Mayor Donald Peloquin said he hopes Clint Eastwood isn’t the last movie star to light up his city.
Eastwood was in town Tuesday to film scenes for his coming movie, “Flags of Our Fathers,” which tracks the post-World War II lives of three of the six soldiers who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima.
The flag-raising was the subject of one of the most memorable photos taken in the war.
“Everything went well,” Peloquin said of the movie shoot. “Hopefully, this will lead to more movies being shot in town.”
Scenes were shot at the Krueger Funeral Home on Greenwood Avenue and at about five homes along Highland Avenue. The film, which stars Ryan Phillipe, is scheduled for release next fall.
Movie or television crews have seldom set up shop in Blue Island, despite its wealth of 19th Century architecture, the nearby Cal-Sag Channel and the city’s vast network of rail yards.
But Mary Paulson, the city’s marketing director, said Eastwood’s visit should bring a higher profile to the city and make Blue Island a more frequent stop for Hollywood.
“People that have never been here before are always surprised by Blue Island,” she said.