A Big Budget Film Shoot in Downtown Tampa Looks Like a Live Action Video Game Movie

Movies and TV shows casting in Oklahoma City (RONALD RAMPSCH/Ronald Rampsch - stock.adobe.com)

By Ethan

Florida’s big cities are no stranger to big budget films and it looks like Tampa’s downtown/Channelside district is the latest set for some secret project. According to gaming website www.tweaktown.com the police reportedly sent residents emails regarding the project, specifically due to the fact that at least 1 character is seen waving around a semi-automatic rifle:

“We would like to inform that a film crew will be in the area staged on Water Street shooting a scene for a short film on Thursday February 13th between 3pm-6pm, the scene will include a carjacking and may include actors using a fake weapon(s) for dramatization purposes. Tampa Police Department will be on site to ensure safety...Feel free to catch a glimpse of the action as you step outside!”

Some are calling this a GTA 6 fan film (GTA 6 is the nest installment of the Grand Theft Auto game series, one of my personal favorites).

The Instagram page Film Tampa Bay even posted a teaser featuring a car exploding, so if this is a fan film, this fan has some serious cash to burn...and some cars to burn. More than a few commenters have stated this is for GTA 6, partly because they are using real cop cars with “Magic City Police” on them, but Magic City isn’t a GTA location that I’m aware of. So maybe this is an entirely new thing for the game...or maybe its something completely different.