casey affleck

Your First Look at The Old Man & The Gun

June 5, 2018 By Dayton Most Metro

FilmDayton’s first success in bringing a major motion picture to town, filmed in Dayton last April and has finally got a release date and a trailer.

Based on the true story of Forrest Tucker and his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public. Fox searchlight has announced it will be in select theaters 9.28.18.

The Old Man & the Gun, starring Robert Redford, Danny Glover, Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek, spent 2 days last spring on Second Street and in the Liberty Tower as well as the roof of the Talbott Tower. The majority of the film was made in Cincinnati, but just those two days of filming created an economic impact of over $200,000. From hotel rooms at the UD Marriott, parking spaces at the Arts Garage, cranes from Art’s Rentals, cars and vans from Enterprise Rent A Car, coffee from Boston Stoker and Table 33, pizza from Marion’s, dry cleaning from Reiber Cleaners and location fees to local businesses used for sets and staging. Not to mention local crew hires that brought money and taxes to the region.

Films have been coming to Ohio on a much steadier basis since the creation of the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit in 2009. Currently there is $40 million dollars a year available in tax credits and that money has been fully exhausted in the last two year. There is currently legislation proposing an expansion of Ohio’s tax credit for motion pictures produced in the state H.B. 525 that would more than double the current motion picture tax credit from $40 million to $100 million. It also awards credits twice annually for productions that spend at least $300,000 in-state.

When the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit passed in 2009, it was estimated that it would generate an increase in local spending by $100 million and create 500 full-time equivalent jobs. A recent study conducted by Cleveland State University estimates that since 2009, the increase in media sector activity has resulted in:

- $400 million in economic impact
- Creation of 1,729 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs
- $2.01 return on investment (for every $1.00 spent by the state, $2.01 went back into Ohio’s economy

FilmDayton is a local 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to advance the art, craft and business of film in the Dayton region. In 2016 they became the official Film Commission in the region. The organization serves as a convenient, all-encompassing resource for local, national and international producers and filmmakers to ensure great filming experiences while providing “concierge services” to all productions in town. Programs include industry trainings and seminars, regular networking events and access to industry-standard materials. These programs encompass the creative, business, as well as crew aspects of production to continue to build a comprehensive workforce. FilmDayton receives no money from the productions we help, but instead rely on donations and grants.

Want to see more films come to the Miami Valley? Support FilmDayton’s mission by becoming a member. Monies collected are used toward the development of programs, and education of local crew and to support the continued growth of local film production.

With Scenes Filmed in Dayton ‘The Old Man and the Gun’ Release Date Set

April 25, 2018 By Lisa Grigsby

Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight

Fox Searchlight has announced David Lowery’s “The Old Man and the Gun” will make its debut in theaters October 5th, 2018.

The film, which spent two days last May shooting at the Liberty Center, from atop the Talbott Tower and on Second Street in downtown Dayton, is said to be the final screen performance for star Robert Redford. The film, also starring Casey Affleck, Danny Glover and Sissy Spacek is the true story of Forrest Tucker (played by Redford), who escaped prison at age 70 and went on an unprecedented string of heists. Casey Affleck plays the detective who becomes obsessed with Tucker, while Sissy Spacek is the love of Tucker’s life. The October opening suggests a fall film festival debut at Venice, Telluride, or Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

FilmDayton reports that in just the two days of filming in Dayton brought an economic impact of over $208,000 to the region. With a crew of over 100, over 75 extras and the cast, the production company payed for parking in the Arts Garage, booked rooms at the UD Marriott, ordered food from Marion’s Piazza, Lucky’s, Table 33, Boston Stoker and Dorothy Lane Market. They payed location fees to Liberty Tower, Key Bank, Talbott Tower, 1st Financial, contracted with the Dayton Police and payed rental fees to Art’s Rental, Enterprise Rent A Car and Dayton Cultural Arts Center.

The increase in interest and visits to our building increased substantially and we loved sharing the history so many people. We’ve had so many first time visitors since the filming. The number of requests from photographers to shoot in the building has also sky rocketed. The exposure has been great for the building and is encouraging to us as we work to repurpose this historical site.”
Jenna Kreitzer, Building Manager of Liberty Tower

We had the opportunity to be part of the movie by doing the dry cleaning and laundry needed by the costume department. We hope to continue being useful to the film industry in ONE way or another.”
Carl Ballachino, Owner at Reiber Cleaners

We were unsure what to expect with the street in front of our business closed down for 2 days, we didn’t get our normal lunch time pop of business, but it turned out our sales were higher than usual, We had so many first time guests who’d come down to enjoy the excitement of the stars and the filming. Our guests and staff were excited by the star sightings and overall it was a great experience.
Chris Harrison, Table 33 Owner

Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight

The Old Man and The Gun was filmed here taking advantage of The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit, which provides a refundable, transferable tax credit of 30 percent on production cast and crew wages plus other eligible in-state spending.Currently at $40 million year, the credit would increase to $100 million annually under House Bill 525, which is awaiting legislative action to expand program.

TIFF 2016 – Day #1

September 9, 2016 By Jonathan McNeal

Hello Everyone.

With the pass that I have, I can screen as many “press/industry screenings” that I’d like during the festival. That said, those screenings are just screenings. It’s awesome to have the opportunity to see so many films with an audience, but part of the reason I come to a festival (people come for a variety of reasons) is to hear filmmakers talk about their craft. Thus I have the opportunity to obtain two “public screening” tickets per day. Public screenings are the fun, glamorous screenings where they roll out the red carpet and hold Q&A’s with directors, producers, screenwriters and actors. These tickets are only available two days in advance of each screening, so I find myself in line every day during the festival…usually before 7am.

This morning, I was out to obtain tickets for Barry Jenkins’ MOONLIGHT and a curated interview with Isabelle Huppert. Both take place on Saturday…and I got both!

Then I was off to my first screening at 9:00am – Kenneth Lonergan’s MANCHESTER BY THE SEA. This film had a lot of tonal qualities of Lonergan’s first feature – YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. With a wonderful central performance by Casey Affleck (and a spectacularly touching small role by Michelle Williams), the story is about a man who seems to lead a rather thankless life of mundane routines (he’s a janitorial handy man for an apartment complex). When he gets a call that his brother has passed away, he is forced to confront lingering pain from his past – told through a series of flashbacks. Though I thought the film was a bit overscored, the drama really works and the story unfolds in a lovely way. There were a couple moments of schtick that I thought seemed a bit out of place – but so is life. I think this film will go far.

Olivier Assayas’ PERSONAL SHOPPER was next on my list. This non-traditional ghost story had me teetering back and forth throughout…I was invested, I was raising my eyebrows, I was intrigued, I was disappointed…and then I ultimately was sold by the final 10 minutes. Kristen Stewart gives a great performance as a woman who shops for high-end designer clothing and jewelry for a wealthy client who is always on the go. She’s also a medium. While trying to connect to the spirit world for a client, she’s also hoping to catch a sign from her recently deceased brother. Assayas’ previous work included THE CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (with Juliette Binoche as well as Stewart) and of my favorites from TIFF in 2008 – SUMMER HOURS. This film won’t go down as one of my favorites, and I know many people will be quite disappointed, but I was a fan by the end.

The third film of the day for me was Terence Davies’ A QUIET PASSION – a film about Emily Dickinson starring Cynthia Nixon. The film opens in a sort of parochial school. A teacher asks students who have given themselves to Christ to go to one side and for students who are still working toward giving themselves to Christ to the other. Left in the middle is one student – a young Emily Dickinson (at this point played by Emma Bell). The dialog is sharp and thoughtful (one of the best strengths throughout the film), and the teacher eventually tell Dickinson, “You stand alone in your rebellion.” This telling line haunts the remainder of the film. Though I found some filmmaking devices to be odd choices (one superimposed was particularly weird), it’s ultimately a thoughtful and visually stunning film with wonderful performances and some very funny moments due to razor sharp dialog.

The official “Opening Night Film” was a big Hollywood remake – THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, directed by Antoine Fuqua (SOUTHPAW, BROOKLYN’S FINEST) and starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and many more. Here’s the point that some of you might find disappointing…I left 20 minutes into the film. (I almost never write about films that I don’t finish.) I went to the Opening night with my friend Glenn Kiser – a great filmmaker who attended The Dayton LGBT Film Festival with his short film SABBATICAL. We had “great” seats – very close to the stage…only paces from all of the stars and director. The movie started an hour late and the speakers were above us – thus pushing the sound far behind us and bouncing off the back walls. Having difficulty understanding any of the dialog, we decided to leave. Not being a film I would seek out under any other circumstances, I wasn’t disappointed…it gave me a great opportunity to catch up with Glenn and finally grab dinner.

At the end of the day, I’ll simply say I’ve seen 3 films (and a dozen stars) so far.

Thanks for reading!

More soon,

Jonathan