Hundreds of people have flooded masons downtown, hoping the see some stars, and the Mason Police Department has been charged with controlling them. But supplying officers to the production without affecting the regular duties means extra work for the officers.

Mason Police Chief John Stressman told WILX: "We've had to bring in a number of our own personnel on overtime and we have subcontracted with the [Ingham County] Sheriff's Department for some deputies on overtime to accommodate the needs of the production company."

But the city of Mason is not picking up bill for anything.

"The production company has said they will pay for our costs," Stressman added.

In addition to paying for those extra officers, Real Steel Productions is investing a pretty penny in the the Ingham County courthouse itself.
To prepare for the few scenes in and around the courthouse the production company spent well over $5,000 renovating, refurbishing and beautifying the courthouse and its exterior. All of that in addition to a $10,000 location fee.

And the city of Mason and Ingham County are not the only ones benefiting from the production.
Mason resident and Bestsellers Books and Coffee patron, David LaChance, said, "I think it [Real Steel] did a lot for downtown, a lot for the businesses here," adding, "I've been in this coffee shop for two days and it has been quite busy.

Turtle Tom's Ice Cream Parlor has also seen an uptick in business, "We've had a lot of people in here because they stand out and they wait for Hugh [Jackman] all day, then when he goes to lunch or wherever he goes to lunch or whatever, then they come in here because they have nothing better to do than to go get ice cream."