OMAHA, Neb., May 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Move over, Hollywood. Make way for Omaha. The nation's No. 1 town for tech is fast-becoming a film and entertainment hot spot.
Home to Oscar-winning screenwriter/director/producer Alexander Payne (The Descendants, Sideways, Nebraska, Downsizing), Omaha's entertainment ties run deep – back to 1916, when Noble and George Johnson founded the nation's first all-African American film production company, the Lincoln Motion Picture Company, in Omaha.
Today, entertainment in Greater Omaha is thriving. From Omaha Film Festival (named one of MovieMaker magazine's "50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee") to Night Fox Entertainment, an Omaha-based finance and production company with a growing filmography, Omaha is experiencing a creative explosion.
Case in point: Timothy Christian, who heads Night Fox Entertainment (and was born and raised in Omaha), recently released CIA-thriller "Against the Clock, while the production company's "Wilding," premiered at South by Southwest in 2018.
"Nebraska is a place where we have almost any landscape you could want, which tells me that no matter what kind of film you're doing, there's probably a way you can shoot it here," says Christian.
That same "landscape" is also one that embraces the arts in Omaha.
Soundfly, for example, ranks Omaha No. 2 on its "Great American Music Cities That Aren't LA, NYC, Nashville, Austin, or Seattle," and SMU lists Omaha No. 6 among "The Top 40 Most Vibrant Arts Communities in America (2018)."
A top-40 "Most Fun City in America" (WalletHub), Omaha also has the patrons to support its expanding art scene – and a cost of living that matches an emerging artist's budget.
"In general, I prefer to be in Omaha if I don't have to be in Los Angeles," Payne said in a 2017 Omaha World-Herald interview.
Payne is not alone. Film editor Mike Hill, cinematographer Mauro Fiore (both Oscar winners), along with North Sea Films owner Dana Altman, all call Omaha home.
About Greater Omaha
Greater Omaha is a No. 1 ranked up-and-coming-tech hotspot and Time magazine's 2017 No. 3 Most Up-and-Coming City in America. Recognized as a 2019 top-20 economic boomtown by GoBanking, Omaha is also the 2019 No. 8 best midsize city in America for college graduates, according to OnlineDegrees.com. Originator of the Midwest's "We Don't Coast" movement, Omaha was named America's No. 2 Best Small City in 2018.
CONTACT:
Jill Bruckner
Communications/PR Manager
Greater Omaha Chamber
402-978-7920
[email protected]
SOURCE Greater Omaha Chamber
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