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Derby Lane looking for extras Thursday for Bryan Cranston movie 'Infiltrator'

 
Derby Lane,  the 90-year old greyhound track, has the vintage look director Brad Furman is seeking for ‘The Infiltrator,’ which is set in the 1980s. [Times files 2006]
Derby Lane, the 90-year old greyhound track, has the vintage look director Brad Furman is seeking for ‘The Infiltrator,’ which is set in the 1980s. [Times files 2006]
Published April 29, 2015

The makers of the Bryan Cranston movie The Infiltrator are filming at Derby Lane on Thursday night, so they will be looking for volunteers to fill stands at the greyhound track starting at 6:30 p.m.

A track spokeswoman said they believe Cranston and other stars such as John Leguizamo are likely to be on hand because the shooting schedule will keep them there late into the night for the true crime drama.

The $47.5-million production shooting around the Tampa Bay area this month is the story of Robert Mazur, a Tampa resident and former undercover federal agent who infiltrated Pablo Escobar's drug money laundering empire. It's set in the 1980s, so the 90-year-old greyhound track has the vintage look director Brad Furman is seeking.

Though filming is expected to go on into the night, the crowd scenes aren't expected to keep the extras longer than the regularly scheduled races, which end about 11:30 p.m.

"There will be no interruption in the evening races while filming occurs," said Vera Rasnake, Derby Lane's head of media relations.

Camera crews will be on the track to film scenes, and the casting call to fill the stands with unpaid volunteers age 18 and older will be held 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the main entrance before the filming begins.

Derby Lane says this isn't the first time the dog track has co-starred with Cranston. Sharp-eyed viewers of Breaking Bad could see a race at Derby Lane with award-winning greyhounds Flying Coal City and TMC's Remedy on TV in a bar scene in 2011.

The track also provided the needed backdrop for Ocean's Eleven, when George Clooney and Brad Pitt talk Carl Reiner into joining their heist plan. And it was also in the 1990 film Coupe DeVille set in 1963, with young Patrick Dempsey before he was McDreamy.

Founded in 1925, Derby Lane is at 10490 Gandy Blvd., St. Petersburg. See derbylane.com or call (727) 812-3339 for information.

Contact Sharon Kennedy Wynne swynne@tampabay.com. Follow @SharonKWn.