BY BELINDA BREMNER
Will the REAL CHICAGO please stand up and show up on Sunday, March 23 to support Chicago Studio City and the Illinois film industry in a rally sponsored by the Illinois Production Alliance (see details below). It is also Oscar Sunday and Hollywood will, no doubt, roll out the red carpet for Chicago, the movie. Not the town. No, the town got left in the dust when the studio behind the blockbuster took it up to Canada for filming. Yes, Chicago was made in Canada.
Production is oozing out of our fair state and country. Canada, with their favorable exchange rates and massive tax incentives, has done very well in luring business north of the border. Some states have seen the wisdom and made concessions, but not Illinois. We recently lost Mr. 3000 to Louisiana.
And it’s not just movies, it’s commercials and television productions as well.
So, what’s a city to do? Rally! Not protest, but RALLY. And, conveniently, there’s one planned.
What? A rally to raise awareness of the film, television and commercial industry in Illinois
When? Sunday, March 23
What time? 12-2 p.m.
Where? The James R. Thompson Center at Randolph and Clark
Who is welcome? EVERYONE–especially those who make or watch movies or television. So, really, just the immediate state.
Why? To save Chicago Studio City. To support film production in Illinois. To encourage lawmakers to sponsor and support tax and incentive legislation that will attract visual media production to our state.
Any chance we could rewrite the first line of the state song from "From thy rivers gently flowing, Illinois…" to "Get your cameras rolling, Illinois?"
See you there.
On the film front: Barber Shop II is set for a July. Warner Brothers is scouting for a feature about a fire in Wooster, Massachusetts. And there is some hope for a summer film called Drunk Boat, which was written for Chicago and might star John Malkovich. None of the pilots floated for Chicago shoots, including "Chi Town," have been green lighted.
Claire Simon Casting is delighted to announce that Ryan Kelly has landed the leading role as the young Colin Farrell in Tom Hulce’s production of A Home At The End of The World for Keller Films. The office is still casting for Belzer’s Science, which will shoot in Indiana. Additional projects include a pilot for Fox called "The Break," a feature called Ladder 49 and a commercial for Fifth Third Bank. Other commercial bookings include: Laura Lopez, Wendy Melgarejo, Gabrielle Perez, and Ellis Lora-Arco. And for McDonalds: Weston Pew, Jim Goss, Jaymes Ballard, John Saunders and Michelle Ann Mueller. Finally, they booked Brandy McClendon and John Bankos in the Madison Rep production of Game of Love and Chance.
Tenner Paskal Rudnicke is busy as ever with pilots and commercials. The NBC pilots they are casting include: "Stuck in the Middle With You," "Alligator Point," "Bungalow 5," and "Happy Family." Commercials include spots for Lakewood Homes and Wisconsin Dells.
Lily’s sends word that there were commercial bookings for Andrea Delcourt, Carmen Cenko, Marissa Oakly, Chauncey Flowers, Gary Goodsen and Ricky Adams. Lee Fuller, Madrid St. Angelo and Vivian Chiu all had industrial shoots. Voice-overs went to Ruthie Greenspan, Michael Wilner, Karen Yates, Lucy Bianchi, Marvinetta Woodley and Steve Reardon.