Ohio Goes to the Movies highlighting state’s ties to iconic baseball movies
YOU’RE WATCHING WLWT NEWS 5 LEADING THE WAY. ALL RIGHT. WITH OPENING DAY RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, OHIO’S TIES TO SOME OF BASEBALL’S MOST ICONIC MOVIES TAKING CENTER STAGE. AND HERE TO TALK MORE ABOUT OHIO’S CONNECTION TO BOTH BASEBALL AND FILMS. MOLLY CHRISTMAN WITH OHIO GOES TO THE MOVIES. MOLLY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. WE JUST WERE TALKING. I THINK THIS IS SUCH A FUN TOPIC. SO WHAT IS IT ABOUT BASEBALL MOVIES? AND THERE ARE MANY OF THEM THAT ARE SO TIMELESS. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IT’S, YOU KNOW, BASEBALL. BASEBALL IS TIMELESS. AND I DON’T KNOW IF YOU ALL CAN SEE, BUT I HAVE A BRAND NEW JERSEY THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME BY MY FRIENDS AT GAME DAY, AND I’M SO EXCITED. I CAN’T STAND IT. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LOVE ABOUT THESE MOVIES IS THEY TELL THE STORY OF OHIO. SO MAJOR LEAGUE. CHARLIE SHEEN OH YEAH. OH, YEAH. THERE YOU GO. LOTS OF OHIO CONNECTIONS, RIGHT? THE KID FROM CLEVELAND, EIGHT MEN OUT. ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITES THAT I JUST REALIZED IS CONNECTED TO OHIO IS 42. THE STORY ABOUT JACKIE ROBINSON. BECAUSE BRANCH RICKEY, WHO HELPED INTEGRATE THE BASEBALL LEAGUE AND ALSO STARTED THE CONCEPT OF FARM TEAMS IS FROM OHIO, WENT TO OHIO WESLEYAN. SO, I MEAN, IT’S ALL THIS GREAT SYNCHRONICITY, IF YOU WILL. WE ALWAYS JOKE THAT EVERYTHING, ALL ROADS LEAD BACK TO CINCINNATI. BUT TRULY IN THIS CASE, THEY REALLY DO. SO CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT OHIO GOES TO THE MOVIES? BECAUSE BASEBALL OBVIOUSLY A FUN FOCUS, BUT YOU GUYS DO SO MUCH MORE. SO THIS WAS THIS. I’M PART OF THE AMERICA. 250 OHIO CELEBRATION. AND THIS IS CELEBRATING OUR SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL YOU WANT TO JUST KEEP THAT WORD IN MIND, OUR NEXT COCKTAIL PARTY, AS LONG AS. OKAY, PERFECT. BUT SO I WAS HIRED TO DO 30 TO 40 EVENTS. AND I LIKE TO SAY THAT I’M A LITTLE BIT BAD AT FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS. SO WE NOW HAVE OVER 250 VENUES ACROSS THE STATE IN ALL 88 COUNTIES THAT WILL BE SHOWING OVER 300 OHIO CENTRIC MOVIES. SO THAT MEANS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE FILMS HAS A DIRECT TIE TO OHIO, BE IT ACTOR, DIRECTOR, COMPOSER, OR WHAT HAVE YOU. AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. THAT’S SO COOL. LISTEN, YOU TOOK THAT 250 AND YOU REALLY YOU’RE LIKE, WE’RE DOING EVERYTHING WITH 250. SO LET’S GET BACK TO A LITTLE BIT OF BASEBALL. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH SOME OF THE ICONIC BASEBALL MOVIES THAT, AGAIN, YOU KIND OF REFERENCED? A FEW OF THEM HAVE TIES TO OHIO BECAUSE IF YOU’RE SHOWING THAT MANY, THERE ARE A LOT, THERE ARE A LOT OF TIES. SO AS I SAID, WITH 42, IT’S BRANCH RICKEY. WITH MAJOR LEAGUE, IT’S CHARLIE SHEEN. THE THE KID FROM CLEVELAND IS OBVIOUSLY ABOUT THE CLEVELAND. AND SO THEY. YEAH, THEY ALL HAVE THIS DIRECT TIE. NOW. ONE OF THE FUN THINGS, IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL THESE FILMS IS WE HAVE CREATED THE FIRST EVER OHIO MOVIE DATABASE. OKAY, SO SO YOU CAN GO ON OUR WEBSITE AND YOU KNOW, WHAT’S THE COOLEST THING IS WHEN WE PUBLISH THIS, WE PUT IT OUT WITH A FORM ONLINE, AND WE HAD OVER A THOUSAND ENTRIES COME IN FROM PEOPLE ACROSS THE STATE WITH TIDBITS THAT WE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT. SO THIS MOVIE DATABASE IS REALLY EXTENSIVE. WELL, BECAUSE EVERYONE LOVES TO SAY, HEY, IF THEY HAVE FRIENDS IN TOWN OR WHATNOT, HEY, GUESS WHAT? THIS WAS FILMED OVER HERE. OR, HEY, DID YOU REALIZE WE HAVE THIS CONNECTION? BECAUSE THAT’S REALLY NEAT. YEAH. WOW, THAT’S REALLY INCREDIBLE TO HAVE A DATABASE SO ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE. SO LOOKING AT ONE MOVIE, YOU MENTIONED IT ALREADY, EIGHT MEN OUT THAT HAS DIRECT TIES TO US, SPECIFICALLY HERE IN CINCINNATI. DO YOU MIND ELABORATING? WELL, ACTUALLY, WHY DON’T YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU. NO, NO, NO, DON’T DO THIS TO ME. EVERYONE KNOWS HERE IN THIS BUILDING THAT I NEVER GET TO WATCH ANY MOVIES BECAUSE I HAVE TODDLERS. SO THIS IS JUST NOT A STRONG SUIT FOR ME. I’M GOING TO TELL YOU THAT I DON’T KNOW EITHER, BECAUSE I HAVEN’T WATCHED IT EITHER. NOW AGAIN, WITH 300 OVER 300 FILMS, IT’S KIND OF FUNNY. I AM AS BUSY AS YOU ARE. YOU’RE PLANNING 250 EVENTS, DASHING ABOUT? WELL, ACTUALLY, AND LET ME JUST THAT’S A LITTLE BIT OF A MISNOMER. SO WHAT I REALIZED BECAUSE EARLY ON, I WAS GOING TO PROGRAM EVERYTHING, THEN I REALIZED, NO, THAT DIDN’T MAKE SENSE. AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, EVERY VENUE KNOWS THEIR AUDIENCE. SO I THOUGHT THE SMARTEST THING I CAN DO IS TO LET VENUES PICK THEIR OWN FILMS AND LET COMMUNITIES PICK THEIR OWN FILMS. AND SO THEY ARE. AND WE ARE SHOWING IN ALL KINDS OF FABULOUS PLACES. SO NOT ONLY MOVIE THEATERS AND HISTORIC THEATERS, BUT ALSO WE’RE SHOWING AT SOME SWIMMING POOLS ACROSS THE STATE. HOW FUN IS THAT? ESPECIALLY THE TIME OF THE YEAR AND WHAT WE’RE CELEBRATING. THESE ALL SOUND LIKE INCREDIBLE EVENTS, THINGS TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR. AS WE GET INTO THE SUMMER. WE SO APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. AND LET’S TA
Ohio Goes to the Movies highlighting state’s ties to iconic baseball movies
With Major League Baseball’s Opening Day right around the corner, Ohio’s ties to some of baseball’s most iconic movies are taking center stage.On Monday, WLWT was joined by Molly Kreuzman with Ohio Goes to the Movies, who talked about Ohio’s connection to baseball and films.See the full interview in the video player at the top of the story.The Cincinnati Reds will kick off their 2026 season on Thursday, with the Boston Red Sox coming to Great American Ball Park.
With Major League Baseball’s Opening Day right around the corner, Ohio’s ties to some of baseball’s most iconic movies are taking center stage.
On Monday, WLWT was joined by Molly Kreuzman with Ohio Goes to the Movies, who talked about Ohio’s connection to baseball and films.
See the full interview in the video player at the top of the story.
The Cincinnati Reds will kick off their 2026 season on Thursday, with the Boston Red Sox coming to Great American Ball Park.