When you picture Morgan Freeman on a movie set, an old outlet mall in Alabama probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.

But that’s exactly where the Oscar-winning actor spent most of his time during the filming of “Gunner,” an action movie directed by Dimitri Logothetis. Freeman plays a drug lord in the movie, which was filmed in the Birmingham area in spring 2023.

Watermark Place, a long-shuttered outlet center in Bessemer, was used as a headquarters and soundstage for the film, which also stars Luke Hemsworth of “Westworld.” The cast and crew of “Gunner” visited several locations in the Birmingham metro area, but the majority of Freeman’s scenes were filmed at Watermark.

Here’s the storyline of “Gunner,” as described in a report from Collider:

“‘Gunner’ is an action thriller about a Special Ops veteran Lee Gunner (Hemsworth), who goes against a drug cartel after his two sons are kidnapped on a fishing trip. Gunner’s sons stumble upon a massive drug cartel operation which leads to them being kidnapped by the son of the gang’s kingpin Kendrick Ryker (Freeman). Despite being in prison, Ryker runs his organization successfully until he is faced with Gunner, who wrecks havoc on the gang in a bid to save his sons.”

Director Logothetis — who shares a screenplay credit for “Gunner” with Gary Scott Thompson of “The Fast and the Furious” fame — predicted that Freeman’s performance will be a highlight of the film.

“I like my bad guy characters to be likable,” Logothetis said during an interview with AL.com. “I don’t think you can get any more likable than Morgan Freeman. He just has such a warmth about him.”

Logothetis has described Freeman’s performance in “Gunner” as “simply poetic,” and he likened the actor to a masterful musician.

“He knows how to play a performance in such a way as if he was playing a concert,” Logothetis said. “There’s a certain rhythm to the way he applies his craft. He really did this in a unique way — I was so happy with it — as opposed to another actor, who might have just played this sort of straight bad guy.”

“Gunner,” which is now in post-production, won’t be released for several months, the director said. In the meantime, Logothetis offered a firsthand look at the movie’s actors, themes, locations and more.

(The interview below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Why was the Birmingham area the right place to film “Gunner”?

Dimitri Logothetis: Well, it was originally suggested to me by my banker, who said they have a very attractive tax credit in Alabama, for independent filmmakers. … I scouted the city and found that it had some wonderful locations, which worked really well. The film was originally set to be somewhere in Virginia, and so we shot in Birmingham, Alabama, instead of Virginia.

This was your first time filming in Alabama, correct?

It was, yes. … That was terrific.

Did you have an idea of what it would be like filming here — what it would look like and feel like — and was that fulfilled? Did Alabama or Birmingham surprise you in any way?

The people surprised me, because places are always about people. Today you can go online and look at pictures of places, and I found a number of really interesting locations which worked for the film. And then I went over there to scout them. But the people are very friendly and very open to filmmaking. That made it very nice — besides the fact that they have some terrific restaurants, unfortunately. (laughs) And the food is really good.

Did you have any favorite restaurants while you were here?

I did, actually. There’s a French restaurant over there in the middle of town that I loved. There’s another place where I used to go and have breakfast, the Frothy Monkey. I had breakfast at the Frothy Monkey all the time. There’s just all kinds of great restaurants over there. There was a great steakhouse that somebody took me to one night, and I really don’t need all this great food, believe me. I went on a diet before I went there, and now I have to go back on a diet, now that I’m done shooting. It’s all Alabama’s fault, how about that?

But to answer your question, it was very film-friendly in Alabama. And it has some really unique locations. For example, I shot at the Sloss Furnaces. In big action films, if you notice, throughout the years, you really need sort of, the big-deal bad guy’s location. Sloss Furnaces was perfect for that. If I needed to recreate that in a soundstage, anywhere around the world, that would cost millions. The state was kind enough to introduce me to the people that are protecting Sloss Furnaces and I was able to shoot there, because it’s kind of a museum now, I think.

Then I shot at Tannehill (Ironworks Historical State Park), which is also a campground, and they have some incredible, really unique looking locations, with streams. We really capitalized on that, as well. I was very pleased, and it fit the film.

You also used Watermark Place, the outlet mall in Bessemer, for the film. That location subbed for a prison, correct?

Oh, we used it for everything. So Watermark, what we did is, my producing partner Joel Shapiro rented that place — because it’s closed, for the most part — and turned it into a studio. We made one of the big open spaces, one of the interior spaces, a soundstage for us. We put some blue screens and we built some interiors in there that we needed to shoot, just in case it rained on us. We also used some of the exteriors to match a prison exterior that we had for the film. It all worked out really well.

People in Alabama tend to get excited when a movie films here, especially if stars are involved. Did you draw crowds during filming, or did people mostly leave you alone? Was it easy to film here?

Yeah, pretty much. I mean, when we were on location, sometimes people came out and they wanted to take pictures with Luke. But that all depends on the people and it all depends on the actors, right? Some actors are really friendly with fans, and some actors are a little stand-offish with fans — when they’re working, by the way. We ended up with some wonderfully warm actors, between Luke and Morgan. I mean, they were both so welcoming, and they had no problem doing selfies and stuff like that with fans.

When we were at Watermark, it was pretty much a studio location, which is where the majority of where Morgan Freeman shot. So there really wasn’t a lot of that to deal with. But it’s always about the actors. You’ll read about actors and singers who are standoffish and a little rude, when it comes to fans. This particular group of guys that I had were just terrific.

Did you film everything in Alabama, or did you use other locations?

Everything was shot in Alabama.

How much input did Joel Shapiro have with the locations? (Note: Shapiro is producer and CEO of magiCity Studios in Birmingham. He was a producer for “Assassin,” filmed in the metro area in 2021 with Bruce Willis.)

My banker introduced me to Joel. He knew Joel because he had banked “Assassin” and another film that he had done there. And when I went (to Alabama) in December of last year, he’s the one that showed me around and introduced me to a lot of the locations, and a lot of the people we’d be working with.

READ: 7 movies (with stars!) that filmed in Birmingham, 2020-2023

“Gunner” sounds like a full-fledged action movie, with explosions and car chases and everything else we’d expect from the genre. What appeals to you about action movies?

Well, my characters, for years, have always been the underdog. And I think that particular character appeals to everybody. If you look at the thread of who the protagonists are, in every action film, they’re always the underdog. They’re always the one guy who may be capable — or the one guy who may not be so capable — when asked to go against incredible, overwhelming odds, to save his family, save the world. I think everybody can relate to that somehow. We can all live vicariously. My hope is always that I just provide some entertainment for somebody for about an hour and a half, an hour and 40 minutes, so that they can live vicariously through a badass lead (actor).

Tell us about casting Luke Hemsworth and Morgan Freeman as the hero and the villain in “Gunner.” Why were they right for these roles?

Well, Luke’s career I’ve been following for a while. I think Luke is a really wonderful actor. He’s one of a group of actors that came out of the (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in Australia. … He’s a very serious actor. He was wonderful to work with. He’s a father, and so this story involves a father having his children, his two boys, abducted and held hostage. I thought that would really help him relate to that.

And then Morgan, I’ve seen him play the bad guy throughout the years, and I like my bad guy characters to be likable. I don’t think you can get any more likable than Morgan Freeman. He just has such a warmth about him.

When we watch the movie, we’re supposed to be rooting for the hero. But maybe some of us will be rooting for the drug kingpin, because it’s Morgan Freeman.

I think you might be. You might be very upset if he were to lose. But I’m not going to tell you whether he loses or wins. That might upset a lot of people, and that’s fine.

On social media, you called Morgan Freeman’s performance in this movie “simply poetic.” Tell us more about that.

You know, great actors really tend to learn how to play themselves very well. If you have any actors or actresses that you really like and follow throughout the years, you’ll see that the best thing they can possibly do is learn how to be natural on camera as themselves. I think Morgan has this incredible likability, and he knows how to play a performance in such a way as if he was playing a concert. There’s a certain rhythm to the way he applies his craft. He really did this in a unique way — I was so happy with it — as opposed to another actor, who might have just played this sort of straight bad guy.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son, Joseph Baena, is in this movie. Tell us about working with him.

He was a friend of Joel’s, and we had this small part, at the very last minute. Joel said, “How about if we use him?” And I said it’d be great. He worked as one of the sheriffs in the film. He’s a really nice guy, so he’s a lot of fun. I think that kid’s going to go far, too, because he’s got a lot of charisma. This is the beginning of his career, so I have a feeling he’s going to go really far. He’s got a great work ethic. He’s very polite and nice and appreciates where he is in the moment. You have to appreciate that about any young person today.

The cast also has Grant Feely, a child actor from Alabama who was in Disney’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series. Any thoughts about him as an actor?

I’m gonna tell you something; that kid is going to be a huge star. He is so good. … He is so charismatic and so likable. It’s really unique to see a young kid have such nuance in his performance, and he does. He’s going to be a little scene-stealer, I’ll tell you what.

How does this movie compare to “Kickboxer” or other projects you’ve done?

Well, the most recent projects, “Jiu Jitsu” and “Kickboxer,” were really martial arts genre-centric. This is much more of a conventional action film, in that my leads are much more mainstream actors, as opposed to complete martial artists. I think I have the strongest cast I’ve had in 20 years, a very strong cast, and it really shows. You can really see it in their performances.

During the filming, were lots of local people involved as extras and background actors?

We had a lot of local crew. We had a lot of extras and background actors. We utilized the locations and filled them up really well. I’m looking forward to coming back. I’ve got another couple pictures that I’d like to make there.

You’ve mentioned Mobile as a possible location for your next movie, correct?

Yeah, I love Mobile. Mobile is beautiful.

Can you tell us anything else about the movie you have in mind for Mobile?

I’ve got a project that I originally started, that I thought I was going to do first, called “Flying Shadow.” It’s a really terrific story about a Secret Service agent who is kind of at the end of his career, because he made a few mistakes, and he’s in the process of redeeming himself. Mobile is perfect for that, because it’s a smaller city to maneuver around, and yet in that small footprint you have so many unique locations. And again, a bunch of great restaurants. (laughs)

Are you working on several different projects at once?

I only work on about two or three projects at a time. I’m a little old school, in that I know I’ll get them done that way. My son is capable of working on 20 or 30 or 40 things at a time. I can’t do it that way. I’ll develop projects and then I’ll work with them. Mostly the things that I do are my own, so it’s pretty easy to rewrite.

Are you targeting “Gunner” for release next year?

I’ll probably deliver the movie in September-ish, something like that. It’ll be mixed and finished. We just had a writers strike, which means there’s going to be some holes all over the place for product. When I deliver something in September, normally they would wait until the next year. But they might actually get this out in November. So we’ll see.

(The Writers Guild of America strike) won’t affect us, because we’re independent filmmakers. I’m in the writer’s guild myself, I’m a writer-producer, so I usually sign a piece of paper that says I will abide by whatever the final negotiation is. So we can keep working. But when it comes to TV shows and the television stations and the television studios, they’re all shut down, because they have to negotiate from scratch.

You’re listed as a screenwriter for “Gunner,” along with Gary Scott Thompson. How did that work?

Gary sent me the script about three years ago. He wrote this script originally titled “Medal of Honor.” I optioned the script through my company, and started to prepare it, and looked all over the world, actually, to see where we were going to shoot it. A lot of the rewriting happens when I am shooting a picture and preparing to shoot a picture, based on locations, based on the actors, based on, once you lock in an actor, on their past performances and their strengths and weaknesses. A lot of that happens as being the filmmaker.

Because Gary is working on other things, he wouldn’t be available so quickly. And a lot of times when you’re making these rewrites, you have to move very quickly and get things ready, especially during production, today for tomorrow. But he’s a terrific writer and he’s come up with some wonderful projects throughout the years.

Some people describe an action movie as “a wild ride.” Do you feel that way about “Gunner”?

I do. I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised. You’re not going to be able to predict where we’re going. And that’s really what the “wild ride” is about. It’s about not knowing what’s going to happen next. And I think the characters are going to hold that for you, too. I think that you’re going to care about the characters a lot, which is the only way this kind of project works.

Was there something you wanted to do with “Gunner” that you couldn’t do? A particular scene, maybe, or a special effect?

That’s always the case, and it always has to do with time and money. You’re not going to talk to any filmmaker — I don’t care if the filmmaker had $200 million to work with, he’s going to tell you that he needed another two or three weeks, two or three months and another $200-$300 million, you know? So we’re always trying to do more and better. That money and time is all about making a better movie. We’re always trying to make a better film. So, sure. But I think the project’s going to come out really well, and I think it’s going to be something to be proud of.

What are your hopes for this movie? What do you want to happen with it?

Well, I always want it to succeed. I want people to enjoy it. You know, there’s artists that make things that they want to hang on the wall and just show to their family. I’m an artist that makes things that I hope people will enjoy around the world. The more people that enjoy a film and live vicariously through an action film, the merrier for me. So I hope it succeeds in a big, big way.

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