By Margaret A. McGurk
The Cincinnati Enquirer

You may never be a movie star, but your house could be.

"It's a thrill to see your house in a movie," said Sally Connelly, whose Hyde Park home was transformed into the home of Judge Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas) for the Oscar-winning 2000 film Traffic.

"It was a fabulous experience, and nothing got hurt," she said. Over the course of a month, "they moved almost all of our furniture out of the house, then moved it back in. We didn't have one claim (for damage)."

Real houses used in movies, TV shows, videos and commercials are known as "locations," and finding them is one of the major jobs of the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Film Commission.

That is why the commission is inviting Tristate property owners to submit pictures of their houses, apartments, warehouses, barns, businesses, churches, schools and open fields for inclusion in its locations library.

Those files are the first stop for scouts who are hunting for places to shoot film or even still photos for catalogs and magazine ads. The more sites that the library holds, the better the chances that a scout will find exactly what is needed, said film commission director Kristen Erwin.

Generally, a location manager chooses a site from the library, then visits it in person. If it is chosen for a production, the owner must negotiate a rental contract with the production company, then step aside when the crew moves in for as little as one day and as long as several weeks. (The Connellys moved into the carriage house on their property while Traffic used their house.)

Deirdre Costa has been a location manager for a dozen years, working on 17 feature films and countless commercials, TV shows and photo shoots. (She settled in Cincinnati after marrying a police officer she met while in town working on the Jodie Foster film Little Man Tate.)

In her experience, "the hardest thing to convey to people, especially for feature films, is how many people are involved," she said. "Inevitably, people are just shocked, even though you tell them this is like a circus coming to town. ... They just can't fathom how many people it takes to do this."

An average studio feature film uses a crew of about 100 people, most of whom will be on the location, though not necessarily inside the house. Wardrobe and makeup staff, electricians and drivers, for instance, will be stationed outside or in working trailers.

Low-budget independent films and commercials may require as many as 40 people; even a still-photo shoot can involve as many as 10.

What you're paid will vary

Feature films pay for the use of property, although amounts vary enormously. A tiny independent film may not be able to afford any payment beyond the cost of insurance. A Hollywood film may pay more than $1,000 a day for a large home, depending on how long it will be needed, how much of the site will be used and how much the residents will be displaced.

In any case, renting to a film company is not a get-rich-quick proposition. Even big movies budget a limited amount for locations and an owner who demands too much will be passed over, no matter how well the filmmakers like the site.

"One of the reasons they come to Cincinnati is because they can save money on locations," said Costa. "That's one of the attractions. In Los Angeles, people ask ridiculous amounts of money, and it's caused the budgets to get inflated."

Fun memories

Despite the invasion of people and equipment, mishaps are rare. "Knock on wood, I've never had anything happen to my properties," said Costa. "The crews I've worked with are very professional, they care about the properties, and they go to all kinds of degrees to protect the owner's interests."

She advises potential location landlords to check with the film commission if approached by a production. "In Cincinnati there aren't a lot of production companies, so it isn't hard to find out if these companies are legitimate," she said. "We all know each other."

When done right, the payoff is a lot of fun, Costa said. "The upside is that it can be really exciting. I've made great friends with a lot of people I've worked with. They had a great time, it was fun to see their property on screen. That part of it is kind of a kick, to see how it all comes together.

"People are not necessarily going to get wealthy from it, but it's an experience, a memory they'll have for a long time."

The Connellys' memories took a decidedly material form.

"We elected to keep a lot of things they did," Sally Connelly said. "We kept the (teenager's) bedroom. ... We bought some things they used (as props) - two lamps in our bedroom, and the chandelier in our hallway."

`Mom, this is Hollywood'

The house was selected after Erwin steered the movie's scouts to places she had pre-screened. "She remembered our house and took them by on a Sunday afternoon, and they knocked on our door.

"My senior-in-high-school daughter opened the door; we were at a ball game. ... When we got home, my daughter said, `Mom, this is Hollywood. They want to do a movie in our house.'"

Instead of receiving rent, the Connellys negotiated a contribution to charity. "And I just told them, don't make a bad movie in my house - no Amityville Horror," Sally Connelly said.

She did not spend all day hanging around the set. "I maintained my sked, nor did I think it was helpful for me to be hovering, so I split," she said. "They respected the house; I gave them freedom. I trusted them completely.

"I looked at it as a wonderful experience for my children. It was great for them to see this, to see the creative side of movies. ... And I think this is the most neighborhood-y we've been. Neighbors had friends over, rumors would be going around, they'd all line up to see it, standing out in street trying to get a glimpse.

"The film commission was very well versed on what goes on. Deirdre and Kristen both explained very much what we should expect, and we didn't have any conflict.

"Except I didn't get to shake the hand of Michael Douglas, and I consider that a travesty."

E-mail mmcgurk@enquirer.com

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