Cape downtown business owners concerned filming will hurt Christmas sales

Producers for the movie "Killshot," which is partially set in downtown Cape Girardeau, have decided to film the local scenes the week before Christmas, a move that has left some business owners feeling less than jolly.

That's because they fear that downtown streets will have to be closed for the filming, leaving their last-minute Christmas shoppers unable to get to their stores and scurrying to buy gifts elsewhere.

Business owners are also upset about the fact that filmmakers are wanting Christmas decorations to be taken down that week and then put up again the weekend before Christmas.

Those involved with the film -- which is based on the Elmore Leonard novel about a couple on the lam from two hit men -- aren't yet sure on how filming might affect downtown traffic.

"I don't think they're going to have to block any streets," said Daniel Kinkade, the film's location manager in St. Louis. "They may have to hold traffic intermittently though. But I don't think they're going to have to shut down anything permanently."

Having said that, though, he couldn't rule it out.

"The director can come in and change everything," he said. "So it's always a possibility. They really haven't made any decisions and that's what makes it hard."

The film's publicist, Prudence Emery, confirmed from Toronto that the film is scheduled to be shot in Cape Girardeau for five days from Dec. 19-23, though she said that was subject to change. She said that director John Madden is looking at shooting in the downtown area, including at Missouri Dry Docks where the male lead gets a job and at the Common Pleas Courthouse.

She said the three actors who will be involved with the filming here are Diane Lane, Thomas Jane and Johnny Knoxville. The film began its 50-day shoot in Toronto on Oct. 5, she said.

Businesses in the downtown area said they recognize that the film could bring tourism dollars to the community and film experts have said that it would generate as much as $100,000 a day for the local economy, when factoring lodging, transportation and food expenses for the crew.

Still, Kent Zickfield of Zickfield Jewelers says it would obviously hurt downtown businesses to have Broadway closed for any period of time.

"I wouldn't be happy if they closed the streets," he said. "I don't think that would be conducive to business. It would be better for them to reschedule until after the start of the year."

The week before Christmas is a busy time for them, he said.

"The last week is an important week of the season," he said. "It'd be very difficult for us to lose that."

Zickfield said his understanding is that the company would pay to have the decorations taken down and then to have them put back up.

Still, he said, "taking the Christmas decorations down the week before Christmas isn't the best thing for us either."

Janie Ervin of Jayson's Jewelers agreed that closing the streets would be tough, even though she said she wouldn't be hit as hard because her business is on Themis.

"Anything that affects downtown traffic flow affects all of us," she said.

But if any downtown streets have to be closed that week, the city would make every accommodation to make sure there is parking in the downtown area, said Chuck Martin, director of the Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

That could include making the CVB parking lot available, he said, or providing shuttles from other spots for shoppers who want to get downtown, he said.

"We're finding this stuff out on the fly as well," Martin said. "But we'd do everything within our power to make sure the shoppers could still get downtown. There's more than adequate parking in other areas."

But according to Jim Dufek, a video productions professor at Southeast Missouri State University, the timetable may change in the hectic, unpredictable world of Hollywood movie-making.

"You never know what could happen," said Dufek, who visited local spots with the film crew in July. "They could run into some weather in Toronto. It could be after the new year before they get here. And I can't imagine anybody wanting to work through the holidays."

Meanwhile, some preliminary work in the area has already begun. Kinkade said that he's been here four times to determine where the local scenes will be shot. He said he has met with three or four business owners downtown.

An agreement has also been reached to allow some scenes to be shot outside the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau. He said the filmmakers also hope to shoot at Missouri Drydock, but he said no agreements with any businesses have been set in stone.

Jerry Jones with the Missouri Film Commission said he will be in town in the next two weeks to meet with the Cape Film Cooperative, a group of local filmmakers, to explain the process and to talk about any work that might be available for them. He also will speak to several of Dufek's classes. He said he would collect resumes and forward them to the filmmakers.

Jones also predicted that a preproduction crew would be here a week or so before shooting.

"You don't roll in and start shooting the next morning," Jones said. "They'll probably send in their art department, people from wardrobe and someone to cast extras."

Jones said his favorite development is the participation of Johnny Knoxville -- perhaps best known for his MTV show "Jackass"

"Johnny Knoxville in Cape Girardeau," he said. "That will be interesting."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137