When Law Abiding Citizen began filming in Philadelphia January 23rd, most people were excited to see the likes of Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler on the our city’s streets. As exciting as that may have been to some, City officials and other surrounding townships were happy for more monetary reasons…an estimated 50 million reasons to be exact. During the “50-day production in the Philadelphia area, the film was shot in locations such as City Hall and Holmesburg Prison. The Greater Philadelphia Film Office reported that “production is estimated to spend and stimulate more than $50M in economic activity for the region through the hiring of local crew and actors; payment of local & state taxes and for city services; patronage of local businesses such as car and truck rentals, equipment houses, production services, banking institutions, lumber yards, hardware stores, clothing & retail shops, dry cleaners, restaurants & bars, hotel rooms, location rentals, office supplies, communications equipment and set design companies.
Robert Katz, president for The Film Department, the company which is producing Law Abiding Citizen, attributes the efforts of Philadelphia as well as the incentives created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for making it possible to film in Philadelphia, and went on to add that the production will “pour many millions of dollars into the local and state economy.”
That’s a blessing to our ears since Philadelphia, along with the rest of the nation is experiencing one of the worst recessions in history.
Another plus that 60% of the professionals working on the production are local. This is exactly what the Tax Credit was intended for and we are extremely delighted to have attracted such a fantastic cast in our city in the process.†said Sharon Pinkenson, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office.
Produced by The Film Department, an independent movie finance, production and international sales company, Law Abiding Citizen is based on a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer (The Thomas Crown Affair) and Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption). The film is produced by Lucas Foster (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Jumper), Mark Gill, Alan Siegel, Butler and Wimmer with Neil Sacker, Michael Goguen and Robert Katz serving as executive producers. The filmmakers will derive a 25% transferable tax credit against their qualified PA expenses upon spending at least 60% of their budget in Pennsylvania.
Mark Gill, CEO of The Film Department, which is financing the movie, loves Philadelphia. “It’s a great city with remarkable locations, an extraordinary film commission, competitive financial incentives and the most-capable of crews.†he said. (Hint Hint to other production companies).
Exec Producer Robert Katz’s positive experience with Philadelphia has gotten him and his associates thinking about filming future projects in Philadelphia. That’s always good news for us in Philly.
If you are wondering what the movie is about…it’s more or less your garden variety revenge flick about a man who, ten years after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered, returns to extract justice from the ADA who prosecuted the case against their killers.
His vengeance threatens not only the man who allowed mercy to supersede justice, but also the system and the city that made it so.
Law Abiding Citizen is expected to be released 2010.