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Showing posts from 2009

Films about Ohio phenoms LeBron James and Nathaniel Ayers - 'More Than a Game' and 'The Soloist' - open in local theaters

Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx in a scene from 'The Soloist' The Soloist , starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., tells the true story of Cleveland native Nathaniel Ayers , a gifted young musician whose life falls into chaos when he is overtaken by schizophrenia. Foxx plays Ayers and Downey Jr. plays journalist Steve Lopez, an L.A. Times columnist who encounters Ayers, now homeless, in downtown L.A. Lopez takes on Ayers' story - not believing, at first, that this talented homeless man once went to the Julliard School in New York - and the two form a bond of friendship unexpected by both. Scenes of Ayers childhood were shot in Cleveland. Foxx was on hand for the shoot. LeBron James and his St. Vincent-St. Mary teammates LeBron documentary 'More Than a Game' Another film coming soon about another Northeast Ohio phenomenon is More Than a Game . The documentary paints a portrait of Cleveland Cavaliers great LeBron James during his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary Hi

Interviews with filmmakers Erik Bork and J.R. Bookwalter

Just a quick post to point you toward two great interviews posted in the last week. (I know, a post. Can you believe it? The first is with Erik Bork , Emmy-winning screenwriter and producer of From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers . Bork talks about what it takes to make the journey from Dayton, Ohio, to the Emmy stage, and gives valuable insight into the screenwriting craft. The second is with J.R. Bookwalter , an Akron-native who has moved back to the Midwest after more than a decade in Tinseltown. Bookwalter wrote, produced, directed, edited, acted in, and scored the ultra low-budget cult phenomenon The Dead Next Door . He's still in the biz, helping produce and distribute from his offices in Akron. More later! PS: I'm always looking for folks who might like to contribute. If you'd like to write or do some design work, e-mail me at midwestmovies@gmail.com.

Annnnnd Action!

Spider-Man 3 shooting in Cleveland Hi, hello, and welcome to Midwest Movie Maker, your premiere source for informative and entertaining news and views about filmmaking and filmmakers in and from the Midwest. As you can see, we’re still hanging lights and moving props. You might even call this Midwest Movie Maker: Take Two. (It’s a long story – so let’s just say this: We won.) So what’s our deal? And why is there a picture of Spider-Man in our profile? (The same one that adorns this blog post?) Originally, it was because our first stab at MMM launched on the same day Spider-Man 3 premiered in theaters in 2007. And that’s not a promo pic, by the way. That’s a snapshot I took on my way to work in April 2006. That’s when a second unit crew from Spider-Man 3 spent the better part of a week and a half in Cleveland, shooting one of the summer blockbuster’s larger action set pieces. The crew took up nearly 10 city blocks along Euclid Avenue. They sped, crashed, flipped and demolished all m