Made in Miami

If you've been keeping up with the local celebrity news then you know that Jennifer Aniston has been here for the last month or two filming "Marley and Me."

The film, no doubt, had a decent budget given the star power of Aniston and co-star Owen Wilson.

Miami has been attracting big time productions for several decades now.

A few that come to mind are "Lenny" with Dustin Hoffman in the 70's and "Scarface" in 1983.

"True Lies" in 1994, directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, had a budget of $120 million.

But it wasn't always that way.

In the 50's and 60's films with decidedly lower budgets were filmed in Miami, attracted by the great shooting weather and cheap labor.

One of these was the 1963 slasher classic "Blood Feast," filmed right here in the Magic City! This stinker has "cheap" written all over it.

I remember seeing this in 1963. There was a lot of hype surrounding the film given the violence and the fact that some civic groups in Florida tried to have it banned.

According to Wikipedia the film was "one of the first films to show people dying with their eyes open."

Who knew?

But it's infamous for the scene when "the murderer rips out a young woman's tongue on camera, an effect achieved with fake blood and a sheep's tongue."

Curious? You can see that scene here in the very cheesy trailer for the film. Some of the interiors look like they were filmed in some of Miami's cheaper motels.

Yes, when you see the "Made in Miami" label you know you're in for quality entertainment...most of the time!