"Chicago Code" Good for Chicago

According to an recent article in the Chicago Tribune, filming of the new Fox series Chicago Code is good for the city. While it's cool and glamorous to have Hollywood filming movies in the city, the impact isn't always long lasting. Consider the fact that the filming of Transformers 3 took place in the city for approximately two months. While these movie productions pump a lot of money into the local economy, when they're finished shooting, they're gone and so is the revenue.

The cast of Chicago Code on a press junket in Pasadena, CA

TV series filming in Chicago, although smaller in scope, generally employ people for a much longer term. In the Tribune piece, they quote Rich Moskal from the Chicago Film Office about TV series filming in the city. "They're filming almost nine months out of the year. It puts people to work longer. And a series can run multiple seasons." If Chicago Code is a hit, it could be a real jolt to the Chicago economy. The show, which premiers February 7, pumped approximately "$25 million into the local economy."

Chicago Code was one of six other Chicago-based pilots to film in the city, but only two were picked up. The other, Showtime's Shameless, filmed exterior scenes here.

Here's hoping that Chicago Code is a big hit; the jobs, the money spent here, would be welcome, indeed.

"Transformers 3" Graveyard

Set pieces from the movie Transformers 3, currently filming in Chicago are sitting in a lot across the street from the AMC East movie theaters on E. Illinois. One of the set pieces I saw being towed up Wabash Ave. last Thursday when they were filming (and blowing things up) near Randolph St.

Is this a piece of the Jewelers' Building?

 
One of the set pieces looks like it belongs to the old Jewelers' Building at 35 E. Wacker Dr. Check out the images and compare them for yourself.

The Jewelers' Building

More "debris" from the Transformers 3 production

Paramount on Prairie: "Transformers 3" Filming in the South Loop

Paramount truck parked on Prairie Ave.

The Paramount production crew for Transformers 3 is currently parked along Cermak Rd. and South Prairie Ave. So far all is pretty quiet. Not sure they'll be filming tonight, but there are signs posted pointing the crew to parking garages, breakfast, lunch, and so on.

Signs posted in front of the McCormick Place Convention Center on Cermak

Charlie Chaplin and Gloria Swanson Slept (and worked) Here
Before the sound era, Chicago housed Midwest corporate offices for Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal, and the Samuel Goldwyn studios. Most of the offices were in Chicago's South Loop along Washash Ave. Other film offices were located one block east on Michigan Ave. During this period, major silent movie productions starring screen legends Charlie Chaplin and Gloria Swanson were made in Chicago.

Pretty self-explanatory

Distribution Hub

Some evidence of this history still exists. The Film Exchange Lofts at 1307 S. Wabash Ave. was once owned by the Warner Bros. studio. They had corporate offices at that location, but its most important use was for storing film for distribution. With Chicago's location and access to train travel, it was the ideal distribution point for Chicago and Illinois theatres.

Trucks parked along Cermak by S. Prairie Ave.

Ruins From Past Glories

Universal International logo

The famous terra cotta archway entrance to the Jesse Lasky Famous-Players (a forerunner of Paramount) building on Wabash near 13th Street was rescued from destruction by Columbia College. It now stands in their Media Production Center at 1600 S. State St.

Trailers for Transformers 3?

During my walk this morning, I noticed about six movie trailers parked along Columbus Ave. near Grant Park. As I walked north up Columbus, I noticed a film crew at Buckingham Fountain. Part of the area was blocked off and some members of the film crew were asking pedestrians to back off. A member of the production staff insisted that they weren't the Transformers 3 crew and had no idea where they (the Transformers 3 crew) were filming.

One of the movie trailers along Columbus Ave. this morning.

One of the movie trailers parked along Columbus contained dressing rooms with stars on the doors. If not Transformers 3, then what movie were they filming at Buckingham Fountain? The Chicago Film Office Web site lists two films currently in production: Transformers 3 and an untitled Ron Howard film starring Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, and Jennifer Connelly.

Movie crew setting up by Buckingham Fountain

 

 

 

"Transformers 3" Takes Over Chicago: Was It Worth the Hassle?

Unless you were living under a rock, you knew a movie was being shot in Chicago last week. The Paramount Pictures production of Transformers 3 took over E. Wacker Drive forcing pedestrians and buses to find new ways to get around town.

Economic Boom or Just a Great Big Pain?
According to Crain's Chicago, the production created jobs and pumped some much-needed cash into the local economy. For more information on the benefits of filming movies in Chicago, check out the video below, which includes some great footage from movie set to release in July 2011.