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<\/p>\nThe Don CeSar is ready for its closeup, Mr. DeMille.<\/p>\n
Director Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) will shoot scenes for the fact-based drama The Statement next week at St. Pete Beach\u2019s opulent pink palace. The film\u2019s stars, most of whom will be present, include Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, Evan Peters, Amy Ryan, John Tuturro and Tatiana Maslany.<\/p>\n
Based on Nathaniel Rich\u2019s book Losing Earth, the movie tells the story of 20 scientists who come together for the very first conference on the threat of global emissions to the climate.<\/p>\n
That part is one hundred percent true. The conference took place in October 1980. At the Don CeSar.<\/p>\n
Opting to shoot at the actual location, producer Jonathan Schwartz said Thursday, was a matter of \u201cauthenticity. If you can come to a place where the real thing happened, and the location and the Film Commission are accepting, and helping you realize the vision, then you would be foolish not to take up on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schwartz (Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy) and his production company have been working with Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, and Film Commissioner Dave Caputo, for months on bringing The Statement to Pinellas County.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll be shooting exteriors at the Don Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Most of the interior scenes, Schwartz explained, are already in the can \u2013 filmed on a New Orleans soundstage.<\/p>\n
The original plan was to shoot inside at the 98-year-old beach resort, too. \u201cAfter the unfortunate weather circumstances here \u2026 the Don had a little bit of interior renovation after the hurricanes, and it didn\u2019t have the period look we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Filming Oct. 15, 1982: Robert DeNiro in \u201cOnce Upon a Time in America.\u201d Screenshot.<\/p>\n
The Don CeSar was the centerpiece of Robert Altman\u2019s 1980 dramedy H.E.A.L.T.H.<\/a>, which to this day has never been made available on home video or streaming services, and served as a location for scenes in Once Upon a Time in America <\/a>(1984), Forever Mine <\/a>(1999) and The Infiltrator (2016).<\/p>\n Schwartz speculated that the serious nature of The Statement might have been a draw for Rudd, who\u2019s well-known for his comedic roles, although the final word on the movie\u2019s tone, he stressed, will belong to director McCarthy.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the visionary behind how this is going to play out. When I\u2019m sitting at the monitor (watching the shoot), there are definitely some intense moments. And there are some moments of levity, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are among the executive producers of The Statement.<\/p>\n Major film companies stopped spending weeks, or months in Florida after 2016, when the legislature ended its tax incentive program, which provided percentage-based rebates for motion picture production.<\/p>\n Florida, which had ranked third in the country for major film production, immediately dropped out of the Top 20.<\/p>\n This, Schwartz insisted, was not a deterrent for The Statement.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, it was a numbers thing,\u201d he said. \u201cTax credits are great if you quote-unquote need it to achieve the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n He would not specify his film\u2019s budget, not speculate on how much the production will bring to Pinellas County.<\/p>\n The film will receive some money through the county\u2019s regional cash rebate program.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t need all of it, and you just need some of it, you can make it work. And the Film Commission was so great about that, working with us to get the number we needed. Which was very modest, not millions of dollars.<\/p>\n \u201cBut giving us what we need to at least deliver to you guys, the people of St. Pete and Pinellas County. Getting some economic activity in the region, getting some people working. It was the perfect trade-off.\u201d<\/p>\n