Naman Shrestha
Based on the actual experiences of DEA informant James Settembrino, ‘Snitch‘ is a 2013 crime action movie that follows John Matthews, a construction company owner. He is devastated when he receives the news of his estranged 18-year-old son, Jason, being arrested unjustly for possessing a package containing illegal drugs. When the teenager refuses an opportunity to lessen his sentence, John manages to convince the DEA to let him go undercover and help them make some significant arrests in return for freeing his son.
With the help of an ex-con employee, John makes his way into the narcotics underworld, where he must tread carefully to survive. However, the already dangerous mission turns deadly when he exposes a key player in the Mexican drug trade. The use of some interesting locations in the backdrop throughout the Ric Roman Waugh directorial might make one wonder where ‘Snitch’ was actually filmed.
Snitch Filming Locations
‘Snitch’ was filmed in Louisiana and Texas, specifically in the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Area, El Paso, and Austin. According to reports, principal photography for the action movie commenced in December 2011 and wrapped up in a month or so in January 2012. So, let’s not waste time and dive right into all the specific locations that appear in the Dwayne Johnson starrer!
Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Area, Louisiana
Most of the pivotal sequences for ‘Snitch’ were lensed in the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Area, which covers three parishes in total — Caddo, Bossier, and DeSoto. The principal cities of Shreveport and Bossier are a couple of primary production locations that feature heavily in the thriller movie. In a February 2013 interview with Collider, filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh was asked about his chosen shooting sites and the reasons behind them. He replied, “We shot the film in Shreveport, Louisiana. Part of it is because of what we do in the film business now is find these tax incentive states, which is important.”
Waugh explained further, “And what I wanted this movie to portray is, I didn’t want it to portray the specific region of the country that the original story took place, I wanted it to portray Middle America.” Moreover, he added, “…So we picked a region of the country that had the farmlands, the industrial thing, where it can feel like anybody’s backyard, and Shreveport really lent itself to that.” With so much action taking place outdoors, you are bound to spot some popular local landmarks in the backdrop, including Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Shreveport Convention Center, Caddo Parish Courthouse, and Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium.
The alarming crime rate in Shreveport is reportedly much higher than the national rate, making it a city with one of the highest crime rates. Although it makes the city a dangerous place to reside, it makes Shreveport a suitable production location for a movie like ‘Snitch.’ Besides the action thriller movie, its locales have also been featured in ‘Olympus Has Fallen,’ ‘The Mechanic,’ ‘Straw Dogs,’ ‘Day of the Warrior,’ and ‘Road House 2: Last Call.’
Texas
For shooting purposes, the director and his team even traveled to different areas of Texas. For instance, the exterior shots of the buildings and river right at the movie’s beginning were lensed in the state capital, Austin. Besides that, the scenes involving the first drug run in a truck were taped in the city of El Paso. In the same interview mentioned above, Waugh also stated, “…so we shot down in Austin where I’m from now, and all the way down to the border of Juarez to really kind of paint that whole kind of Americana tapestry.”
Read More: Snitch Ending, Explained: Does the FBI Catch El-Topo and Gang?
