Principal photography for "The Punisher" began in July 2003 on location in Tampa, Florida. Filming finished October 14, 2003 after 52 days of filming. The Florida location was first chosen at the insistence of screenwriter Michael France, who advised Marvel and Artisan that "it would be cheap to shoot —that they'd get a lot more for their money than in New York or Chicago" as well as wanting to use "both sunny locations, and dark, industrial locations" in the screenplay. For inspiration, Hensleigh and cinematographer Conrad W. Hall looked at dozens of action films from the 1960s and 1970s, such as the "Dirty Harry" series, "The Getaway", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "The Godfather" and "Bonnie and Clyde". In an interview, Hensleigh also stated the film pays homage to "Mad Max" and William Shakespeare's "Othello", though while he was inspired by "Othello", the characters were reversed for the film, making the Punisher the instigator of the jealousy which leads to Howard Saint murdering his best friend and wife.