Cincinnati continues to up its reputation as a moviemaking city, and those strides haven't gone unnoticed.
The Queen City has once again snagged itself a top spot on MovieMaker magazine's list of the "Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker." The magazine ranks us at No. 11, moving up two spots from last year's showing.
"Cincinnati has moved up two slots since last year thanks partly to increasing productions, fueled by Ohio’s $40 million commitment to a 30% rebate on projects that spend at least $300,000,” says MovieMaker editor-in-chief Tim Molloy in a release provided by Film Cincinnati. “It’s having a huge moment, drawing productions like Oscar-winner John Ridley’s Shirley Chisholm biopic and the Timothée Chalamet film Bones and All.”
Film Cincinnati is the Cincy-based nonprofit that helps advance and promote the moviemaking industry in town. The organization says locally-shot films, commercials and TV content "contributed nearly $80 million in economic impact in 2017 and 2018, the last years that figures are available."
MovieMaker selects its cities based on "surveys, production spending, tax incentives additional research, and personal visits," according to Film Cincinnati.
“The recognition is a testament to the talented cast and crew who live and work here, and who keep the film industry so strong in Greater Cincinnati,” said Kristen Schlotman, executive director of Film Cincinnati, in the release.
Cincinnati is sandwiched between Calgary at No. 10 and Cleveland at No. 12. Albuquerque took home the No. 1 spot.
Of Cincinnati, MovieMaker's capsule reads:
See the full list at moviemaker.com.This 200-year-old riverside city continues to enjoy a boom in productions utilizing the state’s inviting tax credit, as well as a wealth of locations that can double for plenty of other places. Director Todd Haynes used Cincinnati for New York City, for example, for his Oscar-nominated romantic period piece Carol.
In the last year, John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) shot his upcoming biopic about America’s first Black congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm, played by Oscar-winner Regina King, and Dune star Timothée Chalamet reunited with his Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino to shoot Bones and All. Guadagnino told Deadline it was “amazing” to work in the area, which he described as “beautiful and unseen.” Cinematographer Juanmi Azpiroz, who shot Hulu’s Frank Grillo action movie Boss Level, relocated from New York to live in the area, and he gives a glowing review.
“I found a team in Cincinnati — talented, good people. I work with them not because it’s easy but because they’re really, really good,” he told the Cincinnati film office. “People across the industry acknowledge the talent of these people. They’re also amazing people. You don’t find that everywhere, especially in this business. I couldn’t ask for more out of this community.”
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