MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Hollywood stars Glenn Close and Amy Adams and others in the cast and crew from “Hillbilly Elegy” got another taste of Middletown over the weekend, the Journal-News reported.
They held a meeting and ate lunch Saturday at Gracie’s in downtown, said restaurant owner, Ami Vitori.
Earlier Saturday, director Ron Howard was seen scouting residences on Harrison Street in Middletown for the film adaptation of “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” that was written by J.D. Vance about growing up in Middletown and in Jackson, Kentucky. The memoir was a bestseller released in 2016.
Vitori said her staff was “very excited” to meet Close, who’s playing Vance’s grandmother, and Adams, who’s playing Vance’s mother. Close was “really, really kind and seemed genuinely attached” to Middletown, Vitori said.
Vitori said that during a previous visit to Middletown the cast and crew said they were looking for a place to hold a meeting and have lunch. Vitori offered office space and the restaurant.
Vitori said she expects filming in Middletown to last about three days and start in late summer.
Some Middletown residents have expressed to Vitori, a member of Middletown City Council, that they’re upset more filming isn’t taking place in Middletown, she said.
“We have done everything we could,” Vitori said.
In April, the Middletown community asked Howard to film his upcoming movie version of the book “Hillbilly Elegy” in and around the city.
Howard has been spotted several times in Middletown, including at Triple Moon Coffee Shop in downtown.
In January, it was announced that Netflix won a bidding war for the rights to “Hillbilly Elegy.” Netflix will spend $45 million on the film, according to Deadline.
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