Add Evanston to the list of towns catching Contagion.
The feature film, which has already paid a visit to Chicago, Glenview and Naperville, will be in Evanston for one day of shooting Dec. 13, city officials recently announced.
Filming will take place on the empty lot formally occupied by Kendall College, at Lincoln Street and Orrington Avenue, officials said.
A cast and crew of 700 will descend on the lot, which will be transformed into a youth baseball field for the scene. National Guard transport vehicles will also be present, as will one of the film’s stars, actor Matt Damon.
Residents will be notified of parking restrictions and street closures when that information is finalized. Officials said the film’s crew would spend three days prior to shooting preparing the site, and two days after filming restoring the lot and adjacent Long Field, where cast and crew service tents and trailers will be located.
The film, directed by Steven Soderbergh and also starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and Kate Winslet, centers on a deadly virus outbreak. The Evanston scene, according to officials, will comprise about a minute of the movie and will depict citizens gathering to receive food supplies being dropped by National Guard helicopters — which in a bit of Hollywood magic, will be played by a large crane.
The film is set to be released Oct. 21, 2011, according to IMDb.
Contagion is not the first time Hollywood has come to Evanston. The city has been featured in such films as 2002’s Road to Perdition, 1984’s Sixteen Candles and 1989’s Uncle Buck, among others.
Source: TribLocal.com
