'The Bikeriders' to film today in Hamilton's German Village

Oct. 26—'The Bikeriders,' a feature film directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, will film at its third Butler County site today, which will close down a portion of Hamilton's German Village neighborhood.

The production will be coming to the Village Inn, a bar at the corner of North Second Street and Vine Street. Nearby residents received a letter from Stoplight Pictures, the film's production company, which stated there will be a street closure and restricted parking on both streets during filming.

"I would imagine we're taking up a lot of parking, because of the trucks," the film's publicist said. "That's normal whenever any production comes to town."

Though the film is primarily shot in Cincinnati, production has made its way up to Butler County on several occasions now, already using Hamilton's iconic Jolly's Drive-In as a backdrop and stopping by Middletown to film at the closed-down Lakeside Inn.

After achieving critical acclaim by directing "Loving," "Mud" and "Midnight Special," Nichols' latest project tells the story of the rise of a fictional, Midwest motorcycle gang in the 1960s. In the letter, Stoplight Pictures' assistant location manager Evan Eley asked for residents to try to remove "anything that is not of that time period," including cars and flags. Residents are also asked to keep relatively quiet as the scenes are filmed.

"Our production understands we are guests in your neighborhood and will conduct ourselves as such," Eley said. "We will make every effort to minimize our impact on neighbors and accommodate residents while filming."

The Journal-News previously reported that "The Bikeriders" is scheduled to continue filming throughout the year. A member of the producing team said the film might be released in late 2023.

The state has attempted to draw in more productions like this one through the creation of the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit in 2009. The provision provides a refundable tax credit of 30% on production cast and crew wages, among other cost-saving benefits.

In the time since, Butler County and the rest of the greater Cincinnati region have grown as filming destinations, with over a dozen films being at least partially-shot in Hamilton.