The Crowded Room has not approached the university for filming at The Ridges.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s film, The Crowded Room,that will explore Billy Milligan’s life, an infamous Athens Mental Health Center patient, has caused a lot of chatter on campus.
One question is at the forefront of the buzz: Will DiCaprio be coming to Ohio University?
The university has not been approached by the movie’s representatives about filming in Athens, said OU spokesperson Katie Quaranta in an email.
The film will have DiCaprio producing, as well as starring as Milligan. Milligan is known as being the first person to use multiple personality disorder as a successful defense in court. Milligan was charged for the kidnapping and rape of three women around Ohio State University’s campus. Milligan was later sent to Athens Mental Health Center to receive care.
The university has a policy for filming at The Ridges, but it’s not been used to address large-scale productions. It does, however address the reputation given to The Ridges, as well as logistics on the times and locations within the area they would be allowed to film.
If access is granted for a production, the policy outlines specifics on where to film and when to film. The departments involved in the decision would depend on the nature of the project, Quaranta said.
There’s a difference between sending a crew to do establishing shots, or shots of the setting, and sending the full cast and crew to the set, said David Thomas, a professor of film, in an email.
“The decision to film on location is a costly one,” Thomas said. “The producers must increase their budget to cover lodging of cast and crew, three rather than one meal for each, and the countless costs associated with transportation, … art direction and similar concerns.”
Thomas said simply doing exterior, establishing shots is “minimal in comparison” to filming on location.
It also is unclear at this point whether Athens could be featured in the film.
Kaylee Powers, a sophomore studying strategic communication and interactive visual communication, said hopefully, if the filming is done in a respectful way, it could show The Ridges “in a better light” and the money could help pay for its upkeep.
She added said she grew up near the Mansfield Reformatory and one reason it still stands today is because The Shawshank Redemption was filmed there.
Rebecca Caldwell, a freshman studying Spanish and linguistics, said there are pros and cons to the situation.
“It begs the question of how it would affect our schooling,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell pointed out the fact that roads would probably need to be closed, students would have a hard time with traffic and the craze it would cause in the town. She said, however, it could be a cool opportunity for media students.
Alex Vorst, a fifth-year studying meteorology, said he works in the mailroom at The Ridges. He said it could be a “good plug” for the university, but depending on how it was handled, it “could definitely add to the reputation and folklore of The Ridges.”
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