Midwest Movie Maker

Brittany Dobish >> Whether she is documenting a nonprofit’s mission, preserving a piece of local history or helping someone tell a deeply personal story, Brittany Dobish believes the most meaningful moments happen when people feel safe enough to be heard. And safe enough to be honest. “I don’t interview people to find out who they are,” Dobish explains. “I interview them to remind them of who they are.” That philosophy shapes both her filmmaking and Dobish Legacy Films , the company she launched in 2024 to help people and organizations preserve the stories that might otherwise disappear. For Dobish, documentary filmmaking is not simply about recording what happened. It is about listening closely enough to discover what those experiences meant. Dobish with Mark Hamer, Crash Cat Media Finding meaning in the misunderstood Dobish’s interest in people, identity and personal history began long before she picked up a camera. As a teenager, she spent years observing the people around he...

James Gunn's Superman swoops into Ohio this summer >>> Looks like Superman is flying home to Ohio this summer. In early January, nearly $2 million in Ohio Film Tax Credits were awarded to Warner Bros Discovery for a feature film titled Exodus . Exodus is widely believed to be the production code name for Man of Tomorrow , filmmaker James Gunn’s sequel to 2025's  Superman . Hard to refute, too, when the film tax credit application contains the same contact information as Superman . Per the application, James Gunn is listed as director. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan - Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively - are listed as principal casting directors, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer . A little odd, we admit. Chalk it up to a typo? S&K Pictures, Inc., which shares an address with Warner Bros., and Lex Pascual, vice president of production incentives at Warner Bros. Discovery, applied for the tax credit in January. Lex Luthor and Superman team up in 'M...

Filmmaker James L. Edwards on the set of Satan's Peak  >>> Akron has given the world a lot of entertaining gifts, like Chrissie Hynde , Jim Jarmusch , DEVO , and, if you grew up roaming the horror aisle at your local video store, indie fright favorite James L. Edwards . While the rest of us were memorizing every jump scare in The Evil Dead , Edwards was actually inside the Ohio horror machine. “I grew up in scenic Akron, Ohio,” he says, “and I was fortunate enough to join the independent horror scene at the early age of 12.” 12?!? Yes, 12. “My mother saw a write-up in our local newspaper about a director looking for people who wanted to be extras in a zombie movie,” Edwards says. That movie was The Dead Next Door , written, produced and directed by Akron’s own J.R. Bookwalter (who was one of the first to answer our 5 Horrific Questions ) and executive produced by horror master Sam Raimi . Just a part of the Zombie Squad “At the time, I wanted to be a special effects make-u...

Filmmaker Roger Connors >>> Some kids discover cartoons. Others find baseball. But growing up in Westlake, Ohio, filmmaker Roger Connors found something a little … different. “I discovered horror at a very young age,” he says. “After my mother passed away when I was 18, I was seeking a means to vent those feelings and frustrations. Acting in film, especially within the horror genre, proved extremely cathartic and a great tool to help me get through that experience and deal with the emotions that stemmed from it.” Once he found some light within those shadows, Connors never left.  From local indie sets to a growing catalog of scream-worthy stories, including his latest horror masterpiece, Meat , he’s turned fears, both personal and universal, into cinematic nightmares ever since. “I always try to face my own fears, and I often translate that into the scripts and films I work on,” Connors explains. “I often infuse themes of discrimination, homophobia, body dysmorphia, mental...

Filmmaker Jonna Lutz >>> For Columbus-born filmmaker Jonna Lutz, the spark for storytelling began in the classroom. “When we would watch documentaries,” she recalls, “I always wondered, ‘How did they make this?’ My dad also introduced me to a lot of his favorite films growing up, and I found myself fascinated by movies more and more until I decided I wanted to pursue filmmaking.” When Lutz paired it with her love of visual storytelling with a newfound passion for writing, she saw cinema not just as entertainment, but as a calling—one she’s been chasing ever since. Finding comfort, creativity, and community in the horror genre That path led directly into the shadows of horror, a genre Lutz says feels as natural to her as breathing. “Growing up, my mom and I always watched spooky shows and movies,” she says. “Mom would always recall her time living in a haunted house. I think that’s where it really started.” Later came the internet’s “golden age of creepypastas ,” when Lutz woul...

Actor Christopher Meloni hanging with the Cleveland Browns (photo Christopher Meloni) >> Does Hulu’s new streaming series, The Land , focus on the Cleveland Browns? Maybe? Here’s everything we know about Hulu’s The Land  streaming series. What is The Land  TV series about? Nothing official has been announced, but some digging suggests that The Land , aka 17 Sundays , is This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman‘s upcoming Hulu series set in the world of pro football, starring Christopher Meloni and William H. Macy. Meloni was spotted in Cleveland over the summer in Berea, attending a Browns' training camp session, according to News 5 Cleveland . Meloni’s Instagram account confirms it, with snaps of Meloni alongside Miles Garrett and other Browns players. Meloni also visited the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. On August 27, Deadline reported that “'The Land' … got the largest allocation (of California tax credits) … with nearly $43 milli...

Filmmaker Henrique Cuoto >>> When Henrique Couto was 12 years old, he found himself volunteering at his local cable access channel in Dayton, Ohio. He didn't know it then, but that experience would become the catalyst that sparked his lifelong obsession with filmmaking. Early exposure to the mechanics of storytelling and production laid the groundwork for a career that now spans dozens of films, podcasts, and digital series. “From that moment on, I couldn't imagine doing anything else at all with my life,” Couto says. An eclectic taste Though Couto is often associated with the horror genre, his creative output today is far more eclectic. “It’s about fifty-fifty between horror and other genres,” he explains. “The last 5 or 6 years, horror has been a soft market and hard to make solid money in, so I've expanded a lot.” Horror remains close to his heart, he admits, not just for its narrative possibilities, but for the community it fosters. Forming those relationships...