NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In the new Netflix movie, “Hit Man,” which was filmed in New Orleans, Glenn Powell stars as University of New Orleans professor who poses as a hit man to help the New Orleans Police Department make arrests.
Powell plays Gary Johnson, who’s a real person. That means the movie is based on the true story of a fake hit man. Originally, the film was going to be filmed in Texas, but New Orleans ultimately became the location for the film because of its tax incentives.
“Gary Johnson was a part time college professor and undercover police officer, so when they moved the movie to New Orleans, they realized that he needed to be teaching at an actual university,” said Henry Griffin, an associate professor at University of New Orleans in the School of Arts department.
UNO’s campus took center stage in the film.
“They had him teaching in multiple classrooms, as well as teaching outdoors in an amphitheater. I thought they did diligence in promoting the university,” Griffin said.
Griffin served as the New Orleans consultant for “Hit Man.”
“I was responsible for helping them find new locations. I was grateful the Texas-based filmmakers took a shine to my school. UNO has never really been featured in a movie before,” he said.
Griffin gives Powell’s professor performance high marks.
“It was my great privilege to take Powell with me to a class. We got to sit in on an ethics class within the philosophy department. We got to watch the mannerisms of the professor. In the movie, you can see the real mannerisms of the professor in his performance,” Griffin said.
Obviously, Griffin believes UNO makes the grade. Several students even got to be extras in the film while they were filming on-campus.
“That’s why UNO, which kind of was centrally located in the movie, it really represents a fresh look at our city by showing you something that again, isn’t on anyone’s short list of things to see in New Orleans, but maybe they’ll come check us out now,” Griffin said.
“Hit Man” played in select theaters including the Prytania Theatre and is now streaming on Netflix.
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