"The Public" (Library): fiction-vs-reality (Cincinnati, Middletown: credit, theatre, restaurant)

[motorman]

A new film shot in Cincinnati will soon debut on the West Coast. Rather than including it in my ongoing movie thread along with other such films, I feel this film deserves special recognition for the reasons presented below and because it depicts what has long been a heartbreaking problem in our downtown library...

Emilio Estevez The Public: Newest Cincinnati-made film to debut at January's Santa Barbara Film Festival - WCPO Cincinnati, OH

CINCINNATI -- We just got our first look at Emilio Estevez's Cincinnati-filmed "The Public," and most notably, the Queen City finally gets to play itself rather than some time-warped, poor man's version of New York City.

Emilio Estevez, Christian Slater talk filming 'The Public' in Cincinnati - Insider - Story

Earlier this year, Estevez told WCPO it was important to him that Cincinnati not masquerade as some other city in the film, and he credited the city for helping put all the pieces into place to expedite its production.

"I don't think there is any other library in any other city in America that would allow us the sort of access that we've had," he said.

Yes, all this is fictional entertainment, except for just one thing: there's also the real drama within our own downtown library every day it's open to the public. Exactly how do we distinguish between Hollywood and Cincinnati?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrGgS8ExsVc

[skylineorgoldstar]

This is cool.

[motorman]

Rather than add the WCPO update below to a compendium of movie information elsewhere on the Cincinnati forum, I positioned it here in conjunction with an article the station featured on the downtown library itself, a real star in both the film shoot and national library rankings. In my opinion, although the original trailer was just fine, this new trailer is more upbeat and engaging by far. Cincy movie buffs can compare both versions on YouTube itself.

https://www.wcpo.com/tablet-showcase...ic-goes-public

https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/bo...in-the-country

[motorman]

"The local premiere is set for a Hollywood film written and directed by Emilio Estevez in Greater Cincinnati."

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinna..._news_headline

I feel passionately about issues this movie presents and am very pleased that the downtown Cincinnati Public Library played a key part in its production, which highlights the plight of the homeless forced to seek a library as a refuge. The movie serves to raise the consciousness of those of us who feel immune to the suffering and struggles homeless people encounter on a day-to-day basis.

Having frequented this downtown Cincinnati library many times, as well as the downtown Middletown Public Library in earlier years, I can testify from my own experiences that "The Public" portrays a real picture. The link below presents nineteen such photos from the production itself:

https://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/l...the-public#id2

[motorman]

"Emilio Estevez pours out his love for Cincinnati in 'The Public'
Movie may spawn TV series, he says"


https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news...-in-the-public

This last weekend The Public made its gala Taft Theatre debut. Probably no locally shot film other than Rainman has received as much media coverage as this one, but for decidedly different reasons. In the former, it was primarily the endearing camaraderie between Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman inside Newport's Pompilio's Restaurant that touched people's hearts; in this film, it's all the homeless people clinging together in Cincinnati's main library that will grab everyone's attention. Whether the film will be favorably reviewed by movie critics at large or resonate with moviegoers across the nation can't be known yet, but one thing is apparent: as the troubled and disturbing story line unfolds, reel life and real life become one and the same in a movie shot entirely in Cincinnati.

https://www.wcpo.com/news/our-commun...thy-discussion