"I knew there had to be one of you out there!" - Matt Damon, clearly tickled after a fan of his film "Stuck On You" asked for "a three-letter word for man's best friend"
"We're not going to get any work done today, are we?" - Zach Shields, Big Brothers/Big Sisters program director, to his staff as filming for "The Informant" took place right outside their windows.
••••••
Production for "The Informant" rolled back into downtown Decatur Tuesday afternoon. Do you think anyone noticed?
"It's a fun job," director Steven Soderbergh said when asked if there was trouble getting used to crowds so fascinated by what he and his cast and crew do for a living. The streets were lined with onlookers as filming took place at the Chinese Tea Garden and on Merchant Street.
Soderbergh certainly seems to be having fun. He arrived on set sporting a red Stephen Decatur High School windbreaker jacket he found at an antique mall. "I saw it and I said, 'I have to have it.' "
Evidently, he also had to have another taste of Coney McKane's while still in town. He made a beeline for the restaurant after setting his shot for Merchant Street.
"I was taking their order, and asked if they wanted fries or our homemade chips," Coney's general manager Bunny Steiling said. "[Soderbergh] turned to [producer Gregory Jacobs] and told him our chips were really good."
"So," she said with a laugh, "turns out he's eaten here before and I hadn't even noticed!"
••••••
Jo Kistenfeger, owner of It's A Girl Thing on North Main, had an idea. It was back on day one of filming, and she had heard that Matt Damon's family was in town with him. Enlisting the help of retail neighbor Sara Butts of Bellasera, she threw together a gift package for the Damon kids.
"I just thought it would be something nice to do," Kistenfeger said. "We had no way of knowing they would get it or not, but we thought we would try."
They dropped it off at a location they knew the crew would be, hoping it would find its way into the Damon family's hands. Both figured that would be the end of it.
Tuesday afternoon, as filming was just getting underway down the street, Kistenfeger was going about her day as usual when she received a very surprising visit.
"This woman walked in and asked if I was the owner of the store. I said yes. It was Matt Damon's wife."
Turns out the lovely Mrs. Damon had stopped in to not only thank Kistenfeger for the thoughtful gift, but to exchange a pair of toddler shoes for a different size. She ended up making additional purchases as well.
"It was just so unbelievable," Kistenfeger said. "You have your good days and your bad days. And then you have your days when a movie star's wife is in your store."
••••••
Speaking of Damon, he once again took time to sign autographs and take pictures with fans after filming.
He did so for FORTY MINUTES.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:00 am
Updated: 2:29 pm.
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