Nearly 200 Tampa Bay residents got their shot at seeing stars like Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti this week. But first, they had to see the inside of a former Dollar Tree.
The Dolphin Shopping Center space is production HQ for “The Statement,” which films in and around the Don Cesar this week. Giamatti, Rudd and John Turturro lead the film, also starring Evan Peters, Jason Clarke and Amy Ryan.
Both Pauls and Ryan are in town shooting scenes through Wednesday. No Toturro, though. Sorry, refiners.
The dark comedy directed by Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”) centers on a real conference that happened at the Don Cesar in 1980, where experts fumbled the chance to stop climate change through a Congressional directive.
It’s been a decade since Tampa Bay was the set of a major Hollywood film. “The Infiltrator” (2016), starring Bryan Cranston, featured local extras in Pinellas spots including Derby Lane, the Dolphin Motel and the Don. Movies like “Zola” (2020) and “Magic Mike” and “Spring Breakers” (both 2012) made waves after being set and filmed at our beaches.
The same year Cranston came to town, Florida stopped statewide production incentives. But after Pinellas County introduced its own local incentives last fall, the star power is streaming in.
“Chicken Head,” horror-comedy mockumentary starring Tara Reid, filmed in and around Largo last month. Shows, like “Love on the Spectrum,” have also utilized Pinellas County over the last year.
Dave Caputo, head of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater’s film commission, told reporters that a big production like “The Statement” can put Tampa Bay on the map for future big projects.
“I think it does show that we can support this type of production here in Pinellas County, that we do have the infrastructure and crews and talent.”
The movie is based on “Losing Earth: A Recent History,” Nathaniel Rich’s 2019 nonfiction book centered around the conference and America’s failure to use climate change information it’s had for decades.
Climate change is partly to blame for why more scenes couldn’t be filmed at the Don.
The ground floor had to be completely redone after flooding and storm damage from the 2024 hurricanes Helene and Milton. Most of the movie was shot in New Orleans, including all of the interior Don Cesar scenes.
Trucks of costumes and production materials were shipped into St. Pete Beach last week.
Local extras were cast for scenes at the Don’s pool, the beach and around the hotel, producer Jonathan Schwartz told reporters at the production center.
There, extras trickled in to get fitted for costumes meticulously chosen by designer Melissa Toth.
For Toth, acquiring the racks of terricloth coverups, wool suits and skirt sets, and colorful clothes of the ‘70s and early-‘80s has become an increasing challenge over the years.
“It’s gotten really bleak,” Toth told CL.
“Now, because of fast fashion and the turnover, things are being made much more cheaply, and they simply don’t last long enough to even get to the thrift store,” Toth added. “What we find in thrift stores now is just a lot of sort of junkier stuff.”
Most of the clothes that will end up on the big screen come from estate sales and vintage clothing rental warehouses specifically for TV, movies, and theater.
Her advice for those looking for quality vintage: check for an International Ladies Garment Workers Union tag.
“That means it was made in America in the ‘60s, ‘70s into the ‘80s. Once we turn that corner, we’re not manufacturing stuff here, and the quality goes down.”
Bathing suits in particular, like for scenes filmed this week at the Don’s pool, have been a pain.
A table of seamstresses in the back corner of the space worked to replace elastic and dry-rotted rubber in some pieces while making alterations for the stars.
“The bra cups of ladies’ bathing suits…put it on and it just turns into like a pile of dust,” she said.
“So we’ve had to do some fakes. You know, there’s still string bikinis out there that can work.”
One of the extras waiting to be fitted was Visit St. Pete-Clearwater intern Adrianna Vargas. The 22-year-old didn’t tell her bosses she applied for the casting call that went out last month, but they were both pleasantly surprised when she walked into the former Dollar Tree last week.
She was on set Wednesday to be a “friend of the bride.”
“I have no idea who’s getting married. I’ve got no clue,” she told reporters. “But I’m doing it for the plot.”
Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSky
Recent Stories
St. Pete Pride has acquired Sapphic St. Pete event series
Downtown Tampa hosts two huge ‘Taste’ parties next week
St. Pete’s historic Mefford Mansion is now on the market in Snell Isle
This article appears in Apr. 02 – 08, 2026.