‘Contagion’ generated $12.5 mm here in film revenues

Matt Damon receives bad news in ‘Contagion’

Director Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion thriller, centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease, opened in Chicago this weekend, almost a year after cast and crew arrived here last Oct. 19 to begin a two-month shoot.

Budgeted at $60 million, the Warner Bros. epic stars Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne. 

The 2010 shoot had a strong impact on the state economy, reminds Warren Ribley, director of the DCEO, of which the Illinois Film Office is a bureau. Contagion generated approximately $12.5 million in state spending and created about 250 jobs, plus myriad jobs for extras.

An infected Gweneth Paltrow  in ‘Contagion’Contagion was in good company when it utilized Chicago locations last fall.  The Chicago Code TV series and the tail end of blockbuster Transformers 3 were also filming at the time, “proving that Chicago has the capacity to fulfill the needs of multiple productions,” says Rich Moskal, director of the Chicago Film Office.

Contagion demonstrated Chicago’s versatility, not only as a location, but its ability to double for other major cities around the country and its attraction as a production center with an abundance of crews, talent and infrastructure.”

Contagion locations included Tellabs in Naperville, Forest City Science & Technology Park in Skokie, Amstutz Expressway in Waukegan, Central Elementary School and Wm. H. Scott Funeral Home both in Wilmette, Sherman Hospital in Elgin, downtown Western Springs, the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, and Midway Airport.

Man of Steel shooting on LaSalle St. through Sept. 17

Currently utilizing LaSalle Street landmark buildings through Sept. 17 is Warner Bros. $175 million-budgeted retool of Superman Man of Steel. Directed by Zack Snyder, it stars Brit Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Superman’s parents.

A Willis Tower office serves as interior and the Chicago Board of Trade stands in for the exterior of The Daily Planet, the newspaper where Clark Kent and Lois Lane work as reporters.

Logistics for Man of Steel aren’t as challenging as Transformers 3, notes Moskal.  “The production is big and has its own demands, but no big pyrotechnics were required and there were few road closures.”

Moskal estimates that 2011 revenues from film production should be equal to 2010’s reported $160 million, “given that we also had five pilots shooting here early in the year, and two TV series, Playboy Club (debuting on NBC Sept. 19.) and Boss (bowing Oct. 21 on Starz network).