"Matt Damon was standing right there in my driveway!"

-Brian Carroll, whose neighborhood was used during Friday filming on "The Informant"

Watching scenes for "The Informant" film at The Hickory Point Mall is pretty cool.

Watching scenes for "The Informant" film in your own front yard is way cooler.

The Carroll family - Brian, Sherri, and son Nick - were delighted to do just that Friday afternoon. This after sharing Del Carmen's pizza and root beer with the film's location manager the night before.

According to Brian, "she was standing at the door and I just said, "Have you eaten? 'Cuz we really don't need to stand out here talking about it!" She ended up staying "for about 40 minutes" talking about the scene and how The Carroll's home might factor into it.

"It was funny," Brian shared. "We actually had scheduled to have a tree cut down today, and they asked us to cancel that. Then what do they do? They bring in a fake tree-cutting crew for the scene!"

Most of the action took place across the street. That house - whose cosmetic changes included flowers, shrubs, and a tree outside, and as per Sherri "vintage furniture" on the inside - plays home for Scott Bakula's character in the film. But for The Carrolls, the real treat was Matt Damon, sitting in a car, filming a scene right at the end of their driveway.

"You could hear him clear as a bell," said Sherri, who had also managed to capture several top-notch photos. "We got to hear some dialogue from the film."

Towards the end of the location's shoot, filming had moved to the inside of Bakula's on-screen residence (Damon, who stayed on site, paced back and forth in the garage studying lines). But the final shot once again took place at the foot of The Carroll's drive.

As crewmembers made sure onlookers were out of the shot, The Carrolls asked if they were okay staying on their porch.

"You're fine. They can't even see me," replied the man standing in their drive. "Which is probably a good thing."

"Oh, I'm sure the scene would be a masterpiece with you in it," Brian teased.

The man smiled widely as he rounded behind the house. "You're my favorite neighbor."

"Bad timing on your part; the party is obviously here in Illinois!"

-Matt Damon, talking to a fan's out-of-state friend on a cell phone after filming scenes for The Informant Friday

One little piece of information I left out was that they were actually filming in MY neighborhood.

Talk about a wild coincidence (or dumb luck, take your pick).

Let me tell you, it's really quite weird to see a line of star trailers and catering trucks up and down the street instead of Hondas. But the biggest surprise was how open the production was being with the residents.

The whole vibe was more like a block party than a Hollywood film shoot. Obviously, when they were working everyone had to mind their Ps and Qs, but before and after it was extremely laid back.

I asked one crewmember what it was about this particular neighborhood that appealed to them. "I know they really scoured the area prior to filming," he explained. "This neighborhood had just the right combination of a house that fit [Scott Bakula's] character, and a layout that allows us to set the scene perfectly."

Bakula himself strolled around after filming had wrapped. I asked him how he and the rest of the cast and crew were enjoying their time here. "We're having a ball," he replied. "We are truly having a ball." His makeup artist agreed. "It's a nice change of pace," she said, citing the often-frenetic feel of Los Angeles.

(Side Note: The "change of pace" was something The Wreckers' Michelle Branch and husband Teddy also noted when they were in town. They were especially blown away by the lack of traffic congestion. But I digress…)

The big draw of the day though was once again Matt Damon. And once more he proved to be nothing but aces as he again took the time to sign autographs and pose for pictures. The kicker? He actually came prepared this time with a stack of cards and Sharpie.

And when he was told he needed to get moving since they were apparently behind schedule? "OK guys," he announced. "Just a few more, then I need to eat something and get moving. I gotta work!"

The crowd respected that, and it was nice to witness him walk away from the crowd freely, minus any heavy security or barriers. I'd like to think that the cards he brought along were his response to the respectful crowds he had previously encountered.

See that, Decatur? Hollywood likes it here, too.