Spokane returns to the silver screen

Spokane will be star-struck, though the when or exactly where isn’t being revealed.

And unlike most films shot here, in “Home of the Brave” Spokane will be Spokane, movie officials said.

Filming for the movie began Wednesday, said Juan Mas, a supervising producer for Spokane production company North by Northwest.

“Home of the Brave,” which is about soldiers struggling to readjust to home after returning from a tour in Iraq, stars Curtis Jackson (aka 50 Cent), Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Brian Presley and Christina Ricci. Scenes will be produced in Spokane through the end of April.

The stars will be coming and going during that time, but for security reasons the exact times are being kept quiet, Mas said.

So far, the only confirmed locations for the filming of “Home of the Brave” are Browne’s Addition near downtown and Ferris High School.

“The last bit of information I heard is that they are going to do some kind of filming around or during spring break,” said Erik Ohlund, principal at Ferris High School. “They are going to use, I think, the gym, career center, some field space.”

Most of the details were handled through the Spokane Public Schools district offices, Ohlund said.

“It’s been pretty low-key,” he said.

A notice slipped under some Browne’s Addition residents’ doors last week asked that on March 22 no one park on First Avenue between Poplar Street and Chestnut Street or on the south side of Pacific Avenue between Coeur d’Alene and South Hemlock. The notice was signed Amber Grunte, North by Northwest location manager. The area was also designated a tow-away zone by the city of Spokane.

Casting calls were put out for “photo doubles” of Christina Ricci, Mas said, because she can’t be here for all the takes she’s going to be in.

Spokane police have also been asked to be extras in the film, officials said.

Rumors circulating around Spokane that security would be higher due to gang threats made against 50 Cent’s life were quashed Wednesday. Mas said security surrounding “Home of the Brave” will be similar to that provided for “End Game,” another major motion picture filmed in Spokane.