IMAX movie tells Ohio's environmental comeback story from burning river to top-ranked state parks

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — When you think IMAX, chances are your mind goes to those immersive documentaries that take you inside volcanoes, deep under oceans, atop mountains or to distant planets. Or to those widescreen films that bathe you in backstage experiences with iconic rockstars or Hollywood special effects.

But, this year, the state of Ohio is using the technology to tell an environmental comeback story closer to home.

“Ohio: Wild at Heart” features the state’s top-ranked park system to highlight wildlife conservation efforts and the restorative power of outdoor recreation. Filmed over more than a year, the $2.5 million project — paid for with information and education funds — is drawing large crowds at science museums around the state and heads next year into classrooms.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz calls it “a love letter to the mission of protecting our natural resources and expanding opportunities to explore.”

Narrated by Ohio State football great Archie Griffin, the documentary depicts the state's landscapes at a sweeping scale — from the lighthouse-dotted shores of Lake Erie in the north to the towering limestone formations of the Hocking Hills in the hilly south.

The efforts take on outsized meaning given the historical context. It was the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland catching on fire in 1969 that sparked the modern environmental movement and the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Just ahead of the 50th anniversary of the fire six years ago, the river's fish were declared once again safe to eat.

Many more environmental success stories are featured in “Ohio: Wild at Heart.” They include a former Blackhawk pilot's efforts to successfully relocate rare trumpeter swans to Ohio marshlands, as well as wildlife biologists' program to repopulate once endangered bald eagles. Ohio’s governor, Republican Mike DeWine, and his wife Fran, show off family-friendly nature paths lined with pages from children's stories known as “ storybook trails.”

Nature's mental health benefits are also emphasized.

“People feel like you have to go far away to experience nature,” a naturalist on screen says. “We restore nature, nature restores us,” a volunteer says.

People feature in the film credit recreational activities as varied as hiking, kayaking, birding, ice fishing and dog-sledding with restoring their bodies, benefiting their mental health, combating loneliness and salvaging their self-esteem.

Videojournalist Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos contributed to this report.

Audience members watch "Ohio: Wild at Heart" that features the state's top-rated park system to highlight wildlife conservation efforts and the restorative power of outdoor recreation at the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater at the Cincinnati Union Terminal, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Color and light flood the OMNIMAX theater screen before a viewing of the "Ohio: Wild at Heart" film that features the state's top-rated park system to highlight wildlife conservation efforts and the restorative power of outdoor recreation at the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater at the Cincinnati Union Terminal, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Theater technician Cody Gerken is rimmed by projector light as he introduces the "Ohio: Wild at Heart" film that features the state's top-rated park system to highlight wildlife conservation efforts and the restorative power of outdoor recreation at the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater at the Cincinnati Union Terminal, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Audience members watch "Ohio: Wild at Heart" that features the state's top-rated park system to highlight wildlife conservation efforts and the restorative power of outdoor recreation at the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater at the Cincinnati Union Terminal, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A patron climbs to their seat before a viewing of "Ohio: Wild at Heart" film that features the state's top-rated park system to highlight wildlife conservation efforts and the restorative power of outdoor recreation at the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater at the Cincinnati Union Terminal, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 30 states will resume their antitrust trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster on Monday after negotiations this week failed to result in many states joining a tentative settlement reached by the Justice Department.

Lawyers told the judge Friday at a hearing in New York that seven states — Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota, all of which of Republican attorneys general — were joining the Justice Department in settling with the live music giant.

The other 32 states plan to continue trying to convince a jury that Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster, are squelching competition and driving up prices for fans. They say this was done through threats, retaliation and other tactics to control virtually every aspect of the industry, from concert promotion to ticketing.

The companies say they do not monopolize their industry and that artists, sports teams and venues set prices and decide how tickets are sold.

A jury had already begun hearing testimony in the trial when the U.S. Justice Department, which had taken the lead in suing Live Nation, said it had reached a deal with the company that would save the public money by letting competitors of Live Nation into some ticket markets where they are currently excluded.

Many states criticized the deal, saying the federal government failed to get enough concessions from the company.

Testimony was put on hold for a week for more settlement negotiations, but with no breakthrough in sight, Judge Arun Subramanian said Friday the trial would resume.

The judge also ruled against Live Nation's objection to trial exhibits in which a company employee several years ago tells another worker that the prices Live Nation charges to access the VIP area of a Tampa, Florida, amphitheater are “outrageous,” that customers paying the fees "are so stupid” and that “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them” before writing, “BAHAHAHAHAHA.”

Live Nation had argued against their inclusion in the trial, saying the employees were making “passing references to non-ticket ancillary products — such as VIP club access, premier parking, or lawn chair rentals — sold to concertgoers at two amphitheaters” in Florida and Virginia.

The judge said the overall fan experience is relevant to the relationship between performers and their customers and some artists might not want to perform if fans were being charged too much for lawn chairs or other amenities.

Subramanian said it was no different than the harm that might occur to the film industry if movie theaters began charging $50 for concessions such as soda, candy and popcorn.

At a hearing on Tuesday, Live Nation attorney Dan Wall told the judge that the chance all states would settle their claims this week was “about zero.”

FILE - The Ticketmaster logo is seen along the sideline of the field before an NFL football game, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)