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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Two employees who refused to serve a man and his wife because he was wearing a hoodie with President Trump’s name on it were fired after a video of the heated encounter went viral.
Erika Lindemyer and her husband, Jake, were forced out of a Smoothie King franchise location in Ann Arbor, Michigan, following a fiery clash with two young female workers on Sunday.
The employees claimed they didn’t “feel comfortable” serving the couple because of Jake’s pro-Trump hoodie, as captured by Erika in a viral video.
Jake and Erika fired back at the pair and insisted that they were being “discriminated” against based on their “political views.”
“We were just wanting a smoothie and you literally looked at us and I asked you if everything was OK and you said ‘We don’t feel comfortable serving you’ because of my husband’s hoodie. That is discrimination,” Erika spat.
“Okay, well, have a great day,” the first employee said.
“That is illegal,” Erika tried to insist again.
“I said Trump discriminates [against] us,” another employee chimed in.
“Okay, well that has nothing to do with us getting a smoothie!” Erika guffawed.
“OK, well that’s who you support though, that’s who you love,” the first employee chided.
“What’s embarrassing is that we’re American citizens and I wanted to get a smoothie,” Erika huffed.
The second employee noted that they “have a right to refuse service” and directed the couple to the exit.
“You asked a question and [the other employee] gave you an answer. Have a great day. Have a great day. The door’s right there,” the second worker said.
Trump merchandise. Leftism/X
Erika threatened to call the police while storming out, but it’s unclear if she did.
In a separate video shared Monday, one of the workers joked that she might’ve “accidentally started a race war” and called on the public to help remove Erika’s video.
“I am a minor and she recorded me without my permission. The people in the comments are all white and they’re all being hella racist, guys, please help me get this video taken down,” she implored.
Smoothie King confirmed that the girls involved in the viral confrontation “are no longer with the business” as of Monday.
“As a brand, Smoothie King is committed to ensuring our stores are a place free of discrimination of any kind, where every guest and team member is treated with care and respect,” the company wrote on X.
The owner of the Ann Arbor franchise location will also enforce “mandatory retraining for all employees that outlines our guest experience standards.”
In early December, a woman who worked at a Target in California was berated by a customer for wearing a Charlie Kirk “Freedom” T-shirt.
When the employee insisted she was allowed to wear the red shirt, the irate customer accused her of supporting “a racist.”
The medical center where the agitated customer worked was bombarded with upwards of 6,000 “profanity-laced” phone calls after online sleuths doxxed her personal information.
Ann Arbor — The Wolverines won the outright Big Ten regular-season title with two games to go, but it came at a great cost.
L.J. Cason, Michigan’s backup point guard and a key piece of the rotation, tore his right ACL in the championship-clinching win at Illinois. Just like that, Cason’s season was over and Michigan was hit with a brutal blow.
But when adversity strikes, opportunity knocks. While the team won’t be the same without Cason, coach Dusty May believes Michigan has backcourt pieces who can step up and make up for the loss.
“This is a great opportunity for Roddy (Gayle Jr.), Trey (McKenney) and Nimari (Burnett) to play more, and those guys are really good players,” May said Monday. “Our rotation has been nine and nine, I think, is too deep. It’s playing too many guys, if you want to optimize everyone. But we felt like we had nine guys that deserved to play, that gave us a different element.
“We look at this as another challenge, but it’s also an opportunity for guys to play a little bit more, to play longer periods, to play through a mistake, to play a little bit different role. We do feel like these guys are a lot better than they were earlier this year, so we’re prepared to handle whatever comes at us.”
May said he doesn’t know exactly when Cason tore his ACL, and neither does Cason. The sophomore guard fell to the court and got up favoring his right leg on two separate occasions against Illinois.
The first instance came in the final minute of the first half, when Cason tipped a long rebound ahead and chased it down to start a fast break. After he grabbed the ball in the air and bounced it backward between his legs to a trailing teammate, Cason went down. He got up hobbling, was subbed out and went back to the locker room.
Cason briefly checked back in during the second half and scored a driving layup a minute into his shift. But on Michigan’s next possession, he fell down after trying to score through contact and got up limping again. Shortly after that, Cason motioned to the Michigan bench to be taken out of the game and he exited for good.
“At halftime, the training staff came and said basically he’s passed all of his jump test. He just did the bike. He says he’s 100% ready to go. I was surprised, because I was expecting him to be out,” May said. “I said, ‘What about the test?’ They said both of his knees are loose, so it’s hard. We don’t feel that anything is torn.
“He comes back in. He lands funny again. … It’s unfortunate for him because he was playing so well. When an ACL pops on a noncontact injury, you’re like, ‘Man, what could we have done different?’ When it happens on a funny, quirky play, usually those are the ones that aren’t preventable.”
May added it hasn’t been determined yet when Cason will undergo surgery. Given the typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL ranges anywhere from nine to 12 months, May said Cason redshirting next season is a possibility that’s “on the table.”
“That’s certainly been discussed as well, and then that impacts the recruiting decision-making,” May said. “But right now, we’re still trying to figure out when he’s going to have it. What’s the timeline? Does it make sense to go ahead and sit out next year? … We haven’t made any definitive decisions, because all the information is so inconclusive.”
Moving forward, the plan isn’t to have just one guy replace Cason, who averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 assists in 18.6 minutes per game, shot 40.2% from 3-point range and served as a facilitator when starting point guard Elliot Cadeau wasn’t on the court. It’ll be a by-committee approach.
That said, Cason’s absence is certainly going to put much more on Cadeau’s shoulders. The Wolverines can ill afford to have Cadeau commit unnecessary fouls and miss long stretches at a time. Without Cason, Cadeau is the one guard who can break down opposing defenses off the dribble and create for others.
“This will force Elliot to be much more solid with his defensive decision-making when it comes to fouling,” May said. “He doesn’t have that insurance policy anymore named L.J. behind him, because L.J. came in and carried the load several games for our group. That’s not there anymore.”
While Burnett, Gayle and McKenney haven’t had to be facilitators in their roles this season, May expressed confidence all three can take on minutes with the ball in their hands and initiate the offense.
Even beyond the guards, May noted the team has “other capable weapons” who can serve as triggers on offense depending on the matchup, like forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. and big man Aday Mara.
Add it all together, May feels the Wolverines can find a way to absorb the blow, fill the void and forge ahead with Cason sidelined.
“We have enough to overcome what L.J. brought to the team,” May said. “I don’t know if he’s the best backup point guard in the country, but I can’t think of one that’s better. We’re losing a lot, but once again, we’re not going to sit here and look at it from that angle.
“This is an opportunity for all these other guys to do a little bit more, and they’re more than capable. It’s on us to find the right rotations and situations. Without a doubt, we have a lot of confidence in our roster.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
The Michigan State Police is looking for the driver of a Jeep that the agency said hit one of its patrol cars on Lodge Freeway in Detroit Sunday night.
According to officials, the incident happened at 7:50 p.m. on the northbound side of the freeway near Shaefer Highway. The agency said a trooper was investigating a crash and had the patrol car parked on the right shoulder of the freeway with its emergency lights on when it was rear-ended by the Jeep.
“The impact forced the patrol car to strike the concrete wall on the right shoulder,” according to the agency.
The Jeep then went across three lanes of the freeway and hit a median wall, officials said. The driver, identified by law enforcement as a 29-year-old Detroit woman, left the vehicle and fled the scene.
Michigan State Police First Lieutenant Mike Shaw said that while the trooper was evaluated and cleared at the scene by medical personnel, he was still taken to the hospital as a precaution.
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