Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

ellen page

TIFF 2017 – Day #9

By

Hello Everyone,

Today was my last day of screenings at TIFF 2017.  I’ve been all around the world on this trip to Toronto, and I ended up beating my record by one film this year.  In all (meaning I sat through each film entirely – I don’t count or report on the films I walk out of), I saw 34 movies…and I had a marvelous time.

My first film today was KINGS, directed by Deniz Gamze Erguyen.  Because Erguyen had directed MUSTANG (nominated for “Best Foreign Film” Oscar in 2016), I was looking forward to this film about a family caught in the middle of the L.A. riots starring Halle Berry.  Unfortunately, it’s a mess.  The family dynamics are complicated (Berry is a single mother and a foster mother to several children).  She bakes cakes for clients around town and relies on her oldest son to help keep all the kids in check.  Daniel Craig plays a crazy next-door-neighbor who likes to yield and occasionally shoot a shotgun into the air.  As racial tensions are escalating after the brutal police attack on Rodney King, Berry’s family is also going through transition…and everything starts to boil at the same time.  Erguyen attempts to inject the film with some visual poetry of lava boiling under the earth’s surface, but tonally it doesn’t work with some of the silliness we’re seeing on screen (like Berry’s outer space sex dream).  I wanted to like this film, but it just didn’t work.

Next up, I saw DON’T TALK TO IRENE, directed by Pat Mills.  We had Mills as a guest at the Dayton LGBT Film Festival a couple years ago, and I’ve been anxious to see what he would do next.  I’ll be honest, the trailer wasn’t doing much for me…but the film ended up being pretty terrific.  This charming (yet unafraid to be crude) tale of an overweight high school outsider who wants to be a cheerleader is very funny and engaging.  When she gets suspended at school, she has to do volunteer work at a retirement home as punishment.  What results is hilarious and quite touching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56xfd8POz4c

My last film of the day (and of the festival) was MY DAYS OF MERCY, directed by Tali Shalom-Ezer and shot in Cincinnati.  Dayton’s own Karri O’Reilly served as executive producer, and she invited me to be her “Plus One” for a lovely dinner & the film’s international premiere with some of the cast and crew (including the director, the Director of Photography, folks from Killer Films and more).  After the dinner, we all walked down the Red Carpet with fans, reporters and paparazzi clicking photos and hollering out for “Ellen” as we walked by (Ellen Page was right behind us, and everyone was hoping to get a great picture or an autograph).  The film was introduced by the director and all the key people from the film were onstage and thanked.  The film is a lovely, quiet romantic story about two women on opposing sides of the death penalty debate.  Starring Ellen Page, Kate Mara, Amy Seimetz, and Charlie Shotwell – the performances are all very strong.  This was the first time that many of the people involved with the film had seen it since the score had been added, and the crowd reaction went over quite well.  I think this film will find distribution, which doesn’t hurt to help secure even more films from shooting in the area.

So now I’m done with TIFF 2017.  I’ve seen some tremendous work, a few stinkers and quite few films that I think will do well at THE NEON.

Thanks so much for joining me on my cinematic journey.  (Below are a few pics from last night’s premiere.)

See you at the movies,

Jonathan

MANY CONGRATS to Karri O’Reilly & Her Team for a great film and a great premiere!

Filmed In Ohio, Debuting at Toronto Film Festival

By

About a year ago FilmDayton made a set visit with some City of Dayton workers down to  Loveland,  to observe the filming of Mercy.  Executive Producer Karri O’Reilly, who is also a board member of FilmDayton showed us around the set, including  the small bar they took over where Ellen Page was filming a scene, an alley where craft services had set up, around the block where the costume, make up and artist trailers where parked and so much more.  The purpose of that visit was to show firsthand the impact a film can have on the local economy.
Tonight that film, now titled My Days of Mercy, is the focus of a Gala at the Toronto International Film Festival.  The film stars Oscar nominee Ellen Page as Lucy, the daughter of a man on death row. She and her sister Martha (Amy Seimetz) are regular attendees at state executions across the Midwest, where they demonstrate in favor of abolishing the death penalty. At one such event, Lucy spots and eventually falls for Mercy (Kate Mara), daughter of a police officer whose partner was killed by a man about to receive a lethal injection. Mercy is there to celebrate justice served.

This is the fourth film made by NY production company Killer Films in Ohio.  “What initially brought us there was the state tax incentive,” said David Hinojosa, the company’s head of production and development. “It was very attractive.”  The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit provides a tax credit of 30 percent on production cast and crew wages plus other eligible in-state expenses.  Killer leveraged the Ohio tax program by hiring a majority of its production crew from the region instead of bringing workers from out of state.

 

O’Reilly explains that while the film was based in Cincinnati,  due to the geographic closeness of our cities, a film being made in the region is a win for FilmDayton.  Whether it’s hiring crew or using local vendors, the Dayton and Cincinnati markets often overlap and that helps the Miami Valley, which is just starting to establish its film commission.

 

When a film like Mercy debuts at a major festival, O’Reilly explains that “it means lots of good recognition” for Ohio.  Area films are repeatedly showing up at the major film festivals.  The Killing of a Sacred Deer starring Colin Farrell  and Nicole Kidman debuted at Canne this year.  In 2016 three Ohio films debuted at Sundance:  Goat (which O’Reilly co-produced), The Land and The Fits. 

 

These movies mean jobs and money for our region.  The Mercy spend was about $225,000 and the recent Robert Redford that shot for 2 days in downtown Dayton spent over $8000 with the City of Dayton for police services and parking, $7000 on hotel rooms at the UD Marriott, hired over 100 extras and had a crew of 75, used a local dry cleaner, bought late night pizzas from Marion’s Piazza and became repeat customers at Table 33.  Crew payroll added even more to the local spend.

 

FilmDayton works to bring these jobs to town that pay well, are mainly union positions which means  benefits and pensions for our local filmmakers.  “Being able to offer Wright State University motion picture students hands on experience in their chosen career field is a real benefit to the region,” shares FilmDayton’s Lisa Grigsby, “and and go along way to keeping young, talented filmmakers in our community.  We don’t receive any funds from the productions we work to bring to town, we depend on contributions, and sponsorships from those that understand the economic impact these productions have on our town.  You can help keep the spotlight on the Miami Valley by making a contribution, volunteering your house, office or property to be added to our location database or volunteering for FilmDayton.”

Thriller THE EAST and Several New Events at THE NEON!

By Leave a Comment

the-east-movie-mHello Everyone,

Response has been quite mixed for BEFORE MIDNIGHT. Some of you agree with me and think it’s one of the year’s best films…others think it’s “too chatty and boring.” If you haven’t seen it, we hope you’ll come and decide for yourself. It will stick around for another week. On our other screen, we will open a new thriller called THE EAST.

Be sure to keep a look-out for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, the contemporary retelling of The Bard’s famous play – directed by Joss Whedon.  It could open as soon as next week!

Synopsis for THE EAST: “An elite private intelligence firm contracts ex-FBI agent Sarah Moss to infiltrate a mysterious anarchist collective, The East, suspected to be responsible for attacking major corporations. Sarah goes undercover, but as she gets closer to the action and the organization’s leader, her commitment to her task begins to waver.” (taken from Metacritic.com) Click this LINK to visit the film’s official site. This film stars Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page and Patricia Clarkson (one of my all-time favorite actresses).

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htExHNNyRH8′]

“Start Freedom Dayton is at it again – this time with a screening BORN INTO BROTHELS, the 77th Oscar winner for Best Feature Documentary. Come see the movie and stay for the post-screening discussion led by Melinda Haggerty, Ohio’s Director of Children’s Initiatives, the juvenile justice arm of the Office of Mike DeWine. Advance tickets are available at Peace on Fifth for $7.50 (located at 508 E. Fifth Street). Tickets on the day of the show will cost $10 at THE NEON.” (Peace on Fifth press notes.) Born into Brothels is the chronicle of two documentary filmmakers and their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city’s notorious red light district.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AODZ6k8LgEI’]

On Saturday, July 6, THE NEON will host the premiere of Meladi McNair’s new film THE OMISSION. “Marissa tries to hide from her friends that she is in an unfortunate, yet common situation that afflicts many young adults. A violent, controlling relationship. Three flashbacks paint her birthday bash as the platform for a series of unfortunate events in which five long-time friends learn of her situation, and turn on each other… THE OMISSION, a dark, abuse awareness film debuts at 3 pm on July 6. The film was written and directed by Dayton’s own Meladi McNair; a Journalist and social-conscious author, artist and filmmaker. She is also the author of the anti-bullying book, ‘The Vexing.’ Tickets are $5 each.” (taken from press notes)

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOUFHCrJyWE’]

Here’s a note from American Pi, a store just a block from THE NEON: “Victory Film Group and Made in the USA Films present a 90 minute documentary that explores the rise and fall of U.S. manufacturing. Josh Miller sets out on a journey in which he attempts to live off of USA made products for 30 days. Can he do it!? During Josh’s journey he talks with locals to find out if ‘Made in the USA’ really means anything anymore. If not, what does that mean for the future of our country? Come find out when you join us on the MADE IN THE USA: THE 30 DAY JOURNEY. To obtain tickets online, visit the site. Our site says they are $10 but for a they are FREE. TICKETS MUST BE RESERVED via the website, at our location or via phone (click this LINK for the site). FREE price will reflect during checkout. We do have a VIP package so that viewers can get DVD and photos with Josh etc. and that price is $20.” Check out American Pi’s official site.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX8db-wnir4′]

“AMU is the story of Kaju, a twenty-one-year-old Indian American woman who returns to India to visit her family and discover the place where she was born. The film takes a dark turn as Kaju stumbles against secrets and lies from her past. A horrifying genocide that took place twenty years ago turns out to hold the key to her mysterious origins.” The India Foundation will present this special screening of AMU on Saturday, July 13 at Noon. Tickets will be $5 each.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNyAgEFGyCw’]

There’s another potential Gathr screening on the horizon. Once again, 50 tickets need to be reserved in order for the screening to be locked down. The movie is BACK TO 1942, and it’s an epic film set during a drought in China’s Henan province in 1942. The tentative screening is scheduled for July 17 at 7:30. Click this LINK to reserve your ticket.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRy5PJWL1T4′]

See you soon!

All the best,
Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for Fri. June 21 – Thur. June 27:

BEFORE MIDNIGHT (R) 1 Hr 48 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 7:20, 9:40
Monday – Wednesday: 3:00, 5:20, 7:45
Thursday: 3:00, 5:20

THE EAST (PG-13) 1 Hr 56 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:00, 4:00, 7:15, 9:45
Monday – Thursday: 2:30, 5:15, 7:45

BORN INTO BROTHELS (R) 1 Hr 31 Min
Thursday: 7:30

COMING SOON:
As always, all dates are tentative. Many of these dates will change.
In some rare cases, titles may disappear.
June 28 – MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
TBD – LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED
July 12 – 20 FEET FROM STARDOM
July 26 – THE WAY WAY BACK
TBD – GINGER AND ROSA
TBD – KON TIKI
TBD – FROM UP ON POPPY HILL
TBD – IN THE HOUSE