Midwest Movie Maker

Kevin Costner's Sonny Weaver, GM of the Cleveland Browns, has one hell of a 'Draft Day.' Review by  Scott Dodson Being a Cleveland sports fan is unlike any other fan in the country.  We've seen the Fumble.  We've seen The Shot.  We've watched our closer blow a lead in the seventh game of the World Series.  We've seen some very good teams, and we've seen some very bad teams.  Boston fans would claim strict allegiance to Red Sox nation while hoisting the Lombardi Trophy high above their heads.  Those "lovable losers" of Chicago weren't complaining when Michael Jordan filled his hand with rings. Cleveland sports fans have now watched over 140 consecutive seasons without winning a championship. Yet, hope springs eternal here.  We hold out hope that, this year, our pitching holds up while ignoring a glaring lack of power hitting.  We pray that we catch lightning in a bottle as we sign injury prone point guards.  And draft ...

Real Browns fans and players are as hopeful for the draft as their 'Draft Day' counterparts. Is it just me or does this NFL draft day feel a little like Draft Day for Browns fans? Forgo the GM who fired his father (who promptly passed away), just found out his girlfriend/co-worker is pregnant, and whose job is on the line if he doesn’t make a big splash in the draft, and we’re looking at a lot of the same plot points. On the board for Ray Farmer , general manager of the Browns and real-life counterpart to Draft Day ’s Sonny Weaver (a Ray of Sonnyshine?), is a hot shot quarterback and star wide receiver. Every fan in Cleveland wants a hot shot quarterback - somewhere between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and hopefully named Bernie. The front office, if you believe local and national media, has their eyes on a wide receiver with a little trouble in his past. Sonny faced the same battle. He was enamored with the skills of defensive back Vontae Mack, who others felt ...

Kevin Costner joins the Cleveland Browns in 'Draft Day' There is little doubt Cleveland Browns fans are eagerly awaiting May 8th. That’s the first day of the 2014 NFL Draft . The first opportunity the long-suffering franchise will get a chance to bestow hope on its legion of fans. A little less than a month before, a fictional version of the Cleveland Browns’ draft will play out in the aptly named   Draft Day . The film stars Kevin Costner as the Browns’ general manager, desperately working the system to give the Browns the No. 1 pick. Knowing that, here’s a question.  Can Draft Day influence Draft Day? In other words, can excitement from a feel-good film about a sports team impact the decisions of the Browns’ real front office? Can it inspire coaches and players to deliver a winning season? Can it have an effect on anything? Just a bit outside the realm of possibility We’re not new to this sports movie phenomenon. Twenty-five years ago, the modestly budget...

My pal Julie's pal Eric snaps a pic of Kevin Costner at the Indians game in May. Here’s how the typical Midwest movie conversation goes these days. I arrive at my 9 to 5 and casually mention catching a far off glimpse of the Draft Day film crew at work, no more than a mile from my home. “Oh, yea,” my co-worker – let’s call her Julie because … well, that’s her name – says, “We saw Kevin Costner at the Indians game. Seems like a really nice guy.” Or, after posting how I haven’t bumped into any Captain America 2 stars on the old Facebook, my neighbor sends me a shot of Samuel L. Jackson hamming for her friend’s cell phone camera at a popular restaurant downtown. “She says he was a helluva nice guy,” is Allison’s report. Are you kidding me? Kevin Costner , Samuel L. Jackson , Chris Evans , Jennifer Garner , Scarlett Johansson , Ivan Reitman , Denis Leary , Sebastian Stan , Anthony Mackie , Cleveland’s own Russo Brothers – and who knows who else – all boppin’ about ...

'Draft Day' to film in Cleveland, feature the Cleveland Browns Kevin Costner will return to the sports film genre, playing the GM of the Cleveland Browns in a new film titled Draft Day . The film will shoot in Cleveland, according to NBCSports Pro Football Talk and the Buffalo News . The film originally cast Costner as GM of the Buffalo Bills, but because of Ohio’s lucrative film tax incentive, The Monticello Production Company and producer Ivan Reitman ( Ghostbusters , Hitchcock ) chose to relocate the film to Cleveland. “At the end of the day, it was a money thing,” said Tim Clark, head of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission, in the Buffalo News . “I think Reitman really wanted to shoot here, but it just came down to the cost factor.  What we were told is that the Cleveland incentives were better.” The Cleveland Film Commission could not comment on the news. This could be good news for Cleveland sports fans. The last big movie to depict the slings and arrows ...

Ben Affleck as Batman in a photo tweeted by director Zack Snyder on the Detroit set of 'Batman v Superman' Summertime is fast becoming filmmaking season in the Midwest. In the last few years, films like The Avengers , Transformers , Captain America , Draft Day , The Fault in Our Stars and more have set up shop in the summer months to make their movies in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. This summer is no different. Travel through the Midwest Movie Belt (Detroit through Cleveland to Pittsburgh) and a half-dozen or more mid- to big-budget films are calling the region home. Expand that through the states and you double that number. Turn a corner and someone’s likely shooting a scene filled with zombies, criminals or battling DC superheroes. Here are the Top 5 summer productions you should be looking for: 1. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . By far, Warner Bros. sort of sequel to Man of Steel (though, from recent leaked reports of Warner Bros. DC superhero movie...

Look for the next Ghostbusters installment to start shooting in Cleveland in 2014. Cleveland’s filmography just keeps growing. And now word comes that Ghostbusters 3 will shoot in the Midwest Movie Belt city in 2014.   The possible sequel is a follow-up to the 1984 hit and it’s more cartoon-like 1989 follow-up . The new film reportedly will see the original Ghostbusters – sans Bill Murray – training a new group of paranormal investigators.  Recent rumors suggest that will include Jonah Hill and Emma Stone . If the film comes to the Cleve, it may be because of director Ivan Reitman 's experience in the Northcoast city this summer. Reitman was in town to shoot Draft Day with Kevin Costner. By all accounts, the film went smoothly and all involved had a great experience.   Ghostbusters 3 would be the first big budget film to hit Cleveland in 2014 that we know about right now.  The city saw several films and various scales shoot among its buildings and ...

Kathryn Newton and Vince Vaughn When Michael Kennedy was 16 years old, growing up in North Olmsted, Ohio, a group of his high school friends convinced him to get in a car, cruise to Westgate Mall , and buy tickets to see this new Drew Barrymore romantic comedy titled Scream.  You know, the “romantic comedy” in which the masked killer dispatches Barrymore within the film’s first 10 minutes? The “romantic comedy” that completely turned the horror genre on its head, created by Cleveland’s own Wes Craven ? The uber meta motion picture that would change 16-year-old Michael Kennedy’s life forever? Yep, that Scream . “The thing is, I didn’t grow up on a diet of horror movies, and I think my friends knew this,” Kennedy says. They probably imagined they’d get a bit of bonus entertainment watching Kennedy squirm in his seat. “But here’s the thing. Within the first five minutes, I was completely enamored.” Flash forward nearly 25 years. Now it’s Kennedy’s turn to splatter the screen with lov...