Bring Crime 2 Cleaveland
Alex P. Michaels and Peter Lawson Jones
2015 Presenter
Transformative Arts & Culture category
Alex P. Michaels and Peter Lawson Jones wanted to shoot a crime web/TV series in Cleveland, Ohio. While real crime hurts a region and leaves marks that takes years to heal, the fictional crime series was intended to create jobs, strengthen the economy, and give an outlet to tell stories that can bring the community together.
After making a pitch for a crime web/TV series at Accelerate 2015, Alex established himself as the Shaker Heights Film Czar. His company, Prelude2Cinema, received private investments and support from the Shaker LaunchHouse, where it opened a “Cinema Industry” office to cultivate talent and produce and distribute movies online. In April 2016, Prelude2Cinema become incorporated. He began a series through Facebook of monthly film festivals and a membership group known as the Crusade to fund his crime series pitch, which is now a feature film series; an action thriller from a Los Angeles film company that is moving to Ohio; and a feature by Shaker Heights students.