Friday, May 27th, 2011
Movie to film in local communities
By William Kincaid
Filming for an independent film starring Kim Basinger is scheduled to begin late this summer in Mercer, Darke and Stark counties.
The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) made the announcement Thursday but did not provide exact locations of where the filming for "Over the Wall" would take place.
"The film is set in the world of professional stock-car racing, which centers on a violent tragedy that rips the characters' lives apart in a story of love, betrayal and revenge," the press release states.
"Over the Wall" will receive a $1.6 million motion picture tax credit to shoot in Ohio and production is expected to hire more than 600 Ohioans as part of the cast and crew, according to ODOD.
"With recent movies such as 'Unstoppable,' 'Ides of March,' 'The Avengers' and more, Ohio is seeing a boom of interest from Hollywood," ODOD Director James Leftwich said in the release. "These films will provide an economic boost to the communities that serve as sets and continue to grow Ohio's film industry into something Ohioans can be proud of."
Mercer County Economic Development Director Jared Ebbing said his office was contacted by the Ohio Film Office by e-mail last year. The organization said a movie production company was looking for small rural communities to shoot in and asked interested parties to send a description and pictures of their communities.
"We just do it and don't really think much of it," Ebbing said about such requests. "Kind of like scratching a lottery ticket - you can't win if you don't play."
Ebbing said securing such projects is not the focus of his office. However, he said it's kind of neat. He did not know any further details as of this morning.
People here are proud of the community and its heritage and why not let that be filmed for the rest of the world to see, Ebbing said.
Three other independent movies will be shot in Ohio this year, bringing the total number of films, TV series and commercials assisted by the motion picture tax credit to 24 since the program began in 2010, according to ODOD.
The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit, totaling $30 million for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, is calculated in two components, according to ODOD. Ohio resident cast and crew wages will be credited at 35 percent while all other eligible production expenditures will be credited at 25 percent.
Since the tax began, Ohio productions have employed more than 9,000 Ohioans and contributed nearly $120 million to the state economy, according to ODOD.
