CINCINNATI — When people think of the film industry, they most likely think of Hollywood, New York and Atlanta. But as more stars and directors flock to Cincinnati for filming, the Queen City is surely making its mark in the industry.
D. Lynn Meyers, a local casting director, has a pulse on the city's growing movie-making industry and she's excited to see it make progress year-by-year.
"We've had such a great time," Meyers said. "We've had, so, 'Wiseguys' just wrapped, before that we had '(The) Bikeriders'' and 'Bones and All,' and the fabulous film 'Shirley,' which was just about a year ago now."
Meyers said she believes there have been more than 50 movies that have filmed in the Greater Cincinnati area in the last five years.
When asked what that says about the growing Queen City industry, she said it's "onward and upward."
"It is the most wonderful city for people to come to and film for so many reasons," Meyers said. "It's not just the architecture and the actors and all of that. It's the amazing crew we have here. We have such wonderful people, everybody from, you know, technicians, electricians and photographers and all of that to catering and dry cleaners."
She said that positive and quality work environment helps contributes to and is what drives filmmakers to want to shoot in Cincinnati.
"I think that's why you have directors like Todd Haynes, who did 'Carol' here, come back and do 'Dark Waters,'" Meyers said. "If you get a director to come back another time to a city that says an awful lot, especially when its Todd Haynes, who's brilliant."
In Meyer's opinion, one of the beauties of the Greater Cincinnati area is its adaptability and capability to transform into just about any place, whether that be through its architecture or surrounding communities.
She joked that watching movies filmed here can be somewhat of a challenge for her as she's always looking at the people they casted, the places she knows, how they shot certain buildings and more before taking a breath and enjoying it as an audience member.
"I remember specifically watching 'Carol' for the first time," Meyers said. "And you know, I had to watch it four times before I could really enjoy the whole beauty of that film."
As Meyers continues to be a part of the growing film industry, she said she's also seen growth within Cincinnati's actor community as hopeful stars search for opportunities through local theater and filmmaking offers. In terms of casting for these films, Meyers says it's all about understanding the film's script and the director's method of filmmaking.
"You're going (to) have a very different film depending on who's directing from their point of view," Meyers said. "But we are able to read the script and get a really good idea, so that even if somebody has three lines in the movie, we get an idea of how they fit with the whole picture."
READ MORE:
One singular sensation: Playhouse in the Park opens new theatre with a new take on a classic
Princeton High School grad makes history as Sesame Street's first Black female puppeteer
Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame taking shape, due for completion in the summer
