A new movie starring Tommy Lee Jones begins filming in Mass. this month

'Finestkind' is a crime thriller from the writer behind 'Mystic River' and 'L.A. Confidential.'

Jenna Ortega, Tommy Lee Jones, and Ben Foster will star in "Finestkind," a crime thriller movie filming in Massachusetts in April. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP; Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP; Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press via AP

By Kevin Slane

April 8, 2022

Hollywood is coming to the South Coast later this month.

“Finestkind,” a new movie starring Tommy Lee Jones (“The Fugitive”) and Boston native Ben Foster (“3:10 to Yuma”), will begin filming in late April in New Bedford, Fairhaven, Brockton, Scituate, Dedham, and Stoughton, according to a source familiar with the production.

“Finestkind” is a crime thriller set in New Bedford centered around two brothers played by Foster and Toby Wallace (“Babyteeth”) who were raised separately and are reunited as adults. Desperate circumstances cause the brothers to hatch a deal with a Boston crime syndicate, which spells danger for the brothers and their father (Jones) as well as a young woman (Jenna Ortega, “Iron Man 3”).

“Finestkind” will be directed by Brian Helgeland, who knows a bit about crime thrillers: The veteran scribe wrote the screenplays for “Mystic River” and “L.A. Confidential,” the latter of which earned him an Oscar.

With New Bedford’s reputation as the biggest commercial fishing port in America, film producers are seeking extras to play fishermen on screen.

According to a listing from Kendall Cooper Casting, producers are seeking “experienced commercial fishermen” as well as “local New Bedford people of all ethnicities,” with a special focus on representing the diversity of New Bedford, which has large Portuguese and Cape Verdean communities.

“Finestkind” was initially announced back in 2018 with Jake Gyllenhaal (“Stronger”), Ansel Elgort (“West Side Story”), and Zendaya (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”) in the lead roles. The trio eventually exited the project, and, according to IMDb Pro, original studio STX Entertainment put the production in turnaround — offering it to other studios while writing off production costs as a loss on STX’s balance sheet.

Earlier this week, Paramount Plus acquired the rights to “Finestkind,” and according to Deadline, the film is expected to debut on the streaming platform later in 2022.

Zendaya may no longer be involved with “Finestkind,” but the actress has been spotted around Boston in recent weeks ahead of filming for the Luca Guadagnino drama “Challengers.”