'I, Alex Cross,' Filming in Cleveland Heights This Week

Cleveland Heights has proved to be a popular pick for production companies this summer.

Fun Size was filmed all around town in places like , Cleveland School and on . Now another movie, I, Alex Cross, is filming on Bellfield Avenue.

Crews started filming Monday, said Susanna Niermann O’Neil, community services director for Cleveland Heights.

“It’s great for the city. We are ‘Home to the Arts,’ so why not?” she said.

The movie is based on the murder mystery book series by James Patterson, and stars Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Ed Burns and Jean Reno, according to the Greater Cleveland Film Commission website. 

The commission did not immediately return phone calls, but according to its website, I, Alex Cross, is expected to hire 183 Ohio-based crew members and more than 1,700 cast members, including extras.

“This is shaping up to be, far and away, the busiest summer for movie production in Cleveland history,” said Ivan Schwarz, executive director of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission in a press release.

Residents who live in the area were watching the action Tuesday night.

“It’s probably cheaper to film here than in New York or Chicago or similar cities, and it benefits a lot of local people here,” one resident who lives on Bellfield said. “We just found out that some of the boom operators were local.”

Another resident said he was going to try to get his English Bulldog in the film.

“People fall in love with Bailey at first sight,” he said.

Residents were informed the movie was shooting there, O'Neil said. Some are excited, but others have complained about trucks being in the way. 

"We are very sensitive to the residents," she said, and added that the trucks were moved.

The movie is being shot in two houses on the road, said City Councilwoman Bonita Caplan. One house is empty, but another family was put up downtown while they film. The production company moved all of their things out of the house, too, she said.  

“The whole thing has generated all kinds of excitement,” Caplan said.

O’Neil said the movies have also generated business in the city, and Fun Size brought in $6,000 to Cleveland Heights, as the crew needed to rent the . 

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District was also paid for use of its parking lots. Police officers get extra money, too, for helping block off streets, redirect traffic and work security.

O'Neil said she thinks residents will be excited to see their town on the big screen. 

“I think it’s really going to be fun when the movie comes out."

Beachwood Patch Editor Nikki Ferrell contributed to this story.