First off, they’ve never filmed a movie in Illinois with a Hollywood A-list that boasts 10 Oscars, including two each for Tom Hanks and Paul Newman and one for director Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”). Talk about standards.
Add the architectural details required for DreamWorks SKG’s “The Road to Perdition” and the filmmakers have found themselves hopscotching to nine area towns, including Chicago, to re-create the 1930s settings for this gangster road trip.
Toss in a few other factors–such as clearing out military vehicles from a South Side Chicago armory just to take advantage of the 55-foot-high ceilings for some shots–and it adds up to what could become the longest filming and one of the priciest movie productions in Illinois.
“The Road to Perdition” is scheduled to shoot here at least 87 days, and its budget may reach $90 million, according to a report in Variety that filmmakers here refused to comment on.
As the movie was being shot in Geneva this week, scenes from the set were a lesson in the painstaking, time-consuming and expensive labors that moviemakers go through for on-screen authenticity. It also was prime time for star-gawking.
“It’s the story and the period nature of the film,” said Ron Ver Kuilen, managing director of the Illinois Film Office, citing the lengthy shooting schedule here. “You have to make sure there are no anachronisms in any of the scenes. It just takes longer to shoot these things. For continuity purposes you’ve got to be right because one little glitch, one little Volkswagen Bug driving by or a wrong haircut, could ruin it.”
The production is scheduled to wrap Thursday on its four-day location shoot in Geneva, at State and 3rd Streets. Geneva is the latest stop in the “Road” show, which has already filmed in West Dundee, Evanston, Lansing, Glenwood, Momence, Peotone and Chicago’s Loop, with Yorkville still to come.
Although moviemakers regularly film at numerous locations in the Chicago area, the length of filming and its all-star talent set “Road” apart. Hiring an unusually high 150 or more key people per day–electricians, carpenters, sound technicians–has added to the bill.
The movie is expected to film through the end of June. Its scheduled 87-day shoot would top the 81 days for “Backdraft,” 79 for “Dennis the Menace,” 77 for “Baby’s Day Out” and 74 for “The Untouchables.”
“Originally, they were scheduled for 80 days,” said Ver Kuilen, whose office is part of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. He said the schedule might exceed 87 days, depending on such factors as location changes, special effects and the weather.
Based on a Max Allan Collins comic book, “Road” is a drama with Hanks playing a good bad guy and Newman as a lawyer. Also in the cast are Jude Law (of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”) and Stanley Tucci (of “Big Night”).
“Road” is a closed set–no visitors are allowed, and security is tight–but retailers and some residents at filming sites in Geneva and West Dundee have found themselves with front-row seats as their river towns have been transformed.
Gordon LeBlanc has been monitoring the action in Geneva this week from his second-floor apartment above the Old Town Pub & Eatery, at 2nd and State Streets. “My side is sore today from so much hanging out the window,” he said.
Near the intersection of State and 3rd, white lane markers on roads had been painted over, and orange and white barriers had been erected to keep bystanders out of camera range. Two dozen vintage cars were parked on the streets, and extras wearing brown and gray 1930s clothing strolled about.
Initial concerns
Bob Erday, owner of Erday’s Clothiers which was turned into the “Progressive Vaudeville Theater,” said that at first there were a lot of questions and concerns about the arrival of moviemakers.
“Some thought it was OK, some thought it would be a pain in the butt,” he said. “I thought it was an interesting concept, and I thought it would be good publicity for our town.”
He added, “The general feeling I have is that most businesses, when all was said and done, were happy with the compensation” that DreamWorks provided retailers whose business was interrupted.
In West Dundee, that interruption was particularly interesting for the Cardunal Office Supply, a Main Street store that began life as a bank in 1912.
“They wanted our buildings especially because we were an old bank and had retained much of the same characteristics that go back to 1912 that included the original vault door and stained glass,” said Gary Weightman, one of the building’s owners. “They took over the retail [area of the business] for five weeks. … They brought in complete sets they made in Chicago and teller cages and desks and made it look like a bank.”
As for Weightman’s retail operation, “they brought in a big trailer and put it alongside the building in back and relocated the retail products there,” he said. “We worked out of the trailer in the back and the office. … It wasn’t that big of a problem.”
In Geneva the transformation wasn’t as easy for Joyce Sawicki, owner of Harmonious Gardens, a shop and spa that has been for six months on the first floor of what used to be the Hotel Geneva. Moviemakers, including director Mendes and production designer Dennis Gassner, visited the site several times.
“They liked the pressed-tin ceilings with a laurel-leaf pattern, and when they discovered that it was all original, they just fell in love with the building,” she said.
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Sawicki moved her store April 23 to a site down the street, where it is to stay until June.
“It has been a big problem because of the tenuous nature of new business, so many people thought we were out of business,” Sawicki said. “But I have to say the DreamWorks people have been very deferential and easy to work with. They’ve been wonderful. It’s pretty exciting. I thought about it from a business standpoint up until this week, and now you can’t help but get caught up in the excitement.”
Few minutes of fame
Jean Gaines, president of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, added, “I think in the beginning everyone was a little wary, simply because they didn’t know what it would be like to work with a film company.
“But this certainly is a company that has been, so far, true to its word, and they take care of their [shopowners’] finances. People in the affected area were compensated, and so at this point I think everyone thinks it’s a great adventure.”
Besides, she added, “I don’t know if you can top a Tom Hanks-Paul Newman movie. … We all like our few minutes of fame. … The city was wise enough to put in the contract that the Hotel Geneva had to keep its name, so at least we’ll know who we are when we see ourselves in the movie.”
One store around State and 3rd stayed open: Starbucks.
“The location manager told me that they were very excited that there was a Starbucks and that it was going to stay open,” says Deb Pfaff manager of the coffee shop, who says the movie team are regulars. “Tom Hanks came in yesterday, and Jude Law has been hanging out.”