‘Broken City’ was shot on location in New York and, due to production logistics, in New Orleans, the latter doubling for the Big Apple. “‘Broken City’ is a New York movie in the classic sense that we shot most of the exteriors in New York,” director Allen Hughes explains. “Our production designer, Tom Duffield, maintained a consistency from New York into New Orleans, and there was definitely a cohesion that was remarkable.”

During their first meeting to discuss the project, Hughes and Duffield sorted through images and discussed movies that featured New York, deciding what they would film in New Orleans and what absolutely had to be shot in New York. “We wanted to show the big panoramic views of New York from across the river or on the rooftops looking at some of New York’s iconic buildings,” says Duffield. “In one scene shot from a penthouse balcony of the Palace Hotel at night (doubling for the Four Seasons) you can see both the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in one shot. Those are the scenes that give the film a real iconic feel for New York.”

Production began with over two weeks of establishing exteriors throughout New York City

Bolton Village, scene of the crime for which Billy, played by Mark Wahlberg, must relinquish his badge, and the center of the controversy surrounding Mayor Hostetler, played by Russell Crowe, was shot in and around the Lower East Side public housing project in New York’s Alphabet City known as Riis Houses.

Brooklyn’s Vinegar Hill neighborhood at Plymouth and Adams Streets, also known as DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), offered up the gritty streets where Billy sets up shop as a small-time private investigator, biding his time in hopes of regaining his honor and badge. The borough provided the perfect vantage point for daytime skylines overlooking Manhattan’s financial district.

Several hundred extras gathered as protesters of police corruption and injustice, in front of a courthouse during Billy’s trial, which filmed on the stairs of the New York City Supreme Court at One Center Street. Councilman Valliant’s press conference pledging hope for the working class, was shot at the Tweed Courthouse at 52 Chambers.

The cast and crew regularly found themselves amongst the hustle and flow of humanity, shooting on the streets of mid-town Manhattan, on Madison and 44th or Grand Central Station to capture the unassumingly influential lifestyle of the mayor’s wife, Cathleen, and her aides. Production in New York wrapped with a scene shot at the Long Island Railroad, and a sequence filmed at a Montauk Beach house in Nissequogue, Long Island.

“There are many different ways of showing New York, gritty like ‘The French Connection’, or beautiful like ‘Manhattan’,” explains Duffield. “We tended a little more towards ‘Manhattan’, with picturesque views across the river or up at the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx – all these beautiful locations that just make New York feel like a great city.”

‘Broken City’ is a rhythmic dance with two forces colliding: the dangerous Manhattan patriarch (Crowe’s Mayor Hostetler) and the unapologetic outcast (Wahlberg’s Billy Taggart) on a relentless path of redemption. Much of their intense interaction was captured in New Orleans, where the production moved for the remaining six weeks to shoot interiors and select exteriors.

“For Hostetler, we wanted that sort of ‘Godfather’ feel, with light slashing through the shutters of the Don’s office,” says Duffield. “After his fall from grace, Billy Taggart moves to more gritty areas around Brooklyn. His office is probably my favorite set build in New Orleans because I got into that kind of texture of an older neighborhood, lot of walls with peeling paint and exposed pipes.”

‘Broken City’ arrived in theaters everywhere in the States on January 18, 2013.

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In a broken city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) seeks redemption – and revenge – after being double-crossed by the city’s most powerful figure, the mayor (Russell Crowe). Billy’s relentless pursuit of justice, matched only by his streetwise toughness, makes him an unstoppable force – and the mayor’s worst nightmare.

‘Broken City’ protagonist Billy Taggart is one of Mark Wahlberg’s richest screen roles. “The film’s script reminded me of those smart, character-driven crime thrillers that I grew up watching and loving,” says the Oscar-nominated actor.

Billy is an ex-New York City cop who loved his job and did it very well until he went too far while investigating a murder. Now, he’s a private detective, barely making ends meet, “when a call from the mayor offers an opportunity to regain his badge and gun,” Wahlberg explains. “The mayor thinks his wife is having an affair and he’s worried about it interfering with his chances for reelection. As Billy starts to investigate, he comes to realize there’s much more to this case than a cheating spouse, and that’s when the war between the mayor and Billy ignites.” It is this war that leads Billy to redemption.

“There is an edge to this story and to the way people speak to each other,” says Russell Crowe, who portrays Mayor Hostetler, a character that projects a powerful mix of charm and menace. “I look to be physically affected by projects I’m considering, and I sort of got goose bumps and started making decisions on behalf of the mayor straightaway while reading the script for ‘Broken City’. It’s a truly grown-up story.”

“The film really respects the audience’s intelligence,” notes Catherine Zeta-Jones, who portrays the mayor’s wife, Cathleen, who is much more than she seems. “Its smart dialogue moves like a bullet train right through the piece.”

“I read ‘Broken City’ as a kind of contemporary Humphrey Bogart story, taking place against a backdrop of treachery and intrigue where everyone is ambitious in one way or another,” adds Jeffrey Wright, who portrays Commissioner Fairbanks, whose continuing doubts about Billy will change by the end of the latter’s journey.

Brian Tucker’s taut screenplay had an impressive pedigree, having earned a spot on The Black List, an industry clearinghouse for the best, yet-to-be-produced screenplays. “It has a lot of great action, twists and turns, and a dynamic narrative, but more important than that is its characters,” explains director Allen Hughes. “Billy Taggart jumped off the page as being very layered and challenging.”

‘Broken City’ fits squarely within the impressive body of work from Hughes. He and his brother Albert – known professionally as The Hughes Brothers – are renowned for their gritty, no-holds-barred films that place dynamic characters in challenging, if not impossible situations. Their films include ‘Menace II Society’, ‘Dead Presidents’ and ‘From Hell’. Allen, inspired by Brian Tucker’s screenplay, was eager to make ‘Broken City’ his next project. “Ultimately ‘Broken City’ is a redemption story,” he points out. “Billy will go to any lengths to find justice for something that’s long haunted him.”

Hughes was more than surprised when the creator of these powerful and complex characters turned out to be very different from what he expected. “I was blown away when Brian, this scrawny 25-year-old kid walked in for our meeting. I could not believe that this young man, who looked barely 19, had written such a sophisticated, compelling, and layered story.”

Producer Randall Emmett shared the actors’ and Hughes’ passion for the story and characters. “I’ve always loved films about the underdog who stands up to the system,” says Emmett, who is partnered with George Furla (one of ‘Broken City’s executive producers) in the prolific production company Emmett/Furla Films. “I was really excited by the fact that you never know where the story is going.”

‘Broken City’ is out in theaters in the US now.

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