For a brief time last month, snow fell at the exotic car dealership downtown, "The Firm" was showing at a local theater, and it was Christmas at the Radio Shack in the mall.

Oh, the magic of Hollywood.

Playing a vital role in the magical mix was a host of area businesses that were selected as filming locations - and, in some cases, more - for "The Informant."

Here is what they had to say about the experience of being on location.

P&G Quickstop, Blue Mound

If not for the note, you'd never know the importance of the hanger as you walk in the door of the P&G Quickstop.

The handwritten note reads: "Matt Damon coat hanger. Available on eBay. Bid early & often."

Don't even bother trying to place a bid. Owner Gary Mathias wouldn't think of getting rid of the item, despite its humble placement amid a display of gloves.

"You can touch it with each fill-up," he jokingly adds.

The hanger was left behind after filming here May 3.

The timeless appearance of the location apparently worked in its favor: no dated paint schemes or logos.

Mathias was surprised by how much attention was paid to the smallest of details.

"They were paying a lot of attention to stuff that I never look at in a movie," Mathias said.

Research was done to make sure pay at the pump could have been available during the period in question: They were. Signs were altered to omit references to E-85, while keeping mentions of ethanol. The modern price sign in front of the store had to be covered: no LED signs.

This wasn't the first time Mathias has been called upon to host someone of prominence. In 2005, his Macon store hosted a news conference attended by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. He apparently didn't leave anything behind.

Hickory Point Mall, Forsyth

The crew made every effort to make the scene as authentic as possible. The shelves at the resurrected Radio Shack were stocked with items that would have been available in the early 1990s, such as Walkmans and cassette players.

The late fall scene included Christmas decorations inside the mall and leaves blowing around outside.

Hold on, says Mike Gibson, operations manager for the mall.

"They wanted authentic. That's not authentic," Gibson said. "Our entrance would never look like that."

General Manager James Coker also found himself on the defensive, too, after sending a picture of Matt Damon and Steven Soderbergh sitting on a bench near the leaf-strewn entrance to a colleague.

He made it clear the leaves were brought there in bags by the film crew and tossed about.

The advance crew apparently did its homework. When mall officials were approached about using their Christmas decoration, the production crew already had an idea of what was available. They had taken pictures of the mall at Christmas during a scouting mission.

Carmike Hickory Point 12, Forsyth

When Terri Ryherd got the call in her office saying there was someone from Warner Bros. in the lobby wanting to speak with her, she immediately began doing a mental inventory of the theater.

"What am I supposed to have up," she thought to herself.

She often gets visitors wanting to check the status of promotional items she's required to display in conjunction with the films.

This time, it was someone from "The Informant" wanting to use the theater to film a scene of "Mark Whitacre" watching "The Firm."

"It was fascinating to watch," Ryherd said. "We always get the end product. It was fascinating to see what's going into the actual production."

Director Steven Soderbergh returned to the theater a couple weeks later to screen "Che," his latest movie about Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara who became a leader of Fidel Castro's revolution.

Firestone Complete

Auto Care, Decatur

For the record, the Firestone Complete Auto Care center has always been that. It was never an exotic car dealership.

And no, it didn't really snow in May in downtown Decatur. Or anywhere else in Decatur for that matter.

"The coolest part was watching them make all that snow," said Tony Clinton, store manager.

Despite some of the season's warmer temperatures, some of the snow hung around a few days.

The highlight was one Tuesday, two days after shooting, when a woman made a special stop and came in the store and asked when it snowed - and she was serious.

Clinton also was amazed at how quickly the production crew worked to transform the location into a car dealership and back.