Melbourne is about to undergo a cinematic transformation, with Jamie Foxx set to arrive in Victoria next week to begin filming Deadlocked, an action thriller for Amazon MGM Studios that will turn parts of the Australian city into New York for the screen.
The production will move through Melbourne’s CBD, Docklands, Port Melbourne and Docklands Studios Melbourne, with large-scale action sequences planned across the city. Filming is expected to continue through mid-December, giving the production time to use both Melbourne’s streets and its studio facilities as it builds the world of the film.
What makes the shoot particularly interesting is the city itself. Melbourne will not simply serve as a backdrop. Its streets and architecture are being reshaped to stand in for New York, creating the kind of visual transformation that can make a familiar location almost unrecognisable once the cameras arrive. Docklands will be an important part of that transformation, while the studio component will allow the production to stage sequences in more controlled environments.
At the centre of Deadlocked is a former Marine whose past has already been defined by loss. While serving on jury duty during a major trial, he suddenly finds himself caught in a hostage situation when the defendant’s daughter takes control of the courthouse in an attempt to free her father.
That leaves Foxx’s character with a very different role from the one he expected to be playing that day. His military experience becomes crucial as the courthouse turns into a dangerous standoff, forcing him to draw on skills he had seemingly left behind.
The setup gives Deadlocked a contained but potentially expansive action framework. A courthouse under siege provides a natural pressure point for the story, allowing the danger to build within a confined space while giving the film room for confrontations and larger action sequences.
Behind the camera is Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, the filmmaker behind the Indian action thriller Kill. Eric Scott Anderson and Matt Takejiro Bosack are credited with the screenplay, based on their original idea. These current production credits differ from earlier descriptions that had identified Jonathan Jakubowicz and Sean O’Keefe as the director and writer.
Foxx is also producing the project through Foxxhole Productions, alongside producers from Range Media Partners and C2 Motion Picture Group.
The ensemble includes Sasha Calle, KiKi Layne and Luke Hemsworth, with Marko Zaror and Tyrik Johnson also attached. Details about several of the characters have not yet been revealed.
The production is also significant beyond the film itself. Deadlocked was secured for Victoria through VicScreen’s Victorian Screen Incentive and is accessing the Australian Government’s Location Offset. It is expected to contribute more than A$36 million to Victoria’s economy and create more than 855 local jobs, including opportunities for 1,000 extras.
The local footprint extends well beyond the cast and crew on screen. The production is expected to employ 14 Victorians in Heads of Department positions, create around 60 post-production roles and work with approximately 370 Victorian businesses, including specialist screen suppliers and other service providers.
That makes Deadlocked another substantial international production using the city’s crews, locations, studios and technical infrastructure. But the most visible change will happen on the streets. A city known to local residents will temporarily become somewhere else entirely, with Melbourne providing the physical foundation for a story set in New York.
That contrast is perhaps the most distinctive element of the shoot. The production does not need to travel thousands of kilometres to create the atmosphere of New York; it is building that illusion in Victoria, using Melbourne’s urban landscape as part of the filmmaking process.
With cameras set to roll next week, Deadlocked brings together Foxx in the lead, Bhat behind the camera and a production designed to make Melbourne disappear into the world of the story. By the time filming wraps in December, parts of the city will have played another place on screen — and the transformation itself will be one of the film’s most intriguing production stories.