Behind Scenes Of Val Kilmer Movie In Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH,None — Principal production is wrapping up this week on a new psychological thriller.

"Riddle" stars Val Kilmer who plays a sheriff with a dark side.

So when you hear that "Riddle" is a big budget production starring Val Kilmer you think it must be a Hollywood production, right?

Wrong.

"Riddle" was completely shot in the Pittsburgh area with Pittsburgh crew, and I was graciously invited on the McKees Rocks set Wednesday.

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VIDEO: Behind The Scenes Of Val Kilmer Movie In Pittsburgh SLIDESHOW: On The Set Of 'Riddle'

With the exception of the actors, everyone from the gaffers to the directors are Pittsburgh natives.

"Pittsburgh has such great talent so we were able to make this film not only about Western Pennsylvania, but we were able to hire almost exclusively from here," said director John Hartman.

John Hartman and Nick Mross are directing "Riddle." The indie film is being financed by Nick's dad, Juergen, along with a private family partnership.

"My son Nick, and Brian and John, came last year to me with this wonderful script and we had many discussions and they wanted to make this film and I decided to back it," Juergen said.

The Mross family lives in Edgeworth.

Don't let the word "indie" fool you. This film has a multimillion dollar budget with roughly 100 crew members and a great cast. Producer Brian Hartman said it was easy to get Val Kilmer to sign on.

"We originally gave him the script, and we were just hoping he'd consider it, but he actually ended up being very excited about the role. It was actually pretty easy to pull that one off. He was a total professional and he comes in and gives you more than you could ask for in an actor. He really dives into the character," Brian said.

Val finished filming his scenes weeks ago, but the crew has continued shooting everywhere from Brownsville to Ben Avon.

"All of the location scouting went very well and we're actually very happy with where we're shooting because we're familiar with it," Nick said.

"Between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia we have two of the biggest thrillers ever made with 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'The Sixth Sense' so everyone knows what we're capable of doing back here," Brian said.

Also enjoying the locations are actors Ben Bledsoe and Bryan Lillis. They told me they've come to love Pittsburgh.

"We went up to Mt. Washington and got to see a beautiful view of the city. We went to the baseball game. It's just a really cool city," Ben said.

Once the film is finished, I'm told, the directors and producers are in talks with a major Hollywood film studio regarding its distribution. But when you see it on the big screen, don't forget where "Riddle" came from.

"This is actually a local production. It's not studios coming in here and shooting and then leaving. We're shooting our own thing. That's why it's great we have a great crew and everyone is rallying behind the film. It's something special that's happening here," Nick said.

You can expect to see "Riddle" in theaters next year and rumor has it there will be a big Pittsburgh premiere, in addition to the Hollywood premiere.

WPXI