"Law Abiding Citizen" premiere kicks off Philadelphia Film Festival

Since it's namedropped in the film, Del Frisco's (15th & Chestnut) seemed an appropriate choice for the "Law Abiding Citizen" premiere after-party Thursday night. Being only a few doors from the Prince Music Theater couldn't have hurt either. In the movie, which opened the Philadelphia Film Festival 18 1/2, Gerard Butler's imprisoned character asks for a 20 ounce Porterhouse steak, pomme frites and asparagus from DelFrisco's. While some have thought the chain steakhouse bought the plug as product placement, such is not the case. Director F. Gary Gray dined there a few times a week when the movie shot here and plugged the restaurant as a favor. Before the movie, Gray told us he would love to work in Philadelphia again and said the city "lent itself to the mood of the picture." "Everything is here, things I didn't envision we took full advantage of," he said. Gray thanked South Philly's Ari Hyman, who moved to LA four years ago, who worked with him as a creative executive on the film. Actor Bruce McGill said he walked the Ben Franklin Bridge "just to be able to say I walked from Philadelphia to New Jersey," the actor told us, admitting he took a taxi for the return trip. Regina Hall and Emerald-Angel Young, who play Jamie Foxx's wife and daughter also attended Thursday night's screening. Local actors such as Brooke Mills, who plays Butler's wife, Reno Laquintano, who plays his cellmate, John Wooten, and Keith Moyer attended the premiere screening of the film, which Dave Dougherty also worked on. Among newscasters who can be seen in the film are CBS 3's Dave Huddleston, 6ABC's Lisa Thomas Laury and former CN8 anchor Connie Colla who uses her own name in a news report.