At least 300 people are expected Friday night at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington for former House Speaker Jim Amann's retirement party.
Since leaving the state Capitol as a two-term speaker and longtime lawmaker, Amann has started working as a lobbyist for various causes. His most recent return was this week - announcing the filming of a submarine thriller called "Thunder In The Deep'' that will be filmed in Connecticut.
Amann appeared with a crowd of officials that included author Joe Buff, two animation experts who flew in on the red eye from California, and various behind-the-scenes executives. The film is expected to create about 200 jobs in Connecticut, and the executive producer said that the film would not have come to Connecticut without the generous tax credits that Amann helped enact as speaker. Connecticut - with the submarine capital of the world - beat out Vancouver for the bulk of the work, but some filming will still be done in Vancouver.