As students at Case Western Reserve University, Anthony and Joe Russo couldn’t finance the films they wanted to make, so they used their credit cards. Years later, when they made it big, they could have easily forgotten those early days. But they didn’t. And with the Russos’ 2014 hit, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, they put their beloved city on the biggest screen in showbiz.
Read more: Lights, Camera, Action: Hometown Heroes
Story Board: Captain America’s famous Shoreway car chase scene snarled traffic for what felt like eons. But it was worth it to see familiar sights in the film, like the Flats, downtown and The Cleveland Museum of Art. “When you’re thinking about a large-scale cinema, the details of Cleveland are just something that speak to us very strongly,” says Anthony Russo, who co-directed the film with his brother, Joe.
Cleveland Connection: Captain America set off a Hollywood love affair with Cleveland’s sights that continues today. Several movies released last year, including Judas and The Black Messiah, The Marksman and the Russos’ most recent project, Cherry, have hints of the city throughout.
Read more: Cherry, The Russo Brothers' Cleveland-Based Film, Comes Out This Week
Front Stage Future: Russo envisions a bright future for Cleveland film. “We’re very hopeful,” says Russo. “The big dream — and this is something we’ve all been talking about for years in the film community — is getting dedicated film stages in Cleveland and state-of-the-art stages. That’s the real point that we need to get to.”Revisit more of Cleveland’s 50 most impactful moments over the past 50 years.
