of Detroit's biggest symbols of urban decay is going Hollywood.

The tall, spooky 91-year-old Michigan Central Depot soon will play a cameo role in a major science fiction film starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.

Folks from the DreamWorks SKG movie studio were scouting the station and other Detroit locations on Tuesday for a film called The Island, Alex Worman, the movie's Los Angeles publicist, confirmed Tuesday.

The Island will be directed by Michael Bay, who also directed ""Pearl Harbor,"" Armageddon, The Rock and Bad Boys.

Worman would not say when production for The Island would start but said that McGregor and Johansson would be in Detroit for filming. Daily Variety, the Hollywood trade paper, has reported that the movie will start shooting on Oct. 25.

Worman said most of the movie will be shot in southern California but that Detroit beat out several cities for other scenes that are to be filmed.

About a half-dozen people from DreamWorks, which was cofounded by Steven Spielberg, donned hard hats as they navigated the train station. The structure, on Michigan Avenue southwest of Tiger Stadium, has been empty for about 17 years and is a favorite attraction for urban explorers despite the no-trespassing signs and barbed wire.

A representative of Detroit International Bridge Co. -- which owns the depot -- accompanied the crew but declined comment. Company president Dan Stamper did not return phone calls.

According to the Internet Movie Database Web site, the movie is scheduled to open in 2006. The site says the movie is about a man -- played by Ewan McGregor -- who ""goes on the run after he discovers that he is actually a 'harvested being' and is being kept along with others in a utopian facility.""

It is uncertain whether the depot will be that utopia. Most of the windows of the 18-story building are broken and the structure is surrounded by overgrown weeds. But the building -- with its Greek fa?ades and marble floors -- was once an architectural masterpiece.

In March, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced that the city would look into spending $100 million to $130 million to buy the depot and turn it into a state-of-the-art police facility. It's unclear whether that project will still happen.

Mayoral spokesman Howard Hughey said he was unaware of plans to film a movie in Detroit but called the production a great opportunity.

Without knowing exactly what they are shooting in Detroit, it's still very exciting to know that people from Hollywood have an interest in our city, Hughey said. When they are here we certainly hope to show them how magnificent our city is.

Source: /www.freep.com/news/locway/train13e_20041013.htm"">FreeP

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