OHIO (STACKER) — The magic of Hollywood is that oftentimes movies aren’t filmed anywhere near where they purport to be taking place. California may be home to Hollywood, but so many of your favorite films were set against backdrops far removed from the glitterati of the West Coast.
With huge studios like Warner Bros., MGM, and RKO Pictures churning out film after film during the heyday of the silver screen, California made a name for itself as the cornerstone for all things movies. As the industry has continued to shift, however, that has begun to change.
From the need for more rural settings to a director’s desire to get everything as historically accurate as possible, not to mention the attractive tax incentives offered by states outside of California, crews are increasingly enticed to look elsewhere when filming. More and more, shoots take place in the most unexpected places in a quest to entertain, and sometimes, to make film history. Have you ever wondered where the Cullen house in the “Twilight” movies actually is? (The answer is Oregon.) How about the location of where the wasteland astronauts trekked in “Planet of the Apes” from 1968? (Answer: Arizona.)
With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of SOME movies filmed in Ohio using data from Movie Locations. Additional information about each film was collected from IMDb. Some films may have been omitted due to data dissimilarities and lack of corresponding information found on IMDb.
Air Force One (1997)
– Director: Wolfgang Petersen
– IMDb user rating: 6.5 (206K reviews)
– Runtime: 124 minutes
– Genres: Action, Drama, and Thriller
– Cast: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close
– Filmed in: Columbus area, including at The Ohio State Reformatory, according to destinationmansfield.com
American Splendor (2003)
– Director: Shari Springer Berman
– IMDb user rating: 7.4 (51K reviews)
– Runtime: 101 minutes
– Genres: Biography, Comedy, and Drama
– Cast: Paul Giamatti, Shari Springer Berman, and Harvey Pekar
– Filmed in locations including Cleveland and Lakewood, according to IMDb.
Brubaker (1980)
– Director: Stuart Rosenberg
– IMDb user rating: 7.1 (19K reviews)
– Runtime: 131 minutes
– Genres: Crime and Drama
– Cast: Robert Redford, Yaphet Kotto, and Morgan Freeman
– Filmed in: Locations including Junction City Prison Farm, according to Kent State University
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
– Director: Anthony Russo
– IMDb user rating: 7.8 (880K reviews)
– Runtime: 136 minutes
– Genres: Action, Adventure, and Sci-Fi
– Cast: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson
– Filmed in: Locations including downtown Cleveland
Carol (2015)
– Director: Todd Haynes
– IMDb user rating: 7.2 (138K reviews)
– Runtime: 118 minutes
– Genres: Drama and Romance
– Cast: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Sarah Paulson
A Christmas Story (1983)
– Director: Bob Clark
– IMDb user rating: 7.9 (162K reviews)
– Runtime: 93 minutes
– Genres: Comedy and Family
– Cast: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, and Darren McGavin
– Filmed in: Locations including Cleveland; the house just outside downtown Cleveland and the Higbee building in downtown.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
– Director: Michael Cimino
– IMDb user rating: 8.1 (352K reviews)
– Runtime: 183 minutes
– Genres: Drama and War
– Cast: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Cazale
– Filmed in: Cleveland, including the St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Church on Starkweather Avenue and Mingo Junction, according to IMDB.com.
Eight Men Out (1988)
– Director: John Sayles
– IMDb user rating: 7.2 (21K reviews)
– Runtime: 119 minutes
– Genres: Drama, History, and Sport
– Cast: John Cusack, Clifton James, and Jace Alexander
The Ides of March (2011)
– Director: George Clooney
– IMDb user rating: 7.1 (228K reviews)
– Runtime: 101 minutes
– Genres: Drama and Thriller
– Cast: Paul Giamatti, George Clooney, and Philip Seymour Hoffman
– Filmed in: Locations including Cincinnati, according to IMDb.com.
The Public Eye (1992)
– Director: Howard Franklin
– IMDb user rating: 6.5 (4.3K reviews)
– Runtime: 99 minutes
– Genres: Crime, Drama, and Romance
– Cast: Joe Pesci, Barbara Hershey, and Richard Riehle
A Rage in Harlem (1991)
– Director: Bill Duke
– IMDb user rating: 5.9 (2.3K reviews)
– Runtime: 115 minutes
– Genres: Comedy and Crime
– Cast: Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, and Robin Givens
– Filmed in: Locations including Cincinnati, according to IMDb.com.
Rain Man (1988)
– Director: Barry Levinson
– IMDb user rating: 8.0 (534K reviews)
– Runtime: 133 minutes
– Genres: Drama
– Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, and Valeria Golino
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
– Director: Frank Darabont
– IMDb user rating: 9.3 (2.8M reviews)
– Runtime: 142 minutes
– Genres: Drama
– Cast: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Gunton
– Filmed in: Richland County, Ashland County and and several surrounding areas, including at the Ohio State Reformatory, according to destinationmansfield.com.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – NOVEMBER 18: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) (L-R) Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins and Frank Darabont arrive at the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences’ 20th Anniversary Screening Of “The Shawshank Redemption” at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 18, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
– Director: Sam Raimi
– IMDb user rating: 6.3 (620K reviews)
– Runtime: 139 minutes
– Genres: Action, Adventure, and Sci-Fi
– Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Topher Grace
Traffic (2000)
– Director: Steven Soderbergh
– IMDb user rating: 7.6 (216K reviews)
– Runtime: 147 minutes
– Genres: Crime, Drama, and Thriller
– Cast: Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones
– Filmed in: Locations including Cincinnati and Columbus, according to IMBd.com
Unstoppable (2010)
– Director: Tony Scott
– IMDb user rating: 6.8 (204K reviews)
– Runtime: 98 minutes
– Genres: Action and Thriller
– Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, and Rosario Dawson
– Filmed in: Locations including Walbridge, according to IMDb.com.
According to destinationmansfield.com, other films taped in Ohio include:
– Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) in Cleveland and the Ohio State Reformatory
– Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019) in Mansfield.
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Olivia Monahan, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.