Ohio offers cheaper, alternative location for film producers

January 18, 2013

Lights, camera and tax incentives — filming Hollywood movies in Ohio is bringing more than just excitement to the area.

Ohio offers multiple options to entice film producers to consider filming their movies.

It has become a popular place for Hollywood movies to be filmed.

“It’s a great middle ground to come here,” said Lucas Ostrowski, instructor in the Department of Theater and Film.

Ohio is used as a filming location for Hollywood movies because of its variety of landscapes.

“There is a lot of different looks that Ohio has,” Ostrowski said. “It has the wilderness, it has the farm lands, if you go to southeast Ohio you have the rolling hills, and Appalachia. If you go to Cleveland and Akron you have the rust belt and the industry.”

Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, was the filming location for the movie “The Ides of March,” starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling.

Miami was almost not used as the filming location because Clooney thought it was too far from the films Cincinnati location, said Ritter Hoy, media relations representative for Miami University.

“The girl on the film commission was an alum, and she knew if she could get [Clooney] here it would be done,” she said. “Exactly what [Clooney] was describing he wanted, Miami had to offer.”

Having a movie filmed on the Miami campus caused a lot of excitement, Hoy said.

“It was more so when they were scouting,” she said. “The students would get excited because they would see Ryan Gosling walking around and they would all scream.”

The film industry uses what Ostrowski calls the bait and switch technique for a lot of movies.

“In the 90’s Toronto was a popular location for New York City,” he said. “They would shoot locations in Toronto and say it was New York City.”

In some cases, Ohio is used for filming in place of another city, Ostrowski said.

“Take ‘The Avengers’ for example, it was taking place in New York City, but we have scenes that were shot in Cleveland downtown during the fight scene,” he said.

Senior Jordan Poe was in Cleveland while “The Avengers” was shooting.

“I wasn’t in it, but my brothers were,” she said. “One of my friends actually ended up getting props from the movie set.”

Drawing the Hollywood industry into Ohio takes incentives, Ostrowski said.

“If you bring business to Ohio, or any other state with a similar incentive program, you can get a percentage of your tax dollar back for hiring Ohioans and supporting Ohio business,” he said in an email.

In order for the money to be given back to the production company, a minimum of $300,000 must be spent in the state of Ohio on something creative, Ostrowski said.

“If they draw Hollywood here they can get up to 35 percent back,” he said.

Ostrowski said because the key word is industry, movie makers will strive to save money.

“If it costs $1.50 to shoot in California and $1 to shoot in Ohio, they’re going to want to save the 50 cent s and shoot in Ohio,” he said.

Ostrowski doesn’t see Ohio ever taking over Los Angeles, but he does see films continuing to be shot here.

“Tax incentives are key,” he said. “More tax incentives means more films coming to the area.”

MOVIES FILMED IN OHIO

The Avengers (2012)

Fun Size (2012)

The Ides of March (2011)

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Air Force One (1997)

Happy Gilmore (1996)