One measure of a community is what visitors have to say after experiencing it for themselves.
Based on the comments by three people in the movie industry, Columbus is a special city with some great qualities — which residents already know and appreciate.
But for actor John Cho, actress Haley Lu Richardson and director Kogonada, who spent time in Columbus during last year’s filming of the “Columbus” movie and returned for the Sept. 1 local premiere, the impressions were fresh and genuine.
The three posed for photos and interviews on the YES Cinema red carpet, mingled with residents who attended the premiere and participated in a public question-and-answer session.
Their comments made it clear how much the city and its residents mean to them.
Kogonada explained how a visit to Columbus for the architectural tour inspired him to make the film.
Richardson told how cool it was to experience the city during shooting, including meeting — and falling in love with — Miles, the Bichon Frise dog at Hotel Indigo.
The actress even had her parents come to Columbus for the premiere and took them to the Miller House, former home of the late Columbus philanthropists and art patrons J. Irwin and Xenia Miller, and said it was special to share the experience with her family members.
Cho flew all the way from Vancouver, Canada, on the day of the premiere to attend it.
“This place is very special to me. I wanted to be here with everyone,” he said.
Cho said he developed a relationship with Columbus, as if it wanted to hug him and he wanted to hug it back. So when Cho was driving down Interstate 65 on his way to the “Columbus” premiere, he said returning to the city felt like a homecoming.
Columbus has meant so much to Cho that he expressed his appreciation publicly with an Orchid published in Tuesday’s Republic.
It was heartwarming for the Columbus community to hear such positive comments from the film’s principles, and the Orchid was a nice embrace of the community.
Their views of the city and its residents speaks well of them, and serve as a reminder to local residents of the community’s many positive qualities that they may occasionally forget or unintentionally take for granted.
