CINCINNATI — While the Writer's Guild of America strike is over after five months of stopping film production here in Ohio and across the country, many who work in the film business are still suffering. 

What You Need To Know

  • Animal trainer Megan-Kate Hoover has worked on major films shooting in Ohio since 2014

  • Hoover began her career as a trainer and curator at the Cincinnati Zoo

  • Since the WGA strike shut down production, she expanded her Pet Pawsible business to include a casting agency for pets

​“The effect is a huge trickle down and every single person involved in any aspect of film is stagnant,” said Megan-Kate Hoover, an animal trainer who has worked on movies on location in Ohio since 2014. 

“We’re waiting and we don’t have the income and we’re not doing what we love to be honest and that’s a big part of it,” she said.

Hoover said many have had to get creative.

“So many people are having to get second jobs and third jobs as we wait,” she said.

“I have created a fundraising platform to work with more rescues, and I’m doing a lot more private training,” Hoover said.

She has also created a new casting agency for animals that is part of her company she calls Pet Pawsible. 

“There are so many different things that I’ve had to get creative to survive and get through this on a daily basis,” she said.

Hoover also joined hundreds of others who work in the film business last weekend at a gala and fundraiser for those hit hard by the strike. Film Cincinnati, which is responsible for attracting film production to the region, staged their annual Backlot celebration.

“I absolutely love,” Hoover said. “It’s such a fun way to celebrate everyone who works their butt off in this industry, It’s a great community event where everyone feels involved and supported.”

According to Film Cincinnati’s website, the nonprofit helped to bring in six major motion pictures to the region in 2022, creating more than 3,000 jobs and $60 million to the local economy.

Hoover and others in the business can’t wait to come together on the next project, once the Hollywood actors' strike is over and production resumes.

“The film community here is phenomenal,” Hoover said. “We help each other out and Film Cincinnati is a wonderful support system.”