Michigan: An American Portrait

A Duncan Group production in association with Crouse Entertainment Group.

michigan triumph of nature and enterprise

Michigan: An American Portrait is one of the most ambitious television projects ever produced on the state of Michigan for national distribution. This is a multi-platform project designed to explore and celebrate the traditions, history, and culture of Michigan.

The sixty-minute documentary is visually stunning and captures the breadth and scope of this geographically diverse state. For three years, crews filmed at over 80 locations throughout the state from dramatic footage from atop the southern span of the Mackinac Bridge to drone footage in multiple locations including fall colors near Copper Harbor. They have endured sub-zero near blizzard conditions at Bond Falls to “million dollar” sunsets over Little Traverse Bay and other locals along Lake Superior, Michigan and Huron; and the renaissance taking place in Detroit.

The film captures many important elements of Michigan’s history including, but not limited to: roots deep in the Native American experience to world renowned innovations in automation, farming, technology, manufacturing, and the arts.

Key participants in the project include Crooked Tree Arts Center Petoskey/Traverse City, WGVU Public Media/ Grand Rapids, the Duncan Group and Crouse Entertainment Group. Coming Soon to PBS stations nationwide.

 

The Reagan Presidency

Network: PBS

A co-production with Duncan Entertainment

The Reagan Presidency is a three-hour public television special.  This landmark documentary will offer an historical portrait of America’s 40th President as told through the recollections, observations and opinions of those who knew him and those who have spent considerable time analyzing the Reagan presidency.  But the focus of the documentary is the crucial events associated with his two-term presidency and the legacy he left behind.  The Reagan Presidency is a multi-faceted project that includes domestic and international distribution, a classroom series to be marketed to high schools nationwide, planned screenings and premiers, and proposed series of symposia at leading universities.  Major funding provided by Boeing with additional funding provided by BNSF Railway.

The mini-series is currently airing nationwide on pubic broadcasting. Please check local listings for the air date on your public broadcasting station.

 

Tolkien & Lewis: Myth, Imagination, and The Quest for Meaning

A Duncan Group production in association with Crouse Entertainment Group and Iowa Public Television. Currently airing nationwide on PBS stations.

Tolkein Lewis Title

In 1931, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien – long before fame would eclipse their careers as professors - and fellow scholar Hugo Dyson spent an evening at Lewis’s apartment in Magdalen College in Oxford, England. Their discussion is the stuff of legend as they engaged in a lively debate that challenged their notions of myth, truth, reality, the imaginative process and faith. At the time, Dyson and Tolkien believed in Christianity while Lewis was a former atheist who’d become a theist.

This film explores in depth that evening and the result that changed Lewis’s life. Both Tolkien and Lewis would go on to write some of the most significant and popular literature of the 20th century. Their most popular books, Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, combined have sold in excess of 150 million copies worldwide, and the films adapted from the books have earned billions worldwide.

This is the most in depth look at the power of myth since the breakthrough PBS series with Joseph Campbell in 1988. It is also the first documentary exploring Lewis’s and Tolkien’s remarkable personal and literary friendships to be produced for North America television.

 

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Tolkein Lewis coverTolkien & Lewis: Myth, Imagination, and The Quest for Meaning
$20.00
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The Reagan PresidencyThe Reagan Presidency
As seen on Public Broadcasting
DVD - 180 minutes
3-Part Miniseries
$24.99
Amazon Prime

 

CS Lewis: The Magic Never EndsThe Life and Faith of CS Lewis
Narrated by Ben Kingsley
Amazon Prime


Beyond the Gridiron: The Life and Times of Woody HayesBeyond the Gridiron: The Life and Times of Woody Hayes
DVD - 60 minutes
$14.95
Purchase Online

Lost in Middle AmericaLost In Middle America
Narrated by Hal Holbrook
As seen on PBS
DVD - 60 minutes
$14.95
Purchase Online

 

Positive Thinking: The Norman Vincent Peale StoryPositive Thinking: The Norman Vincent Peale Story
As seen on PBS
DVD - 60 minutes
$14.95
Purchase Online

 

The Fall of Newt GingrichThe Fall of Newt Gingrich
As seen on PBS
DVD - 60 minutes
$14.95
Contact Manifold Productions

 

The Magic Never Ends: The Life and Work of C.S. Lewis

Network:  Public Broadcasting

Awards:

  • Emmy, Most Outstanding Musical Score
  • Gabriel Award,  Best Documentary of the Year
  • Movie Guide Award, Best Documentary of the Year
  • Emmy nomination, Best Direction
  • Movie Guide Nomination, Best Television Show

Narrator: Sir Ben Kingsley

A co-production with Duncan Entertainment

The first in depth documentary ever produced on C. S. Lewis for American television, The Magic Never Ends provides an intimate look at the most influential Christian writer of the past century.

Children’s writer, Christian apologist, Oxford don, scholar, and popular lecturer, Clive Staples Lewis was the author of 38 books – all of which are still in print. The classics in the Lewis collection include The Screwtape Letter, Mere Christianity and A Grief Observed.  The documentary looks in depth at Lewis’s classic The Chronicles of Narnia considered the most popular children’s series of the 20th century.

C.S. Lewis is remarkable for many reasons.  While his life is profiled in significant detail in the documentary, it is his work that achieved a lasting impact.  Scholars include  Colin Manlove (University of Edinburgh), Lyle Dorsett (Wheaton College), Dabney Hart (Georgia State University in Atlanta) and Christopher Mitchell (Wheaton College) contribute extensively to the program's analysis of Lewis' work.  In addition, the show features interviews with actress Debra Winger (from the movie Shadowlands), Walter Hooper (C.S. Lewis editor and scholar), and Lewis' stepson, Douglas Gresham. 

Music was composed by acclaimed musician David Barrett.

Running time: 56 minutes

 

The Fall of Newt Gingrich

Network: PBS

A Manifold Production

Development & Producing Consultant: Crouse Entertainment

Newt GingrichThis historic documentary takes a behind the scenes look at the speaker of the house and the resulting election of 1998.  Camera’s capture Newt Gingrich at work and provides insight into the second most powerful politician in the country. Gingrich granted the producers unprecedented access in what turned out to be one of the most tumultuous times in recent American history.

The Fall of Newt Gingrich showcases a period of remarkable drama, tremendous upheaval, including the moving of articles of impeachment against the President of the United States, the 1998 elections, where Republicans were trying to maintain majority control of the U.S. House. It culminates in the stunning resignations of Speaker Gingrich just days after the election, and then the resignation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representative of Congressman Bob Livingston, who was to succeed Gingrich as Speaker of the House.

Running time: 83 minutes

To purchase The Fall of Newt Gingrich, please contact Manifold Productions at (301) 941-0445.

 

Lost in Middle America (and What Happened Next)

Network:  PBS

Nominated for four Emmys

A co-production with Scott Craig Productions

This is the story of one town's journey to survive the changes of a new economic era. It begins in Midwestern America ... but it's more than that. It's the story of every industrial town struggling to find its way in a new age.

Lost In Middle America (and What Happened Next) is narrated by Academy Award nominated actor Hal Holbrook who, like Crouse and Scott Craig, is an Ohio native. 

This PBS documentary tells a story about how one community in Ohio is trying to adapt to the historic economic crosswinds sweeping the world today. Lima is a town of 45,000 residents in the agriculturally rich northwestern part of the state. Lima's journey, through the 20' century, is a microcosm reflecting many of the economic trends that have effected millions and has reshaped this country.

Lost in Middle America is a discovery process where people help tell the story of Lima through their own personal stories. This is a story of every industrial town struggling to find its way in a new age. It's a story of lost pride, enduring hope, and the strength of the human spirit.

Running time: 56 minutes

 

Discovering Greece (Playground of the Gods)

Greece: Playground of the Gods

Network: Discovery Channel

Award:  The Houston International Film Festival: Finalist-Best Camera

A co-production with Duncan Entertainment

Award winning producer/director/writer Chip Duncan of Duncan Entertainment was tapped to produce, direct and write the first in-depth program on Greece in over a decade.

From the volcanic beaches of Santorini to the fog shrouded monoliths of Meteora, Discovering Greece captures the picturesque windmills of Myconos and the majesty of the Acropolis. Principal photography took four weeks and covered every major region of the country and its historic islands.

Original music was scored by international recording artist Chris Spheeris.

Running time: 2 hours

 

Alaska's Bald Eagle: New Threats To Survival

Network: Discovery Channel

Awards:

  • Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival: 1st Place-Best New Wildlife Production
  • 
Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival: Finalist-Best Conservation Program International 
  • Monitor Awards: 1st Place-Best Photography

A co-production with Duncan Entertainment

In the heart of the pristine Chilkat River Valley in Alaska, a rare wildlife phenomenon occurs. Each November as many as four thousand bald eagles gather to dine on a late season salmon run in this small section of southeast Alaska.  A three square mile stretch of the Chilkat River remains ice free thanks to a handful of warm water upwelling’s, giving the eagles an entre to their abundant prey. It's called the Chilkat Eagle Phenomenon and this incredible gathering is among the finest natural wildlife spectacles in the world. This is the first in-depth look at this phenomenon ever produced for television.

Alaska's Bald Eagle: New Threats to Survival chronicles the environmental threats to the eagle population. Narrated by acclaimed actor Richard Kiley, Alaska’s Bald Eagle delves into the controversies surrounding the economic development of southeastern Alaska and neighboring Canada. The drama of the development vs. conservation struggle is at the heart of the production.

A Canadian company has plans to begin mining in nearby British Columbia, a mining project that would include transporting pure copper and toxic chemicals directly through the Chilkat Eagle Preserve. This enormous project, the second largest in North America, could become the first development in a 2.5 million acre wilderness. What will be the outcome of this pitched battle? Viewers found out during its national airing on Discovery.

Running time: 28 minutes

 

Positive Thinking: The Norman Vincent Peale Story

Network: Public Broadcasting

Awards:

  • Telly, First Place
  • USA Film Festival: Best Documentary Biography, Third Place

A co-production with Duncan Entertainment

From a chance encounter between producer David Crouse and Dr. Peale a friendship blossomed and the result? Dr. Peale consented to a series of interviews that led to the first in depth documentary ever produced on his remarkable life. Dr. Peale’s storied life spanned nine decades, and his motivational speaking and teaching influenced millions of lives.  Dr. Peale has the unique and remarkable distinction of meeting or knowing every U.S. president of the 20th century - from Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton.  Sixty years after he penned the phenomenal best seller, The Power of Positive Thinking, his positive self-help philosophy coupled with a grounded and vibrant faith continues to have tremendous impact today - from sports, to health, to business, to one’s personal life.

The producers made television history by interviewing five former U.S. Presidents for a single program, a television first.  Interviewed were Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush.  President Reagan taped the introduction to the documentary and the remaining four added personal commentary on the influence Peale had in their life and his lasting legacy. 

Dr. Peale and his wife, Ruth, opened up their extensive archives to the film producers.  The resulting documentary is the most in depth look at Peale’s life ever produced and includes interviews with UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, LSU Basketball Coach Dale Brown, President Kennedy speech writer Ted Sorenson, religious activist William Sloane Coffin, among others. 

Running time: 56 minutes

 

Worth Fighting For: People Protecting the Great Lakes

Network:  Public Broadcasting

Awards:

  • Emmy, Best Photography
  • Emmy, Writing
  • Telly, Silver Apple
  • National Educational Media Awards, Silver Medal

Narration: James Taylor

A co-production with Duncan Entertainment.

The documentary highlights four stories that illustrate development issues relating to the ecosystem of the Great Lakes and what the rest of the nation can learn from their results. Narrated by acclaimed musician, James Taylor, Worth Fighting For strives to maintain a balanced look at development and conservation.

Three years in the making, Worth Fighting For: People Protecting the Great Lakes includes extensive filming in four coastal communities faced with different choices between development and conservation. Their choices both inspire and enlighten.

Original music for the production was composed and performed by Peter Buffett (Dances With Wolves/ 500 Nations).

Running time: 56 minutes

 

Beyond the Gridiron: The Life and Times of Woody Hayes

Network: Public Broadcasting

Awards:

  • Emmy, Best Sports Program
  • Emmy, Music 
  • Telly, Best Documentary for a TV or Cable Program
  • New York Film Festival, Bronze – Best Documentary

A co-production with Duncan Entertainment

Beyond the Gridiron: The Life and Times of Woody Hayes is the most in depth profile ever produced on one of the most gifted and complex coaches of the 20th century. Woody Hayes enjoyed a long and acclaimed career as the head football coach of the Ohio State University Buckeyes. Many college coaches of the modern era trace their coaching inspiration back to Hayes including current Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and former OSU head coach Jim Tressel. The documentary will give viewers an inside look at a man whom many consider one of the greatest college football coach of all time. But the documentary is far from a highlights film and provide insights into Hayes' politics, values and influences.

The show features interviews with former OSU head football coach Jim Tressel, golfing legend and OSU alumnus Jack Nicklaus, two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin of Ohio State, and former players Greg Lashutka, Rex Kern, Daryl Sanders, and Alan Natali author of Woody's Boys.

Also interviewed was former Michigan head football coach Bo Schembechler. Bo played for Woody at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and then became an assistant coach for Hayes. When Bo was named head football coach at Michigan in 1969 it began what many would call the greatest rivalry in college football. One notable period, the years between 1969 and 1978, is regarded as the "Ten-Year War.
Musical composition was created by acclaimed musician David Barrett (“One Shining Moment” CBS Sports).

Beyond the Gridiron does what Hayes asked his biographer, Paul Hornung, to do; "Like Oliver Cromwell, I'll give you permission...provided you paint me warts and all."

Running time:  56 minutes