Movie Producers Eye Abandoned Train Depot

DETROIT-While the mayor’s office sees an abandoned, 17-story train depot in the city as a future police station, some movie producers see the old Michigan Central Depot as having another short-term use. The depot, which has been abandoned for the past 15 years and has been the subject of numerous revitalization plans, will serve as a backdrop for a new science fiction movie staring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.

The 91-year-old former train station will be used as a location for the movie “The Island.” The movie will be directed by Michael Bay, director of “Pearl Harbor,” “Armageddon,” “The Rock” and “Bad Boys.”

Last year, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s office said he wanted to use the terminal for a new police headquarters, but no work has started on or around the building. CenTra Inc. owns the terminal and the nearbyAmbassador Bridge to Canada. Built in 1913 and vacated by Amtrak in 1988, the depot has been reduced to ruin by vandalism and the elements. Virtually every window is broken and the city has considered razing the structure.

Scouts from the DreamWorks SKG movie studio have scouted the terminal and other Detroit locations and reportedly plan shooting next week.