Caroline Pitcher, Jamie Foxx and producers Fred Berger and Paul Currie. Photo by Ben Rothstein.
Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx is filming his next movie, Deadlocked, in Victoria.
A hostage action film for Amazon MGM Studios, Deadlocked will inject more than $36 million into the Victorian economy, generating over 855 jobs for local cast and crew, including 1,000 extras.
The production will employ 14 Victorians in Heads of Department roles as well as 60 jobs in post-production, providing valuable employment and development opportunities for local screen workers while supporting 370 Victorian businesses ranging from screen industry experts working in armoury, safety and stunts, and general service providers.
Following on from Empire City earlier this year, Melbourne’s streets will once again transform into New York, with filming taking place across the CBD, Docklands and Port Melbourne.
Filming is now underway with large-scale action sequences unfolding across the Docklands precinct. The production will also utilise multiple stages at Docklands Studios Melbourne.
Deadlocked follows a grieving former Marine (Foxx) serving jury duty who is forced back into action when the trial of the century turns into a deadly hostage situation as the defendant’s daughter seizes the courthouse to free her father.
Sasha Calle (The Rip), KiKi Layne (Vought Rising) and Victorian actor Luke Hemsworth (Westworld) also star.
The cast also includes Donné Ngabo (Last Days), Josh McConville (Black Snow), Darcy Bryce (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga), Jane Allsop (One More Shot), and Stephen Hall (Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell).
Directed by Nikhil Bhat (Kill), Deadlocked is based on an original idea from writers Eric Scot Anderson (The Black Fox) and Matt Takejiro Bosack (NCIS: Hawai’i). Producers include Fred Berger and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones for Range Media, Dave Caplan for C2, Jamie Foxx for Foxxhole Productions and Victorian Paul Currie (Hacksaw Ridge, Better Man, Empire City). AJ Bourscheid, Liz Destro and Corinne Foxx are executive producers.
Victorian heads of department include costume designer Cappi Ireland, gaffer Karl Engeler, key grip Glenn Arrowsmith, hair and makeup designer Helen Magelaki, unit manager Andy Pappas, supervising locations manager Drew Rhodes and post-production supervisor Peter McBain.
Deadlocked continues Victoria’s relationship with Amazon MGM Studios, which also produced Foe, Ice Road 2: Vengeance and Ricky Stanicky in the state.
Deadlocked is the latest international project to film in Victoria, following Skeletons starring Oscar® winner Brie Larson, period drama Fog City, Michael Shanks’ Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel starring Oscar® winner Daniel Kaluuya, and Empire City starring Gerard Butler and Hayley Atwell.
Also, currently filming are premium local dramas, Slander starring Rachel Griffiths and fan favourite Wentworth: Halfway Home.
Deadlocked was secured for Victoria by VicScreen through the Victorian Screen Incentive. The production is also accessing the Federal Government’s Location Offset.
VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher said, “Melbourne is once again set to take centre stage, with Deadlocked filming action scenes next weekend. From the CBD to Docklands Studios Melbourne, Victoria offers the locations, infrastructure and talent that global productions need. Deadlocked will deliver real benefits for the Victorian screen industry and the wider economy.”
Producer Paul Currie said, “We’re thrilled to be back in Victoria with our incredible cast and crew making another high-octane thriller. Melbourne’s CBD is an extraordinary backdrop for a film of this scale, and we’re looking forward to bringing some excitement to the city for Melburnians as we film some spectacular action sequences”.
Producer Fred Berger said, “Melbourne delivers everything an action-packed project like this could ask for, from world-class stages to locations that can stand in for many big cities in America. I’ve filmed all over the world, and few places have impressed me as much as Victoria, both for its versatile locations and the talent of crew within its screen industry.”