Regardless of what you want to call it – a perfect storm, a surfeit of riches – the next few weeks will be the “crazy busiest,” as Local 476’s Mark Hogan puts it, but he’s far from complaining.
Action started July 12, with the FX TV movie Powers and will accelerate the following weeks, five high-profile entertainment projects will be in some phase of production in and around Chicago.
Chicago Film Office director Rich Moskal says we haven’t seen such activity since the late ‘90s, “when we had going three on-going TV series and numerous features.”
“It’s tremendous for the city,” Moskal says, “as it goes to Chicago’s multi-production capacity. It breeds for success all around as producers will take note of us as a production center.”
Here’s the timeline of what’s going on.
One: Filming activity kicked off with the FX Network’s Powers July 12, which shoots at Chicago Studio City and on Chicago locations through July 30. Based on the Powers comic book series, it follows police detectives Jason Patric, in his first TV series, and Lucy Punch, as they solve cases involving super-powered persons. Charles S. Dutton also stars.
Executive producer and director is Michael Dinner and the production company is Circle of Confusion, which has a Chicago connection with the Chicago Wachowskis.
Two: Over in DeKalb, cameras start rolling for six weeks July 19 on an indie drama called Untitled Farm Film. Its young, multi-award winning director is Ramin Bahrani, whom Roger Ebert likes so much he crowned him “the best filmmaker of the year” in 2009.
Star Zac Efron will have just wrapped The Paperboy in New Orleans when he arrives in Illinois. He plays the son of farmer Dennis Quaid, whose farm expansion plans alienate his wife and son.
Farm Film will split a six-week shooting schedule, due to a seasonal change: Three weeks in July and early August, returning to DeKalb in September for the final three weeks.
The production company is New York-based Killer Films, which is no stranger to Chicago. It produced Robert Altman’s The Company here in 2003 and Company’s producer, Christine Vachon, is producing Powers. Paskal Rudnicke is doing the casting.
Three: Currently airing promos for The Playboy Club promise murder, the mob and Bunnies abounding when the hourlong series bows Monday at 9 p.m. on NBC this fall. The first episode starts shooting July 26 on Mad Men-era sets at Cinestage.
Stars are Eddie Cibrian, Amber Heard and Naturi Naughton. Fox TV is the production company and Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is one of the executive producers. Alan Taylor directs the script by Chad Hodge.
Playboy’s production company, Alta Loma Entertainment, knows its subject well, having produced docs Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time and Playboy Video Centerfold: Playmate of the Year. The House Bunny, about a Playmate who opts out of Hef’s mansion, also was an Alta Loma production.
Four: Playboy will overlap Boss by two days at Cinestage, where it’s been shooting in City Hall sets at Cinestage since late May. On July 27, the political drama wraps the last of eight episodes and will bow on Starz in October.
The story centers the Machiavellian machinations of a fictional Chicago mayor, portrayed Kelsey Grammer. Co-stars are Connie Nielsen and Jeff Hephner.
Boss marks feature director Gus Van Zant’s TV directorial debut. Grammer’s Grammnet Productions is the producing company.
Five: Now comes the heavy lifting. A crew of approximately 300 will convene in Plano for the Aug. 2 launch of 10 weeks on Warner Bros.’ blockbuster-budgeted Superman movie Man of Steel.
Directed by Zack Snyder, Man of Steel was written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan. British actor Henry Cavill heads the star-laden cast as Clark Kent/Superman. His parents are played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, Amy Adams is Lois Lane; other stars are Russell Crowe, Harry Lennix and recently added Michael Shannon and Christopher Meloni.
Besides Plano, locations take place in Naperville, where the production is headquartering, and in Chicago.
Local talent booking by Claire Simon Casting.
