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Principal photography began Saturday, October 19, 2002 in Los Angeles on Columbia Pictures' new action-adventure "S.W.A.T.," starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J and Olivier Martinez.

Fresh-off the box-office success of "XXX," producer Neal H. Moritz, founder of Original Film and producer of such blockbusters as "The Fast and the Furious" and "Sweet Home Alabama," joins forces with J. Clark Johnson, who is making his feature film directing debut with "S.W.A.T." In addition to Emmy-nominated work as a television director on such productions as the pilot for the series "The Shield" and HBO's "The Wire" and "Boycott", Johnson is also an acclaimed actor best known for his eight year stint as Detective Meldrick Lewis on the hit television series "Homicide."

Inspired by the 70s television series, the film follows Jackson's character, Hondo, as he is assigned to recruit and train five top-notch officers for a new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit. Farrell stars as Jim Street, a Los Angeles Police Department officer whose recent demotion to a desk job leaves him desperate for a second chance to don the elite SWAT uniform.

After weeks of rigorous physical training, the new team is quickly thrown into action after a notorious drug lord, played by Olivier Martinez ("Unfaithful"), offers a $100 million reward to anyone who can free him from police custody. The SWAT team is pursued by a dangerous band of reward seekers as they try to get the drug lord out of Los Angeles and safely into the hands of the Feds.

Rounding out the cast of SWAT officers in the film are Josh Charles, Brian Van Holt and Jeremy Renner.

For the past three decades SWAT has been the LAPD's elite tactical unit and has become legendary among law enforcement agencies in the United States. SWAT is a unit consisting of 67 LAPD officers who are expertly trained tactical assault specialists. They have engaged in over 3,000 life- threatening missions and, to this day, have never lost a hostage.

Columbia Pictures presents "S.W.A.T.," an Original Film/Camelot Pictures/Chris Lee production directed by J. Clark Johnson and produced by Neal H. Moritz, Chris Lee and Dan Halsted. Louis D'Esposito and George Huang are the film's co-producers with Amanda Cohen serving as associate producer. Gabriel Beristain, A.S.C., B.S.C. is the cinematographer, Mayne Berke is the production designer, Christopher Lawrence is the costumer designer and Michael Tronick, A.C.E. will serve as editor on the film.

"S.W.A.T." will be released by Columbia Pictures in the summer, 2003.

SOURCE: Columbia Pictures