"Killshot": Hollywood in Cape Girardeau
Davis Dunavin and Erin Hyden
Issue date: 1/26/06 Section: News
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"Killshot," a drama-thriller starring Diane Lane, Thomas Jane and Johnny Knoxville and directed by John Madden, was shot on location in Cape Girardeau and southern Illinois, with Southeast students working behind the scenes as interns, extras, runners and stand-ins for the actors.
Viewers may notice such local landmarks as the KFVS Tower, the Emerson Bridge and Don's Store. Other shooting locations included the tiny town of Thebes in Illinois and Brenda's Place, a diner on Morgan Oak.
Southeast senior Amanda Massey is a video production major who worked for craft services during production, preparing and serving food for the cast and crew. Thanks to her position, she was able to dish out spicy gossip on some big-name celebrities.
"Thomas Jane loves egg whites," Massey said. "He'll just come into the truck, get a glass and chug it. For protein, he says."
Massey had several long conversations with Jane during shooting.
"He was really friendly," Massey said. "He'd just come into the truck and hang out. We even talked about Oprah one day. It was just like hanging out and talking to a normal person."
But not all the cast were friendly - notably, one notoriously mean-tempered star.
"One time, Mickey Rourke wanted a breakfast burrito with eggs and bacon," Massey said. "An assistant took him one. He said there weren't enough eggs on the burrito, and he just stood up and threw it against the wall. Luckily, I didn't make that burrito, so he didn't come after me."
Senior Grant Welton interned with the video department of Killshot.
"I've definitely learned that school doesn't prepare you for working on a professional set," Welton said. "It's been a real thrill."
Senior theater major Jen Sturm worked as an intern with wardrobe.
"I learned patience and long hours," Sturm said. "You just have to do it and don't complain. On set there's really no room for anyone to have an ego."
Sturm was most impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
"His acting was very good and he was very professional," Sturm said.
Sturm also thought it was cool to see that the things she learned in school are actually put to use on set.
Theater major Matt Frey was Johnny Knoxville's stand-in for the Cape Girardeau area scenes. Although he and Knoxville were too busy to really get to know each other, Frey feels that he learned a lot from the experience.
"I loved being there in front of the camera," Frey said. "There were moments where I was standing right by the stars. It was really neat just watching them."
Senior Jennifer Hotop worked as the assistant to the casting director of "Killshot."
Hotop said she learned that filmmaking is a tedious process and that paying attention to detail is essential.
"It kind of helped me to see what [filmmaking] will really be like," Hotop said. "[The film] kind of consumes every aspect of your life but it is really rewarding."
An adaptation from the 1989 Elmore Leonard novel, "Killshot" centers around an innocent small-town Michigan couple who are flung into the middle of an extortion scam. A real-estate agent, played by Diane Lane, and Lane's film husband Thomas Jane, are placed into witness protection and relocated to Cape Girardeau.
Mickey Rourke plays a hitman who teams up with a Southern con artist, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Johnny Knoxville ("Daltry Calhoun," "Dukes of Hazzard," "The Ringer") plays a federal marshal who makes a move on Lane's character.
Rosario Dawson and Justin Timberlake are also featured in the film, as well as Hal Holbrook in a cameo role as a mafia don.
Star-struck Cape Girardeau residents can see "Killshot" in theaters soon. According to www.everythingtarantino.com, "Killshot" will be released Nov. 26. All other sources including http://movies.yahoo.com show the release date as March 17, nationwide.
