"It's happened all over the world." - Matt Damon's personal security guard, when asked if he had been mistaken for George Clooney prior to Decatur
Production for "The Informant" filmed on-location in a Decatur neighborhood again Sunday night, and once again a small group of bystanders gathered around to watch. For many, someone in the neighborhood had tipped them off to the location, but others simply followed the leader.
"We saw the trucks drive past us," one onlooker said. "We just followed them here."
The trucks themselves, however, don't necessarily follow each other.
"We have two trucks of camera gear," explained the production's technician, standing on the steps of one such truck. "They drive separate so that if one gets lost, we have the other one there ready to go."
Does that happen often? "Oh sure, it happens. Though it's not always as bad as it could be, now with shooting in digital. The equipment might be lost, but at least we would have the footage."
Yep, Steven Soderbergh is shooting "The Informant" digitally, with the footage shot here sent directly to L.A. nightly. That means when the finished film is viewed here in Decatur next year we will be getting as clean a picture as possible.
"When we filmed at [Hickory Point Cinemas]," he added, "we were impressed that this town had already made the switch to digital projectors."
Also impressive is the speed in which production is moving along.
"We get in and get out," he said. For example, Sunday night's scenes "took us only an hour or so to set up. It would normally take a lot longer." This is in part due to the size of the crew. "It's a lot smaller than your typical Hollywood film," he noted. "Not as many people, not as many trailers. It's easy to move around and get what we need."
Another crew member drops off some cones into the back of the truck.
"Are we moving again already?" asks the technician playfully.
"We're moving!"
"Alright," the technician said, smiling. "Here we go again."
Knowing someone in the neighborhood where "The Informant" is shooting is no guarantee that you'll be able to get closer to the action.
Amanda Barnett arrived to Sunday night's shoot expecting to walk past security to her brother's residence, which just happened to be right next door to where filming was taking place.
"I told the officer I needed to get to [my brother's address]," she recounted after being denied. "He told me I was the thirtieth person who needed to get to [that address]. My brother has 12 roommates, so that sounds about right."
Relegated to the street, she settled for the possibility that Matt Damon might stop by for pictures and autographs (he didn't this time).
Her brother on the other hand not only enjoyed front row seats to the filming, but entertained the film's star for a bit.
"They were hanging out with Matt Damon on their porch," she said after finally making it to the house and back again. "They've got the pictures to prove it."
Posted in
Local
on
Monday, May 12, 2008 12:00 am
Updated: 2:33 pm.
| Tags:
Ticker_adm
,
>
,
>matt,
Damon
,
>informant
,
>the,
Informant
,
>adm
,
>whitacre
© Copyright 2009, Herald-Review.com, 601 East William Street Decatur, Illinois | Terms of Service and Privacy Policy