The city of Everett will rake in the loot from a heist at a downtown mortgage company.
It’s going down on Tuesday on Wetmore Avenue, and local police officers are in on it.
It’s for an action-drama movie, “Seven Minutes,” starring Kris Kristofferson and Jason Ritter.
Everett got picked for the movie produced by Rick Rosenthal, a longtime television and movie director.
Crews will be shooting tonight at the Totem restaurant on Rucker Avenue. Filming continues at locations around the county for another month.
Locals are invited to watch and to get in the action as extras.
Kristofferson’s come and gone. He was here earlier this week and won’t be back. That’s OK, though. Ritter, son of the late actor John Ritter, is staying for the long haul.
The movie’s plot is about a heist gone wrong, but for Everett it’s a heist gone right.
It’s an economic windfall, said Carol Thomas, the city’s cultural arts manager.
“They are booking all their hotel rooms at the Holiday Inn. They are dining out. They’re doing their laundry here, buying lumber and paint, leasing office space and warehouse space,” Thomas said.
The city is even profiting from crime scenes. “They will be leasing vehicles from the city and paying off-duty officers to drive them.”
Thomas said Everett beat out other spots for the movie. She showed movie scouts around town about six weeks ago. Luckily, it was a clear day. “They stood on Everett Avenue and saw the Cascades and turned around and saw the Olympics,” Thomas said. “They loved Everett with the variety of landscapes. You can see the water, the cityscape and the country, all within a short distance of the base camp.”
It’s unknown how Everett’s pristine beauty will factor into the movie, which is expected to be released next year. The heist takes seven minutes from beginning to end, hence the title. The rest unfolds in flashbacks at sites that include Monroe Correctional Complex, a gas station in Snohomish and the Arlington High School football field.
The script is based on the actual robbery of a mortgage broker’s office by three young men. It is the first feature film by writer/director Jay Martin.
Producer Rosenthal’s directing credits include at least two of the “Halloween” franchise movies and episodes of “Law &Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Smallville.”
Everett recently got a burst of Hollywood limelight when celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay came to town for “Kitchen Nightmares,” but the city hasn’t had this filming invasion since “The Ring” movie and “The Fugitive” TV show.
Wetmore will be closed from California Street to Hewitt Avenue on Tuesday, but buses will run as scheduled. The action continues Wednesday on Colby Avenue.
Andrea Brown; 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com.
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