Inside St. Pete Beach's Hollywood takeover for new Paul Rudd movie
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Megan Jones of Sarasota poses in a vintage costume for her role as an extra in "The Statement." Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
In the shell of a former Dollar Tree in St. Pete Beach, a slice of Hollywood hummed to life.
- Locals arrived in T-shirts and jeans and emerged from makeshift dressing rooms in vintage color-block rompers and A-line skirts. A table of seamstresses pinned and tucked, altering garments in real time.
- A producer fielding interviews with local journalists divulged that, yes, the Pauls will be in town for filming.
Why it matters: This was the scene Thursday at the pop-up headquarters for "The Statement," a new movie starring Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti and John Turturro set to film next week at the Don CeSar.
- It's shaping up to be the biggest film shot in Tampa Bay since 2016's "The Infiltrator," starring Bryan Cranston.
The big picture: The film, directed by Tom McCarthy ("Spotlight"), is based on the book "Losing Earth" by Nathaniel Rich, producer Jonathan Schwartz told reporters Thursday.
- The Don plays a key role. The film centers on a 1980 conference at the Pink Palace that brought together scientists, government officials and activists to discuss an emerging concern: climate change.
What they're saying: During a visit to the hotel this week, Schwartz said he could see his colleagues "taking a minute and just looking around, going, 'I can't believe we're standing in the same place that this conference happened.'"
- "When you have that kind of energy around ... people start buzzing, and the creativity starts flowing."
Caveat: Filming will take place only outside the hotel, Schwartz said.
- A Hurricane Helene-induced renovation made the Don's interior too modern for 1980. Interior shots were filmed in New Orleans.
State of play: The production team was busy Thursday fitting extras recruited through an open call announced last month.
- FrontRunner Casting received more than 2,000 applications for 180 slots, Cassidy Worboys told Axios. So far, about 120 had been cast.
Zoom in: Among them was Adrianna Vargas, who heard about the casting call through her internship at Visit St. Pete-Clearwater.
- The visitor bureau's film commission has worked with the production team over the last year to sort out the local details.
- Vargas, 22, applied "for the plot," she said, although the chance of spotting Rudd or Evan Peters ("American Horror Story") is a nice perk.
Nearby, costume designer Melissa Toth ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") sorted through the racks of plaid pants and tropical button-downs she got from rental houses and vintage dealers across the country.
- "We have to source from as many places as we can to get this volume of vintage garments that are in good shape," Toth said.
Yes, but: She saved one wardrobe necessity for Tampa Bay:
- "I said, "We're not gonna get flip-flops until we get to St. Pete. That's where the flip-flops will be.'"