'Killshot' may need extra day of filming

~ Production trucks will start arriving today and Friday.

Filmmakers haven't shot a single frame in Cape Girardeau for the movie "Killshot," but they are already expecting to stay longer than originally planned.

Most members of the production team working to turn Elmore Leonard's novel into a motion picture haven't arrived in town, production supervisor Scott Knollenberg of St. Louis said Wednesday. But those who have arrived are busy, he said.

"We are in the full swing of things trying to get set up," he said. Producers are now anticipating five days of filming -- they had projected four days -- and possibly longer.

Producers will employ 25 Southeast Missouri State University students as assistants during the production. Some have already begun work. Laura Haug, a senior from Bonne Terre, Mo., spent Wednesday putting together "Welcome" packs for cast and crew members.

The packs for about 20 top cast and crew members will include a Cape Girardeau coffee mug, pens, refrigerator magnets and other trinkets, courtesy of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Haug, who will be an assistant to the producer, said she's excited to be working on a major motion picture. "It helps me know what to expect when I get out into the real world," the video production major said. "There is a lot of hard work behind the scenes."

Residents of the area are also working in front of the cameras, with approximately 100 people being used as extras, Knollenberg said. People who applied for the slots should hear from casting personnel today or Friday about where to report, he said.

The movie tells the story of a Detroit couple hiding from killers. They arrive in Cape Girardeau as part of a witness relocation program. The couple will be played by Diane Lane and Thomas Jane, with Johnny Knoxville playing a federal agent they meet in Cape Girardeau.

John Madden ("Shakespeare in Love") will direct. The Weinstein Co. and Quentin Tarantino are the movie's producers. Most of the film was shot in Toronto, Canada.

Production trucks will start arriving today and Friday, Knollenberg said.

Filming in Cape Girardeau will start in the downtown area Monday, said Chuck Martin of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. The production was postponed from last month but nobody's complaining, he said.

"We really appreciate the business," he said. "January is a slow month in our community. Now we have hotels with extra guests, restaurants with additional visitors, and all of that at what is typically a very slow time."