Midwest Movie Maker

The clapper snaps on a scene from 'Captain America: The Winter Solider' The Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming back to Cleveland on April 1. The city is one of a select group to host the world premiere of Captain America: The Winter Solider . Other cities include London , Paris , Beijing and Los Angeles . What makes this different than The Avengers in terms of premieres? Directors Joe and Anthony Russo . The Russos have made a splash with Cap 2 even before the movie’s premiere, with rumors circulating that the team is already tapped to shoot Cap 3 .   And the brothers are Cleveland born and bred. Their first feature, Welcome to Collinwood , was shot in Cleveland (Collinwood, specifically) in 2001, and starred William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, Luis Guzman and George Clooney. Clooney served as executive producer, as well. Those Midwest ties are why The Winter Solider returns to Cleveland . Joe Russo tells Plain Dealer reporter Clint O’Connor , “It has bee...

Conrad Faraj, right, sets the scene on the set of 'The Wind is Watching' How do you turn a childhood spent in one of the most violent cities in the world into a creative and inspiring young adulthood spent making movies with friends and professional colleagues? A lot of people would say the short answer is, “You don’t.” Conrad Faraj would say, “Here’s how.” Faraj is the Cleveland phenom behind the independent feature film The Wind is Watching , inching its way through the final stages of post-production and that much closer to a silver screen near you. Already, the $52,000 film, which tells the tale of Cara, a young woman, searching for her brother, traveling through a collapsed society, has mustered a cast and crew of 50, shooting in 28 locations across Northeast Ohio. If you watch the trailer , you will likely agree this dystopian fantasy feels like a big budget movie, and Faraj is happy you think so. It’s what he was going after, what he believes in - and what...

A scene from 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' that came to life using Cleveland locations, including the Fairview Bridge. Wow. I mean, wow. Did you catch that new Captain America: The Winter Solider trailer during the Super Bowl? (Way more action than the Seahawks and Broncos provided, that’s for sure.) This new trailer packs a wallop. I mean, as a film fan in general, you should be excited to catch this flick. As a fan of films made in Cleveland , however, this one’s got it all. And it promises to be big business at the box office. But we don’t care about that, do we? We just want to see those great shots of Cleveland ! Our location run down follows the trailer! 0:21 : Our first glimpse of the Winter Soldier (“He’s a ghost,” says Scarlett Johansson ’s Black Widow), easing down Lakeside Boulevard . 0:44: The Winter Soldier marches down West 3 rd as pedestrians run down Lakeside. See the Cleveland Public Library in the new 'Cap 2' tr...