Beginning in the 90s, major TV and movie production companies began shooting in cities like Vancouver, Canada, to save money and for the ease of shooting in less crowded places. Sometimes the plot of the film takes place in those cities, while sometimes those locations can be dressed up to pass as a different city.
Michael DeSanto, the executive director and founding member of FilmToledo, a regional film commission covering Toledo and Northwest Ohio, has been working with 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) to shoot some scenes for an untitled feature film here in Toledo.
Portions of the film were shot at the Hollywood Casino from mid- to late June, with local casting for about 100 background actors and stand-ins. According to DeSanto, the production filmed in Cleveland throughout May, and later in the summer there will be another call for actors of all ages for shooting in Sandusky.
DeSanto started working with the production last year, before the strikes shut down production on all movies and television. “They were doing casting and planning with the casino. I did location scouting at the casino and helped them get vendors (local businesses that might provide services like security and catering during the shoot). Then the strikes happened and everything shut down. They (the production company) promised they’d be back and they kept their word. We had no idea how it might work out because we hadn’t heard anything between then and now, so we’re very happy.”
FilmToledo has also been working with Toledo Talent, a new agency building a database of talent in the Toledo area. The casting team is from Lillian Pyles Casting in Cleveland. DeSanto says this is the first major production in Toledo. “There were so many things to think about, like getting volunteers just to help run the open casting call at the casino because we expected thousands of people to show up,” DeSanto said. “The last major production in Toledo was for A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks. That entailed 162 extras for one day of shooting and this will be 100 extras over seven to 10 days. It’s the longer shoots that get tricky because everyone must be available for multiple long days.”
On the set
As exciting as movie shoots can be, they’re hard work. For extras and people working on set, there can be a lot of standing around between takes. That’s why lead actors have their own trailers to retreat to. DeSanto says he’s tried to emphasize the fun and the realistic parts of film shoots to those auditioning. “You’re going to be looking at a very long day,” he tells them, “even with a car chase scene, you could be out there all night reacting over and over again.” Of course, there are fun aspects to the work, but for continuity, they need to make sure that those who commit don’t decide to drop out.
DeSanto explains that he would love to see more casting opportunities in Toledo. Lillian Pyles Casting approached FilmToledo because they’d been casting so many roles for shoots in Cleveland and the surrounding area over the past year — photo doubles, stand-ins, small roles and now background to fill up the scenes. FilmToledo put out notices on their social media for additional casting.
Location scouting
Sometimes projects that come to Toledo have their own location scouts, and sometimes FilmToledo is asked to assist because they have the local advantage of knowing Toledo. Two years ago, FilmToledo did direct scouting for a project for NFL Films that involved sending photos of every single bridge from Maumee State Park to Napoleon because they wanted to film on a bridge, but ultimately nothing came of the project.
“We’re out there providing photos, recommendations and information,” DeSanto said. “Every production is different. We’ve been around since 2018 and, even with setbacks like COVID and the strikes, we’ve been able to help bring productions here. We have the talent and resources. At the moment, Michigan doesn’t have a tax credit for film productions and Ohio does, so everything is hired locally in order to get the tax credit — which is a great thing for Ohio talent and business.”