Michigan
‘Holland’ sold-out screening offers first look at Michigan-set thriller movie
HOLLAND, MI – Locals flocked to downtown Holland Monday night for a sneak peek at a mystery thriller filmed in the town’s iconic tulip fields.
‘Holland,’ directed by Mimi Cave, was mostly filmed in Tennessee, but some scenes were filmed in and around the authentic Dutch windmill at the city’s historic Windmill Island.
Over 500 people attended the sold-out screening of the new film at Knickerbocker Theatre, 86 E Eighth St., on Monday, March 24.
‘Holland’ director to host free hometown screening for Michigan-set thriller film
“It was a lot of research missions with Mimi coming to Holland in the beginning to see families, homes — people who actually live here and are Dutch,” said JC Molina, production designer of the new film. “It was really important for us and my team to recreate these sets because we weren’t able to shoot it here and to give it that authenticity and respect that it really deserves.”
The one-hour and 48-minute movie follows Nancy Vandergroot, a seemingly ordinary teacher and homemaker played by Nicole Kidman, whose picture-perfect life in Holland during the early 2000s is turned upside down when she and her colleague (Gael García Bernal) become suspicious of a secret, only to discover that nothing in their lives is what it seems.
Mayor Nathan Bocks, who moderated a Q&A with Cave and Molina following the free screening, said the film will be great exposure for those who’ve never been to the area.
“What everybody needs to remember is it’s not a documentary, it’s not about the city of Holland, but it happens to take place here,” Bocks said. “One of the great things about Holland is it’s a community that has a personality. We’ve got a long, rich history, and I think that shines through in the movie.”
Despite being only partially filmed in Holland, the movie captures the city’s small-town charm by featuring events like Tulip Time, showcasing the local high school and incorporating scenes near the Holland Peanut Store and other long-standing local shops.
For Holland resident Kendal Southworth, the excitement lies in seeing how the filmmakers incorporated the beloved spots around town.
“The movie did a great job capturing Holland and some of its funny quirks, and I was very impressed,” Southworth said. “There was a line in there about, ‘This is Holland, not Allegan,’ which was hilarious. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of reaction. You could tell that it hit home for a lot of people, especially the people who were born and raised here.”
But some viewers, like Paul Kleinheksel, 84, weren’t so impressed with the film.
Kleinheksel walked into the theatre with high hopes of how Holland would be portrayed but left disappointed.
“It was interesting, for sure,” he said. “Looking at the credits, it was mostly filmed in Tennessee, which everyone knew. ‘Why Holland?’ They have a few scenes at the windmill, but nothing quite captured our town. They chose to use the name of our town and put it on a movie with big-name actors, but it was disappointing.”
“Holland” streams nationwide on Prime Video on March 27. It initially premiered at the March 7-15 SXSW (South by Southwest) Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas.
Cave told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press that the film captures the hospitality of upper midwestern suburbia while weaving in unexpected twists and turns.
“It’s a really entertaining storyline,” she said. “My hope is people can sit back and enjoy it — not think too much and really be enveloped in the world we’ve created.”
Mayor Bocks shared a similar sentiment. While the film is a murder mystery, Bocks assures viewers that such events are not a regular occurrence in Holland.
Bocks, a resident of Holland, encourages those who have seen the film to visit the city and experience its true character firsthand.
“The fact that I didn’t actually grow up here, I can see some of the quirkiness that those who’ve lived their entire lives here might not see,” he said. “That’s one of the things that makes it such an incredible place to live. I think people are going to find this is an absolutely fabulous place, the most wonderful place in the world.”
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Michigan
College basketball rankings: Michigan holds off Arizona at No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports poll
Rising stars in college basketball you need to know
Caleb Wilson, Nate Ament, and Kingston Flemings are emerging as names to watch this season.
There is no change at the top in the USA TODAY Sports men’s college basketball coaches poll this week, but the margin for the No. 1 team is much closer.
Michigan is still first, receiving 16 of 31 No.-1 votes while keeping its record clean for another week. But No. 2 Arizona has closed within four poll points of the Wolverines with 14 first-place votes after the Wildcats blew away Alabama to rack up yet another ranked win on the road over the weekend. Duke holds at No. 3 overall, claiming the remaining first-place nod, and Iowa State and Connecticut continue to round out the top five.
TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll
In fact, the first 11 positions in the poll are the same. Purdue, Gonzaga, Houston, Michigan State and Brigham Young comprise the lower half of the top 10, with Louisville retaining the 11th spot.
Vanderbilt climbs two spots to No. 12 as Alabama slides four places to 16th. Nebraska makes the week’s biggest jump, a gain of seven positions to No. 15 after the unbeaten Cornhuskers defeated Illinois on the road.
No new teams enter the Top 25, as Iowa hangs on to the final spot after a loss to Iowa State.
Michigan
Bodies of missing snowmobilers recovered from icy Michigan lake
MASON COUNTY, MI – The bodies of two missing snowmobilers were found Sunday morning.
Two Grand Haven men were recovered by first responders in six feet of water on Dec. 14 in Round Lake off Sugar Grove Road in Mason County’s Sheridan Township.
The riders, aged 65 and 49, were reported missing at 12:30 a.m. after their family had not heard from them for several hours, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
At first, through family of the missing, police believed the two may have been snowmobiling on trails in Lake County.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office started searching trails in attempts to locate them.
Around 4:30 a.m., the search expanded to include eastern Mason County.
A searcher located snowmobile tracks leading onto Round Lake off Sugar Grove Road. A further search showed no tracks leaving the lake.
Due to darkness and heavy snowfall, a check of the lake from shore could not be performed.
At first light, police saw what appeared to be a snowmobile helmet several hundred yards offshore on the ice.
Mason County Sheriff’s Office launched a drone when weather permitted and spotted a hole in the ice.
There was a helmet at the hole.
Rescuers attempted to get to the area, but kept falling through the ice, making rescue efforts impossible, the press release stated.
The Michigan State Police Dive Services Team and Mason County dive team were called to assist and made their way onto the ice.
An airboat from the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office responded to support recovery efforts.
While the team worked to get to the hole in the ice, an MSP diver fell through the ice, but was properly tethered to another diver and was pulled from the ice unharmed.
Law enforcement recovered the bodies in approximately six feet of water. Two snowmobiles were also found submerged under the ice.
The Ludington Police Department, United States Coast Guard-Manistee, Michigan DNR-Law Enforcement, Branch Township Fire Department, Carr Fire Department, Fountain Area Rescue, Free Soil Fire Department, Hamlin Fire Department, Irons Fire Department, Luther Fire Department, Pleasant Plains Fire Department, Manistee Fire Department and Norman Township Fire Department all assisted at the scene.
Michigan
Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing
One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week.
“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters.
“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”
That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.
On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.
Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore
Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.
“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’
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