'Patriots Day' Filming Marathon Bombing Scenes In South Weymouth

SOUTH WEYMOUTH (CBS) -- Patriots Day, the upcoming movie about the Boston Marathon bombings, will film scenes recreating the 2013 finish line explosions at South Weymouth Naval Air Station this week.

A stretch of Boylston Street in Boston leading up to the marathon finish line was recreated on a section of the base, the site of an old blimp hangar.

Boylston Street shops were recreated in detail for the shoot.

Gallery: 'Patriots Day' Recreates Boylston Street For Marathon Bombing Scenes

The scenes require about 500 extras, though many more showed up. Many didn't even get in the gate.

Local historian Bill Sargeant told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens that the base was a good place to reenact the bombings.

"It's a nice, big, solid area they can do their construction and not bother too many people, other than probably scare some coyotes and a couple of beavers that are probably on the base," Sargeant said.

Scenes depicting the Watertown manhunt and the capture of convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were filmed last week in Framingham.

Mark Wahlberg stars in the movie as Boston Police Sgt. Tommy Saunders, a composite character based on several people involved in the response to the bombings. He was spotted at the Boston Marathon finish line filming scenes last week.

John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, and J.K. Simmons are also set to star in the movie. Alex Wolff, a former Nickelodeon star, will play Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Patriots Day is being produced by WBZ's sister company CBS Films. The film is set for a Dec. 21 release in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles, before a wider release on Jan. 13, 2017.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports