Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
Shameless does a good job of filming Chicago neighborhoods, although (I guess for budget reasons) they mix in some LA street scenes and a faux-Chicago backlot. They're pretty careful about mixing the two, most of the LA scenes are shot in close-up, no palm trees visible, etc. Usually I can only tell because of the telltale LA sunlight. All of Dick Wolf's Chicago shows include neighborhood scenes also, and Joe Swanberg's films/shows.
I'd say Chicago neighborhoods are getting more screen time than ever before.
A lot of the reluctance for directors is due to cost, on-location filming is very expensive. However, Cinespace is supposed to build a backlot with some Chicago-authentic facades, so hopefully that will help a little bit too (within the constraints of backlot filming).
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Thats good news and I hope you are right. Yea, Shameless is pretty good although the different shade of sunlight (I'm with you on that) is a tell tell sign and also the blue street signs kind of give it away on occasion. What I don't get is why I see so many scenes of front lawns (in various films) with the little 3 foot grass embankment when that is not a feature of any neighborhood in Chicago that I am aware of -- most likely filmed in Atlanta or someplace in the south. So my question is, why is Atlanta (or a city in the south) doing double duty for Chicago neighborhoods? Especially when Chicago is nothing like Atlanta. I assume it is most likely due to cost. And, if so, we need to somehow figure out a way to keep that business here by making it more affordable to film in Chicago.
I recognize that my take may be a bit simplistic as I am no expert on the subject. Anyhow, here's hoping that we get more culture shaping/generation defining movies set here like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Fugitive, Thief, Risky Business, etc.
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