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CELINA - A yearlong, statewide movie marathon is set to kick off next month, with events scheduled throughout the year in Mercer and Auglaize counties.
Ohio Goes to the Movies, an America 250-Ohio Signature Event, will launch its yearlong series of free movie screenings next month in venues from Dayton to Wooster.
Each venue is planning its own unique event with pre- and post-event activities in addition to screening a movie or movies of its choice. Activities range from special guests and speakers to trivia events and red-carpet openings. All screenings feature an important Ohio connection, many of which are related to the host community.
In addition to the February events announced by America 250-Ohio in news release this week, the program will make stops nearby in Celina, St. Marys and Wapakoneta later on in the year.
The local movie showings include: "Bringing Up Baby" at WAPA Theatre on April 6; "Apollo 11" at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum on May 30; "First Man" at the St. Marys Theater Grand Opera House on July 20, "A Bug's Life" at UEC Celina Cinema on Aug. 6 and "Armstrong" at the WAPA Theatre on Aug. 10.
"Our venue hosts selected a wide range of movie titles offering something for everyone! Ohio Goes to the Movies will deliver," program director Molly Kreuzman said in the release. "You will be entertained and can share a fun movie experience with family, friends and community. You can discover Ohio's small towns and large cities and their unique culture and attractions. It's an economical road trip for solo travelers or multigenerational families, and everyone is invited to attend as many events as they like."
The first Ohio Goes to the Movies (OGTTM) event will kick off on Thomas Edison's birthday, Feb. 11, with the Edison Birthplace Association's A Night at the Movies with Mr. Edison event at the Milan Town Hall in Erie County.
"We selected a mix of Edison films that showcase the variety of early motion pictures. The program includes comedy, drama and even early advertising, which reflects the breadth of the work that emerged from Edison Studios," Cindi Rospert, director of the Edison Birthplace Museum, said in the release. "These engaging short films - 'Jack & The Beanstalk' from 1902, 'Frankenstein' and 'Alice in Wonderland' from 1910 - highlight how motion pictures quickly became both entertainment and social commentary."
The next day, on Feb. 12, there will be a host of free screenings, among them two blockbusters with strong Ohio connections. Those are:
• "The Shawshank Redemption" will screen at the Gateway Film Center in Columbus. It was filmed in Ohio and features actor Clancy Brown from Urbana.
• Phoenix Theatres Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted will screen "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" 70mm. Directed and co-written by Cincinnati native Steven Spielberg, the film stars Teri Garr, of Lakewood, and Roberts Blossom, of Cleveland.
• The Lyric Theater in Wooster will screen "Raising Arizona," and after the film they will host a Q&A with Christopher Buchanan and J. Todd Anderson. Buchanan is a filmmaker and one of The Lyric Theater's founders. He lived in Wooster for many years and worked on "Raising Arizona." Anderson, a storyboard artist for "Raising Arizona," also lives in Ohio and has worked on every Coen Brothers film.
• The Bryan Theatre will screen "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio," selected because Defiance is only a short 20-minute drive from Bryan, making it especially relevant to the community. The film was adapted from the novel of the same name by Defiance author Terry Ryan and stars Woody Harrelson (Lebanon).
• The Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County Adena Branch will host its first of nine OGTTM events on Presidents Day with the screening of "Guarding Tess," a film about a former first lady and her Secret Service handler, with Ohio actors Austin Pendleton, of Warren, and David Graf, of Lancaster.
And the showings continue all throughout the month. Cincinnati's independently owned Theatre Management Corporation will launch the first of its three OGTTM events on Feb. 15 at the Kenwood Theatre. They will screen "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number" with Lima's Phyllis Diller and Cleveland native Bob Hope. The event will be hosted as a premiere showing with red carpet, step-and-repeat photo opportunities, themed concessions, film facts pre-show, themed pre-film introduction and post-film discussions.
The Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus is collaborating with Thurber House and Museum to screen two films on Feb. 19 adapted from works by James Thurber, including "The Male Animal" with Henry Fonda. Based on Thurber's Broadway play, the film highlights central Ohio locales and unfolds during a match between Ohio State and rival University of Michigan.
At Youngstown State University, they will screen "The Deer Hunter" on Feb. 20 and host a pre-screening reception at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor. Parts of the movie were filmed in the Youngstown area, hence its relevance to the local working-class industrial lifestyle and culture.
Also screening that weekend:
• On Feb. 21 at Regal Hudson, "The Big Short," starring Steve Carell, alum of Denison University, and John Magaro, of Akron, and at Springfield State Theater, "La La Land," which was executive produced by and stars John Legend, of Springfield; on Feb. 22 at Republic Theatres Wilmington Plaza, "The Wizard of Oz," starring Margaret Hamilton, of Cleveland, as the Wicked Witch and Charley Grapewin, of Xenia, as Uncle Henry.
• Atlas Cinemas Barrington in Aurora will screen "Unstoppable," on Feb. 22. The film, shot in Ohio and starring local wrestler Johnni DiJulius, centers around the life of wrestler Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and went on to win a national championship in 2011. It was filmed in Ohio and stars local wrestlers.
• The Dayton Metro Library and the National Afro-American Culture Museum will close out the month on Feb. 26, with a screening of "Beloved," a film adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Lorain native Toni Morrison.
OGTTM is a yearlong celebration of film, so cinephiles will have plenty of chances to hear about Ohio superstars of the film industry like Spielberg, Paul Newman, Clark Gable, Doris Day and the Warner Brothers.
Among the films on the schedule for March are "The Outsiders," "The Right Stuff," "Major League," "Despicable Me" and "A Beautiful Mind." All have a special connection to Ohio.
April will bring screenings of "Rain Man," filmed in Ohio, and "Superman," filmed in Ohio, starring Isabela Merced of Cleveland, and based on the character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster of Cleveland. The Huber Opera House & Civic Center will show "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" on April 10, and the Fairborn Phoenix Theatre will screen Spielberg's "Super 8" on May 1.
More information and a schedule of free movies for each month can be found at ohiogoestothemovies.org.
