Comic thriller wraps local filming

[Blowfeld]

Salvation Boulevard' stars Pierce Brosnan, high-profile cast
BY JULIE HINDS
FREE PRESS POP CULTURE WRITER

Pierce Brosnan: "Salvation Boulevard." (JOEL RYAN/AP)

"Salvation Boulevard" is saying good-bye to metro Detroit.

The comedic thriller starring Pierce Brosnan of James Bond fame wrapped filming Thursday. It's expected to hit theaters next year.

The entire movie was filmed here, producer Cathy Schulman says. Scenes were shot in Milford, Livonia, Novi, Wixom, Brighton, Dearborn, Plymouth, Ann Arbor, Trenton and Grosse Pointe.

"And surprisingly to me, we were able to find every location we desired within an hour-and-a-half radius," says Schulman, who's also president of Mandalay Pictures.

The film's cast -- Greg Kinnear, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly and Marisa Tomei -- gave local residents a chance for impressive star sightings.

"I think people have been excited and surprised wherever we've been, particularly to run into actors of this caliber, and often to see 007 walking out of a building or restaurant," says Schulman.

The Trinity House Theatre in Livonia, Don's of Traverse City, a restaurant in Novi, and the Riley Broadcast Center in Novi, home of WTVS-TV, were among the locations used.

The movie is based on a novel by Larry Beinhart, which Schulman describes as a satirical thriller about faith in America.

The crew spent about 15 hours filming at Leon's Family Dining in Dearborn. Brosnan, Kinnear, Tomei and comedian Jim Gaffigan were at Dearborn's Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, where scenes were filmed inside and outside, says theater manager Martin Zbosnik.

"It's not your typical day in Dearborn having these people walk through the lobby," he says.

But "by the second or third day, it was like, 'Oh, there's Pierce Brosnan.' It was just another person walking through the door."

This story can be found at Salvation Boulevard' stars Pierce Brosnan

[FormerBondFan]

How big would this movie be?

[Dr. No]

I don't think it is going to eb a blockbuster, probably be another solid career builder movie for Pierce

[FormerBondFan]

I don't think it is going to eb a blockbuster, probably be another solid career builder movie for Pierce

He deserves a definite blockbuster aside from Bond. Mamma Mia may be a blockbuster, but the singing of his wasn't strong.