DECATUR - Archer Daniels Midland Co. does more than embrace the idea of the Hollywood film "The Informant."

The Decatur-based company actually considered allowing the production, which begins work in Decatur at the end of April, to film onsite.

"We thought, 'Could we do it?' " Victoria Podesta, ADM's vice president of corporate communications, said of the Matt Damon-Steven Soderbergh film that will document the story of the early-1990s price-fixing scandal at the company. "But when you consider the needs of a major Hollywood production and the fact that we're working here 24 hours a day, ¦" it couldn't be accommodated.

David Weintraub, ADM's director of external affairs, added, "There are trains and semis always around here, and people doing things that could be precarious."

"We talked about it," Podesta said, "and ultimately decided, 'We don't need the distractions,' but we have no desire to impede the production."

In fact, Podesta said the company has and continues to work in conjunction with the filmmakers.

"We have been in contact with them over the years," Podesta said, reaching back to earlier in the decade, when the film was first said to be in production and Soderbergh and/or his location scouts were reported to have been in Decatur looking at sites. "They contacted us, and we've been in conversation with the producers and the production team."

The last time the group came through, Podesta said, was "four or five months ago." They were given a tour of the facilities and had a chance to discuss a number of the changes made over the last decade.

"We certainly intend to be in communication with them," she said. "We've had very cordial communications thus far."

Asked about the possibility of the actual ADM plant being seen in the film, Podesta and Weintraub both noted that they would have no control over the production setting up on adjacent sites. "That would be an issue with the city," Podesta said.

Part of the problem the ADM duo have in discussing the film is that they have little idea what it will be.

"We don't know what's in the film," Weintraub said.

"We understand that this is a film, based on a screenplay, based on a book, based on events that a person is interpreting," Podesta said. "Films have their own dramatic needs and intents. We focus on who we are.

"This was more than a decade ago, and we took action at the time. We have a 10-year-strong track record. People know us and know who we are.

"We really see this as an opportunity to tell the broader story of what ADM was then compared with what it is now. We had good, honest, hard-working people here, except for a few. Those good people are the foundation. That's how we survived."

With the release of the film probably more than a year away, Podesta understands this won't be the last conversation she has about it.

"We'll continue to be talking," she said. "There's a lot of time for us to be talking with our employees and the community about the movie."

Tim Cain can be reached at timcain@herald-review.com or 421-6908.