For love and money
Three days into filming The Punisher, the moviemakers talk about their affection for Tampa and their project, and how that translates into local dollars.
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 5, 2003
TAMPA - The brains behind The Punisher's brawn already know and love Tampa.
The city was introduced to the filmmakers Monday, and the feeling seemed mutual.
Artisan Entertainment executive vice president of production Andrew Golov had the Tampa Convention Center news conference audience at "hello." Although to be fair, his greeting was followed by a brief rundown of how much of the film's reported $30-million budget will be spent on production in the area.
"That number is just slightly more than $12-million," Golov said.
"By film commission estimates, about half of that remains directly in Tampa. As mayor (Pam) Iorio and I discussed (in May), that's about $1-million per month for the next six months going into the economy directly. That has nothing to do with the residual effect of the movie that comes out and the attention Tampa will get."
Principal photography for The Punisher began Saturday at the AmSouth building at 100 N Tampa St. Production resumes today at 400 N Ashley Plaza - the "beer can building" - and continues at several Tampa and Pinellas County locations weekdays through October.
With relatives living in Sarasota, Golov is no stranger to the Tampa Bay area. He wanted The Punisher filmed here despite pressure to change the screenplay's locale to Vancouver to save money on exchange rates and tax breaks. Golov praised city and county officials for co-operation that helped "close the gap between what it would have cost to make the film in Canada and here."
Writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh explained why he wrote The Punisher with Tampa in mind. He began with the idea that the film's villain, played by John Travolta, would be laundering money in the Gulf of Mexico.
"I considered New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Houston-Galveston and, of course, Tampa," Hensleigh said.
"There's an element of the story that's set in Puerto Rico, and I couldn't double Houston-Galveston or New Orleans as Puerto Rico. But I certainly can double Tampa as Puerto Rico. That really swung the vote in favor of Tampa."
The scenes involving the murder of FBI agent Frank Castle's family, spurring his vengeful side, will be filmed at Fort De Soto Park and Honeymoon Island in Pinellas County. The rest of the production is scheduled for Tampa, mostly in the Channel District, Ybor City and downtown.
Travolta wasn't at the news conference. He isn't due in town to film his scenes for at least two weeks. Other principal actors, including Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Laura Harring and Will Patton, will be "arriving daily from this point on, essentially," producer Gale Anne Hurd said.
Thomas Jane, who stars as the Punisher, was at the news conference and acted much looser than his vigilante hero, a Marvel Comics favorite, will appear in the film. He faked surprise when Hurd mentioned that the Punisher doesn't have superpowers and joked that any collectible action figure of him would be nude. Hurd said the production's effect on residents' everyday lives would be "as low-impact as possible," and Jane added: "Except for when we're blowing stuff up."
But the 34-year-old actor is taking the character seriously.
"I really feel like I'm playing a real guy," Jane said. "I feel the responsibility to this character as much as I felt the responsibility of bringing Mickey Mantle to life (in 61*), as much as I felt bringing (South African policeman) Andre Stander to life (in Stander), as much as I felt bringing Neal Cassady to life (in The Last Time I Committed Suicide).
"It's a beautiful story about a guy in a unique position. His family is murdered, and he only sees one choice available to him: that's to go after the people who killed his family. He can't lose, because if he gets them, he has avenged, in some small part, the death of his family. If they get him, then he is punished for not being there to save them. That's a beautiful story about atonement and punishment."
Hensleigh is directing his first film after writing screenplays for box office hits Armageddon and Jumanji, among other films. His first day on the set, Saturday, was disrupted by a loud, lingering thunderstorm that changed plans to shoot outside.
"There are specific weather problems in Florida," Hensleigh said. "That is going to be a constant challenge throughout. We'll get over that.
"For me, we're attempting to make a full-blown, huge action picture with all of the Hollywood trappings for probably less money than a picture like this has ever been executed for. That's a bold claim, but I'll stand by it."
Hurd suggested that The Punisher "is an R-rated film," although that decision will be made by the Motion Picture Association of America after the movie is completed.
The news conference concluded with a shower of compliments for local artists and technicians hired for the production.
"There's a wealth of talent here," Golov said. "We witnessed Saturday a production team that, from the head of every department right through every production assistant, did not stop for 15 hours, which is pretty amazing."
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