Though their plans to shoot in the Bay area were almost washed out by Hurricane Irma, an international film crew working on an upcoming action film will indeed go forward, shooting scenes in and around Pinellas County.
- Scenes for "Dead Ringer" also shot in London
- St. Pete/Clearwater Film Commission helped bring production to Bay area
- Film eyeing worldwide release in 2018
"Dead Ringer" focuses on the star of a fictional famous boy band and his "dead ringer" look-alike. When the star dies in a car crash, the look-alike takes his place, and chaos ensues.
"That's what it's about, all the twist and turns, that's what it's about, to make people hang on to the edge of their seats," film producer and actor Amar Adatia said. "Then he realizes he was kidnapped and it's all because the main guy was transporting drugs via the actual boyband."
St. Pete Clearwater Film Commissioner Tony Armer met Adatia at a film festival in France and convinced him to bring his production to Pinellas County.
"These are some of the best beaches in the world, so why go to Spain or anywhere else when we have some of the best beaches in the world? Let's bring them to Florida," Armer said.
Crews were making plans to do just that when Hurricane Irma started heading toward Florida. After the storm, Armer drove the film crews around the area, ensuring them that the tropical paradise was still in tact.
"I think that's a great testament to everybody who lives here that any damage that was done people worked on cleaning it up so quickly to beautify the area," Armer said. "Everyone has great pride in where we live, and we're happy to be able to showcase it to the world."
The production hopes to release "Dead Ringer" worldwide next spring. They plan to bring the film to St. Pete’s Sunscreen Film Festival.