The Pitch
WIP it!
Hey friends!
Well, here it is. The second issue of the Midwest Movie Maker newsletter. If I didn't say it before, thanks for subscribing. I really do appreciate it.
The newsletter is a work in progress - as these things often are - and already I've polished things up a bit. You'll find content categorized now, though, admittedly, I'm still working out exactly what content goes in which category. For example, does every filmmaker interview go under Callsheet? Maybe. Is that even the right thing to call that category? Does it make sense? Arghhh!!
You'll see a lot of that over the next couple issues.
I'd also love to here from you, if you have ideas or requests about the kind of information you'd like to see in the newsletter. The goal is to create a useful resource for filmmakers, as well as an entertaining read for fans of film.
I also want to showcase your work-in-progress. As a kid, I loved thumbing through issues of what I remember to be Cinefex (but admit it might be a different now-defunct magazine) and discovering the work of independent filmmakers living the dream outside L.A. (And they were usually artists in their early 20s making movies any way they knew how.)
Email all that stuff to midwestmovies@gmail.com.
Oh! And forward this newsletter to whomever you think would enjoy it! Tell them to subscribe, and tell them they'll have a voice in the evolution of Midwest Movie Maker!
Tom
PS: Thanks goes out to Sage O'Bryant, Kurt Yue, Samantha Berensci, and Peter Balint, none of whom knew at all that I would share this image from a short film we made together ... OMG .... 13 years ago?
Dailies
MicroFilmz is Cleveland filmmaker's big idea for short film platform
There’s something special about short films. Something beyond their utilitarian use as a filmmaker’s calling card or a feature film’s proof of concept. For artists who work in the form, they are sometimes more challenging than a feature film and often much more powerful.
They are also often hard to find. At least all in one place, nicely categorized and ready for view enjoyment. Anhedonia Pictures is about to change that.
The Cleveland-based production company will soon launch MicroFilmz, a platform purposely built for short film distribution and consumption. After its launch in early 2023, viewers can access it online and through its streaming application.
How the joy and melancholy of an Ohio childhood shaped Vincente Minnelli’s movies
I'll be honest. I had no idea Vincente Minnelli was from Ohio. Did you? If not, check out 'Columbus Monthly's' story about Minnelli and how the Oscar-winning director, husband of Judy Garland and father of Liza Minnelli drew inspiration for his craft from his youth in Delaware, Ohio.
‘The Bikeriders’ awarded $9M tax credit to film in Ohio
“The Bikeriders,” shooting soon in Ohio's Hamilton and Butler counties, was awarded a maximum tax credit over $9 million through Ohio’s Motion Picture Tax Credit.
Stoplight Pictures plans to shoot 100% of the film in Ohio over the course of 127 days. The production company estimated that nearly $30.7 million of the movie’s total $39.4 million budget would be eligible for in-state tax credits. The awarded $9.2 million tax credit for fiscal year 2023 is equal to 30% of the production’s eligible in-state spending.
The film focuses on a fictitious 1970s Midwest motorcycle gang starring Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Normal Reedus and Michael Shannon. It's based on author and photographer Danny Lyon's 1968 photo-book.
Nashport, Ohio, child actor gets start in acting thanks to Chillicothe zombie film 'How I Got Here'
Actor Jace Carson talks with Megan Becker, Chillicothe Gazette reporter, about his journey from junior high student to battling zombies in "How I Got Here."
Jace and his mom, Amber Eagleson-Carson, spent every weekend driving over two hours to Chillicothe, spending the day on a movie set and sleeping in hotels or campsites. It was an experience he'll never forget.
"Probably the best people that I could have worked with for my first movie," Jace said. "Everyone was supportive. They knew what they were doing for the most part and they were great people to watch and observe and try to improve my acting based on them."
In Production
'Wise Guys' (allegedly) shooting in popular Cincinnati restaurant for more than a month
Cincinnati's Arnold’s Bar and Grill announced via social media that it is shutting down from Jan. 16 to Feb. 21 for a movie shoot.
The restaurant couldn’t specify what film was shooting at the location, but the post alluded that it’s a Warner Bros. production by referencing Looney Tunes’ Bugs Bunny.
“We aren’t really allowed to give specifics but a certain famous rabbit’s employers have rented Arnold’s out for 6 weeks for a major motion picture!,” the restaurant’s social media poster wrote.
Film School
Ohio high school students get hands on experience making feature film
This past summer, Nathan Weidner, the video production teacher at Canal Winchester High School in Ohio, conducted an exercise to give current and former students the experience of shooting a feature film.
The students took what they learned in the classroom and created an ambitious and interesting feature film titled, “The Name of the Sun.” The film was shot locally in Columbus, Canal Winchester, and Mansfield, and then in Whitefish, Montana, at Glacier National Park.
Call Sheet
Akron native Kofi Boakye plays piano in pivotal Whitney Houston movie scene
In the summer of 2021, after receiving a vaguely worded audition notice on Instagram, Akron, Ohio's, own Kofi Boakye sent a 1-minute performance video of him playing "Say Yes" by Floetry from a 2019 performance at the Apollo Theater to a casting agent in Boston. He thought the call was for a pianist for a documentary on a singer.
Instead, it was for the Whitney Houston biopic "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."
Boakye, a graduate of Akron Early College who studied at Berklee College of Music before the pandemic, was grand prize winner of the 88th season Amateur Night at the Apollo in November.
Film Festivals
The 2023 Cinema Columbus Film Festival aims to ‘delight, enlighten and spark curiosity’
“What I love about film is that I think it gives you the opportunity to sit quietly in a dark room with a lot of other people and experience something that might be very new and different to you,” says independent filmmaker Molly Kreuzman. “It might even be a little scary, or it might be out of your comfort zone. But you have time to digest a story that might just change your mind, and that to me is the beauty – especially of independent film.”
The 2023 Cinema Columbus Film Festival, presented by the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), will take place April 26-30, 2023 at venues city-wide, including the Drexel Theatre in Bexley, Gateway Film Center in the University District, Downtown’s Southern Theatre, Studio 35 Cinema & Drafthouse in Clintonville and OSU’s Wexner Center for the Arts. COSI, Columbus College of Art & Design, the Columbus Museum of Art, McConnell Arts Center in Worthington and the Palace Theatre Downtown are also slated to host screenings.
Audiences will have the opportunity to purchase single-film tickets at the various venues, but those who seek maximum viewing quantity and flexibility can purchase a full festival pass. CCFF is also working to offer a special all-access pass that will admit holders to additional special events and experiences. More details are to be announced in the coming weeks on their website.
Ohio Film Festival Calendar
Film festivals offer filmmakers an opportunity to both showcase their work and network with peers. Many future collaborations were launched in theater lobbies and after parties.
They are also a great way for cinephiles to meet filmmakers, to ask questions and learn more about the craft. Similarly, after parties help loosen up those conversations.
Explore Ohio's 2023 film festivals, learn how to submit your film and where to get tickets.
(Photo by Jake Hills on Unsplash)