You already know the stars of the movies and TV shows that have filmed in southeast Michigan recently. There's Clint Eastwood, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Hilary Swank, Sean Penn, Danny Glover, Al Pacino, Thomas Jane, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman and ... we could keep going, but you get the idea.
But what about the places that have emerged as all-star locations? The ones that cinematographers, directors and producers are relying on to make their projects look like a million dollars, whether their budgets are big or small?
As any local location scout will tell you, the region has plenty of great backdrops for scenes in comedies, dramas, spy thrillers -- whatever the screenplay requires.
We've rounded up some of the locations in Detroit, nearby suburbs and a few neighboring areas that have attracted filmmakers drawn here by the state's filmmaking incentives.
And we're inviting you to tell us about the cool filming locations that we didn't include.
These are places that offer convenience, versatility, dazzling looks and, usually, plenty of enthusiasm for being part of the efforts to build a film industry here.
Masonic Temple
If you're looking for something with grandeur and architectural variety, this must be the place. And "This Must Be the Place" with Sean Penn is among the productions that have filmed at this vast site. "Vamps," "Street Kings 2: Motor City," "Highland Park," "The Job," "Hostel: Part III" and "Detroit 1-8-7" also have filmed at the historic location, which has 1,037 rooms and can provide a range of looks, from Corinthian to Egyptian to English Tudor.
Things were so busy at one point earlier this year that "Vamps" was closing up shop, "Hostel: Part III" was filming and "This Must Be the Place" was preparing to shoot, according to the site's operations manager, Steven Genther, who thinks filmmaking is important to the Masonic's future.
With its ample space for parking, catering and set building, the Masonic can pretty much serve as a temporary movie studio.
"You can turn it into an office, you can turn it into an apartment, you can turn it into a chapel," says location manager Dave Krieger.
Ann Arbor area
The land of the Maize and Blue has played host to Rob Reiner's "Flipped," David Schwimmer's "Trust," "The Double" with Richard Gere, "Cedar Rapids" with Ed Helms and much more.
Filmmakers like the region for its convenience and versatility. "Ten or 15 minutes from the center of town, you can be at a cornfield," says Kay Seaser of the Ann Arbor area film office.
And then there's the vibrancy of Ann Arbor life -- the fun, quirky vibe, the restaurants, the cultural attractions. "The actors and directors like the atmosphere," says Lee Doyle, director of the University of Michigan film office.
U-M locations such as the law school provide an iconic Ivy League feeling, while the spacious North Campus Research Complex has played an airport for "Trust" and, according to Doyle, FBI and CIA offices for "The Double."
Detroit Metropolitan Airport
The airport has costarred with George Clooney in "Up in the Air," so to speak. The McNamara Terminal even landed a major role in the poster for the film.
Besides the Oscar-nominated film, several other projects have worked at the airport, including "Machine Gun Preacher" with Gerard Butler and "This Must Be the Place."
The stylish McNamara Terminal is an obvious draw, but Detroit Metro can offer three terminals for interiors -- including the closed Berry Terminal, which has the controlled space that filmmakers love -- and four terminal exteriors, according to Detroit Metro public affairs manager Scott Wintner.
With that array, you could shoot scenes at several settings and never know you're at the same airport.
Old Wayne County Building
When someone needs a structure to play a court, police station, city hall or other ornate public building, this has long been a leading contender. The five-story building on Randolph Street conveys an immediate air of elegance and history.
"It's such a majestic building, it really is," says Mike Mosallam, director of film initiatives for Wayne County.
For "Conviction," which stars Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, the site doubled as a courthouse in Massachusetts. During filming of HBO's "You Don't Know Jack," extras playing protesters marched outside to re-create the controversy stirred by Jack Kevorkian.
Other movies that have worked there include "Kill the Irishman," "Street Kings 2: Motor City" and "Highland Park."
Downtown Detroit's urban landscape
Portions of the city have played everything from New York (for the third "Harold and Kumar" movie) to Paris (for "The Double" with Gere). "Whatever somebody asks for, we have it," says Sommer Woods, Detroit's film, culture and special events liaison.
But Griswold Street stands out as the Meryl Streep of locations -- it can handle almost any role. Portions of Griswold have been used by "Transformers 3," "Real Steel" and "Red Dawn." Certain areas are described as being able to duplicate the look of cities like New York and Boston.
The street is also home to the art deco splendor of the Guardian Building, which was used by "Game of Death," which stars Wesley Snipes, "Street Kings 2: Motor City" and the "Harold and Kumar" movie, Mosallam says. And this summer, the Christmas-themed "Harold and Kumar" re-created a winter scene at the intersection of Congress and Griswold.
"It just feels like everything I work on loves that (street)," says location manager David Rumble.
Coney central
Detroit's beloved rivals, American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island, have costarred in episodes of "Food Feuds" on Food Network and "Food Wars" on the Travel Channel. When they're not battling on food-themed shows, they're appearing elsewhere.
Lafayette Coney Island's most memorable role is probably as the scene of a food fight in "Whip It," the roller derby comedy with Drew Barrymore.
American Coney Island's roomy corner locale has drawn several movie and TV projects. Recently, ABC's "Detroit 1-8-7" did a scene there that gave the nation a lesson in dining etiquette when James McDaniel's detective character lectured his partner about the inappropriateness of putting lots of ketchup on a coney dog.
"I think that's the most famous line in their whole show," says Grace Keros, owner of American Coney Island.
Belle Isle
For filmmakers, Detroit's island park oasis is a playground of possibilities -- there's an aquarium, a conservatory, a beach, wooded areas and the Detroit Yacht Club. And that's just a start. "It's like a treasure trove of locations," says Rumble.
"Real Steel," the robot boxing movie starring Hugh Jackman, filmed there. So did "Kill the Irishman," "Restitution," "Street Kings 2: Motor City," the ABC reality competition "Crash Course," "Detroit 1-8-7," the Hallmark Channel's "Smooch" and others.
And it has a great view of the rest of the city. "Belle Isle has the best skyline of Detroit without going to Windsor," says location manager Tom Jacob.
Meadow Brook Hall
The stately Tudor-revival style mansion has 110 rooms, ample gardens and roles in several movies, including the ABC pilot "The Prince of Motor City," "Youth in Revolt," "Highland Park" and "Transformers 3."
"It's been a residence, it's been a men's club, it's been a school," says Shannon O'Berski, marketing and communications manager.
No wonder it's one of the settings that Rumble compares to a gold mine for location experts.
Suburban stars
Although Detroit is a frequent location for movie and TV shoots, surrounding cities are also a big attraction.
For instance, Royal Oak provided settings for Lifetime's "Prayers for Bobby" with Sigourney Weaver and played San Francisco in a parade scene. Rochester was host to the cast and crew of "The Reasonable Bunch," a comedy about a chaotic family wedding that filmed there this year and stars Demi Moore, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn and Kate Bosworth. And "Scream 4" brought its famous franchise to Northville and Plymouth.
Detroit Medical Center
Exteriors of DMC buildings have been filmed for several projects. But most of the movie-making action happens at the former Hutzel Women's Hospital -- which is now referred to as the Kresge campus facility and is home to the Kresge Eye Institute and other offices.
At the site, casts and crews can work without disruption in closed and empty portions of three floors that contain the operating facilities and patient rooms of a typical hospital. "Game of Death," "Vanishing on 7th Street," Lifetime's "Secrets in the Walls," "The Double, "Scream 4," "Vamps" and "Detroit 1-8-7" have filmed there.
The DMC's David Manardo, whose office coordinates film-related activities, says staffers have put a lot of effort into reaching out to filmmakers. The DMC also has a link on its Web site for filming information.
The work has paid off. "I think the DMC has been very successful in reaching out to these films and getting the DMC's image into these movies and TV shows in a very positive way," says Manardo.
Restaurants and bars
Numerous eateries and bars have opened their doors to cinematic projects. Some have had Hollywood lightning strike more than once. The Detroit jazz club and restaurant Cliff Bell's has been filmed by "Kill the Irishman," "Vamps" and "Street Kings 2: Motor City." Co-owner Paul Howard isn't sure how Cliff Bell's got on the filming circuit, but he knows some location scouts and says the site has a timelessness that makes it versatile.
He also co-owns the Bronx Bar in Detroit, where "Little Murder," "S.W.A.T. Fire Fight" and "Detroit 1-8-7" have worked. For one shoot, the crew removed everything from the light fixtures to the jukebox, "and they put it back together perfectly."
Howard says he's open to hosting more projects at his venues. "We got scouted today for, oh, I guess I'm not supposed to say," he says genially.
Prisons and jails
The closed Southern Michigan Correctional Facility in the Jackson area was a key setting for "Stone," a drama starring Robert De Niro and Edward Norton.
The prison, which was home to "Stone" for several weeks and also to "Conviction," has an old-style prison look.
"It's what you would think when you walk into a 1940s, 1950s style prison," says John Cordell, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
That's not the only place of detention that's been in the filming loop. Wayne County jails have been used by "Machine Gun Preacher" and "The Double."
Russell Industrial Center
"Hostel: Part III" and "Detroit 1-8-7" have filmed here, and "Vanishing on 7th Street" built an outdoor cityscape at the site. "I make the joke that we should change our name to Russell Industrial Center Studio," says Eric Novack, the center's operations manager.
With seven interconnected buildings on 20 acres -- and a community of artists and small businesses -- this is the sort of space that can have one or two projects visiting a month, whether it's a movie, a video, a commercial or a photo shoot.
"It's a classic Albert Kahn design," says Novack. Hollywood visitors appreciate the big campus and the small architectural details. And, luckily, says Novak, the tenants enjoy the filmmaking as well.
Nicholson Terminal & Dock Co.
When "Kill the Irishman," a drama with Val Kilmer that takes place in 1970s Cleveland, was looking for industrial dock areas with a retro look, the movie found them at this location in Ecorse.
"The Double" also shot some action scenes here involving a car chase, says treasurer Patrick Sutka, who describes the filming at the Nicholson Terminal, a marine cargo handling company, as a business transaction and advises that location work requires proper planning and reviewing of contracts.
And there can be fun opportunities for the people who work there, like when "Kill the Irishman" used some stevedores as extras. Sutka says everyone is looking forward to seeing the film, since employees were in front of the cameras and there's "a sense of company pride that goes along with that."
Local homes
Plenty of houses in metro Detroit have been featured in cinematic projects. Two movies have filmed at the Livonia home of Kathy Urbanowicz and her husband, John. The first one, "Intent" with Eric Roberts, spent two days there in 2008 after she told her son, who's a gaffer, to let her know if a movie needed a house for scenes. The second film, "The Domino Effect," was there for three days in 2009 after finding her through the Michigan Film Office's Web site, where she had registered her home as a potential location.
And recently she got a phone call about lending her home to a TV commercial.
Urbanowicz says homeowners need to be realistic about what filmmaking involves. "You have to figure on having 40 or 50 people in your house all day," she says. For "Intent," her basement was taken over by craft services, which does catering -- "Eric Roberts ate in my basement," she says. "The Domino Effect" used the same space for wardrobe and makeup and turned her garage into a bakery as part of the set.
Unless it's a big-budget movie that needs a house for an extended time, "you're not going to make a lot of money doing this," she says. But she says it can be very exciting and a lot of fun -- if you're prepared for the organized chaos and long hours.
"You are totally displaced in your house," says Urbanowicz, who reserved one corner of her dining room to sit in during filming of "The Domino Effect."
Mike Binder, filmmaker and Michigan native
Philippe Martinez, Maxsar Studios CEO 
Emery King and Jim Burnstein, Chair and Vice-Chair, MFO Advisory Council
Ken Droz, Consultant and former MFO Communications Mgr. 
