Details set stage for 'hectic fun' during 'Killshot' filming downtown

A Perryville optician will assist an actor playing a grizzled old river hand put a contact lens in that helps create the illusion of a glass eye.

Seven off-duty policemen will work crowd control, block of streets and guard equipment and vehicles overnight. The Cape Girardeau Police Department is even loaning a local cop car for a cameo.

And at least two local businessmen are leasing their property for locales that will provide the backdrop of Cape Girardeau.

That's just some of the local behind-the-scenes participation that has already been set up by the makers of "Killshot," the movie that will be shot in Cape Girardeau for four days starting Jan. 9.

"All of these little details have to be ready," said production supervisor Scott Knollenberg of St. Louis. "We're going to start shooting that Monday and we've got to be ready to rock."

The film stars Diane Lane, Thomas Jane, Johnny Knoxville -- who will be in Cape Girardeau -- and Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson and Joseph Gordon, who did their filming in the primary location in Toronto.

The movie -- based on an Elmore Leonard novel -- tells the story of a Detroit couple, Lane and Jane, on the lam from a pair of hitmen. The two are sent to Cape Girardeau as part of the witness relocation program where they meet Knoxville, who plays a federal agent who doesn't make life easier on them.

The movie is directed by John Madden, who directed "Shakespeare in Love" and is produced by The Weinstein Co. and Quentin Tarintino of "Pulp Fiction" fame.

Many more of the final decisions that affect the Cape Girardeau will be made on Friday -- such as which local restaurants will cater the meals -- when Knollenberg participates in a production conference call.

The trucks will begin rolling in early next week, which will bring a partial crew of production, casting and producers to begin setting up. An make-shift office will be set up in a local hotel before the total of about 70 cast, crew and production arrive Jan. 8.

Casting director Joni Tackette will be one of the first ones here to begin making phone calls to 100-150 extras, which she has whittled down from about 1,000 applications.

Four or five trailers will be set up in the downtown south parking lot in front of Hutson's Fine Furniture to serve as a base camp for two days. The first day of shooting will focus entirely on the downtown area.

The second day's filming will take place at Missouri Dry Dock, where Jane's character Wayne gets a job repairing barges while in Cape Girardeau.

Knollenberg said they will also be shooting on the riverfront, on a river tug boat and possibly inside a downtown business or two. An agreement has been reached with John Wyman for the business to use the former Hechts building at 107 N. Main. Wyman said they have access to the interior and the exterior, but he didn't know to what extent they plan to use it.

Missouri Dry Dock owner Robert Erlbacher said he didn't expect the publicity to help his business much.

"I am doing this more for the city's benefit than anything," Erlbacher said. "I thought the city had a chance to gain something and I wanted to help."

The filming hours will be roughly from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on that Monday through Thursday, starting Monday near the Common Pleas Courthouse. The scenes in that area to be shot will be in front of the courthouse and on the courthouse steps and along Main Street, said Chuck Martin, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Conventions and Visitors Bureau. The 70 cast and crew have already booked hotel rooms, Martin said.

Police chief Carl Kinnison said seven off-duty police officers have signed up to work at the filming sites for an hourly rate that is higher than their police rate of pay. He said two or three officers will work in 12-hour shifts around the clock for crowd control, to block off streets and protect movie equipment and vehicles overnight.

Kinnison said that Main Street from Broadway to Spanish and portions of Themis will likely only be blocked off for short periods of time while the actual filming takes place throughout the day.

"Essentially, they'll shut down the street while they're doing a two-to-five minute scene," Kinnison said. "When they're finished with that scene, the street will open back up and it may be another hour or so until they're ready to shoot again. The streets will be open a majority of the time."

Sgt. Rick Schmidt is one of the seven officers who volunteered to work the filming. He will work Jan. 9 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. He said the police will be posted at road closure signs so that by-standers don't disrupt the filming.

Schmidt said he signed up only partially for the money.

"It's a big Hollywood movie shoot," he said. "It was mainly for the money, but it should also be interesting to see."

Perryville optician Stephanie Brown, who works at Dr. Kyle Brost's office, has been contacted to be on-duty to put in a contact lens for a character who meets Wayne on the river and later takes a boat ride to Cairo, Ill. The contact lens will make the actor look like he has a glass eye.

Brown said she will make between $25 and $30 an hour to be on-hand to help out. She said producers told her to expect a call the night before she's needed.

"I'm very excited," said Brown, 21. "I'm telling people and they're all excited, too."

Chamber president John Mehner has helped out, too. He's been arranging for the hotel office to have equipment, such as fax machines, copiers and cell phones. Some of those were donated by local businesses, which he declined to name.

Elmore Leonard's research assistant, Greg Sutter, who lives in Detroit, said he may make a return visit to Cape Girardeau for one day during filming. Sutter was in Cape Girardeau three times in 1987 when he was researching the area for Leonard's novel.

Leonard and Sutter went to Toronto in October, where they met actors, directors and even saw a few dailies. Sutter expects the movie to be first-rate.

"Killshot is not going to be a 'King Kong' type movie," Sutter said. "It's just going to be a good solid thriller, with good actors, a great director and an excellent script."

As for the four days of filming in Cape Girardeau, Sutter summed it up in two words: "Hectic fun."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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