David Fincher’s planned $100 million adaptation of Torso could pull out of Cleveland if Ohio officials don’t come through with tax breaks for Paramount Pictures.
The true-crime thriller, based on the 1998-1999 Image miniseries by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, is set to begin shooting early next year in the Cleveland, where the infamous “Torso Murders” took place. But The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that studio officials want financial incentives to film in Ohio.
Matt Damon is said to be interested in playing Eliot Ness, the legendary Treasury Department agent who later became Cleveland’s public safety officer. When torsos began appearing in 1934, Ness assembled a team of former officers in an unsuccessful effort to apprehend the so-called “Mad Butcher.”
Although Ohio doesn’t offer tax incentives or rebates to entice movie studios, neighboring Michigan does. Producer Bill Mechanic told the Plain Dealer that without the tax breaks, the studio will likely shoot interior scenes in Michigan and use Cleveland only for streetscapes.
September 4th, 2008 at 7:52 am
I thought Image was founded in the 90s?
September 4th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Typo.
September 4th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Come on Hollywood, Cleveland is the poorest city in the US. GIve them your money!
September 4th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I see! I thought I was going crazy!