'UFO' sighting on UC's campus
University of Cincinnati becomes the backdrop for extraterrestrial aliens and college mathematicians who try to crack the code
University of Cincinnati students watched their campus come to life on the big screen — a really big screen.
UC’s A&S Tribunal played host Oct. 15 to a mystery-hungry crowd as they viewed the newly released movie “UFO" — a film that features campus in multiple scenes — on Nippert stadium’s massive video screen.
As part of the Tribunal’s annual “Spooky Movie Night,” sci-fi lovers were treated to mystifying yet recognizable scenes from around their university.
“We’ve had several movies filmed on our campus in the last decade, but this is the first time we let them use our brand and university name," said Marty Ludwig, UC director of Trademarks & Licensing. “The production crew from Cincy Dawn [which later sold the film to Sony Pictures] loved our campus. The mix of new, as well as old architecture on our campus made a strong impact in the movie that centers around Cincinnati, CVG airport and UC.”
The look of a college campus is tricky to duplicate, Ludwig says, even with impressive camerawork, so most movies filmed on a college campus are actually shot on a real campus with the branding manipulated to look like a generic college.
But in this case the script was so good that Ludwig permitted the producers to use UC’s name and brand in the film.
Hollywood comes to UC
The movie, shot on campus in October 2016, presents X-Files star Gillian Anderson dealing with yet another possibility of extraterrestrials. "UFO" is now available on DVD and soon will stream on Netflix.
In this film, Anderson plays UC professor of mathematics Rebecca Hendricks who is a believer of the otherworldly beings. She becomes involved in helping her student Derek Echevaro (Alex Sharp), a UC math whiz still haunted by a UFO sighting as a child, use mathematical equations to solve the mysterious sightings reported at airports across the country. The story centers on a UFO sighting at nearby CVG airport.
With the help of Hendricks and his girlfriend Natalie (Ella Purnell), Echevaro uses a pen, paper and calculator to crack the alien code as he dodges FBI agent Franklin Ahls (David Strathairn) who is hot on his trail.
Rather than filling the screen with macabre space creatures or CGI flying machines, original screenplay writer/director Ryan Eslinger focused on the characters’ interrelationships as they track the extraterrestrials and dodge the FBI.
Kristen Schlotman from Film Cincinnati has been instrumental in bringing films to the Tristate, said Ludwig. He points out that Ohio film tax credits and the city’s diverse architecture makes Cincinnati a huge draw for films that portray older architecture and neighborhoods with a variety of terrain.
The first assistant director of the production company, S.B. Weathersby, also lives here in Northern Kentucky and was happy to be able to sleep in his own home during production, Ludwig added.
Though it was a cool and cloudy screening inside Nippert, viewers’ spirits weren’t dampened as they saw familiar scenes outside UC’s Rec Center, inside the geology building and inside and outside the Steger Student Life Center. The large forum classroom was shot inside Zimmer Auditorium, and Professor Hendrick’s office was actually filmed in recently retired director of business affairs Debbie Weinstein’s office in UC Student Affairs.
“The production was very professional and accommodating to UC’s personal property,” said Ludwig. “They came into Weinstein’s office and took photos of the top of her desk and where everything was placed in her office.
“When they were through filming and rearranging they put everything back exactly as it was even down to the pens and paperclips. It was interesting how they came in and left as though they were never here.”
Other UC landmarks in the movie include the CCM Courtyard, the MarketPoint Dining Hall, an aerial shot of Campus Green filmed from the top of Scioto Hall and a whole scene capturing the actors walking from Market on Main by the Recreation Center in the concourse out onto Campus Green.
In addition, Ludwig noted several UC students and alumni performed as extras and were part of the production crew. There were cinematography and sound crews from CCM e-Media and professional lighting technician graduates from UC who live in the Cincinnati area.
“I’m open to filming here as long as I can protect our brand,” said Ludwig. “As long as it does not interfere with our day-to-day operations like teaching classes and administering our business, it’s good for us, it’s good visibility.”
Featured image at top: UC students huddle together to watch Nippert Stadium's video screen during the A&S Tribunal's annual "Spooky Movie Night." The newly released movie "UFO" was shot on the University of Cincinnati's main campus and used several students, faculty and staff as extras on film and behind the scenes as production technicians (image on screen features UC's Crosley Tower). photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services
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