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About Last Night Adapted from the Obie Award winning play written by David Mamet called Sexual Perversity in Chicago (a far more seamy title), About Last Night was Mamet's investigation of the changing morays and ideals on the singles scene during the early to mid-'80's. Featuring star turns by brat packers Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, About Last Night also showcased Chicago actors Jim Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins in supporting roles. Lowe plays a north side yuppie. He lives in Lincoln Park, schmoozes at Mother's (on Division Street), plays softball in Grant Park and picks up girls in other bars on the north side. One particular night on the town leads to a one night stand with Moore and then, surprisingly, a relationship with her. Interestingly, softball was Mamet's second choice of a sport for Lowe's character to play, but with principal photography taking place in the fall, the weather wasn't warm enough for anything else. As it stood, production assistants were actually called upon to tape leaves onto the trees in the background to give the appearance of summer. Above the Law Director Andrew Davis is a devout Chicagoan and has, pound for pound, shot more quality movies in Chicago locations than anyone else. In Above the Law, Davis' 1988 film and Steven Seagal's first starring role, Davis brought the production straight to the heart of our city. While there are several scenes inside old landmark Chicago buildings and hotels, the two major set pieces in Above the Law took place at Bucktown's beautiful and charming St. Mary's Church and at the Fulton Street Market. In the later sequence, at the Fulton Street Market, Seagal and police friends attempt to prevent a drug deal from going down. However, as is often the case in Hollywood action flicks that are taking place in locales with dozens of crates of fresh fruit and vegetables lying around, the attempted bust fails. Setting the scene for an entertaining car chase... the drug dealers speeding away with Seagal hanging onto the roof of their car for dear life. Adventures in Babysitting Adventures in Babysitting is one film that is set and shot in Chicago that positively mystifies me. My confusion doesn't arise from the film's fairly simplistic plot&--several suburban teens get caught in the city and traverse through several different and comedic Chicago situations to get back home&--but from director Chris Colombus' decision to include several special effects shots of the Chicago skyline in the movie. Apparently reasoning that Chicago's own skyline wasn't good enough, Colombus includes shots of the skyline with both buildings and El train tracks added. Outside of this mystifying element, the landscapes used in Adventures in Babysitting rank near the top of those films shot in Chicago. The main characters live in Oak Park, but their homes look more like something you'd find in Kenilworth or Lake Forest. Taking the Eisenhower downtown, the kids somehow manage to blow a tire on the Dan Ryan. From there a crazed tow-truck driver brings them further into the heart of the city where the a) fall prey to a kidnapping, b) fall prey to a gang war, c) get on the blue line El heading to Forest Park, d) attend a University of Chicago party where Southside Johnny is playing (yeah, right), e) take a trip on lower Wacker , then f) spend time singing in a blues club, before g) capping the night off in the Y building (what is sometimes referred to as the Vagina Building), with the youngest member of the expedition repelling down the exterior of the sloped face. Phew. Look for Chicago native Anthony Rapp in a supporting role. Rapp later became a theatrical star in the New York City version of Rent. Held on the shelf by Warner Brothers for well over a year after principal photography was completed, Almost Heroes was ultimately released in the summer of 1998, some six months after its boisterous, overzealous and hefty star, former Second City alum, Chris Farley, died of a drug overdose in the John Hancock building, where he maintained a residence in Chicago. Originally born in Madison, Wisconsin, Farley attended Marquette University in Milwaukee and then moved to Chicago after graduating. In Chicago, Farley studied at the Improv Olympic on north Clark Street and at Second City, where he was first spotted by Saturday Night Live producer, Lorne Michaels. Sadly, Almost Heroes is recognized as the comic Farley's last movie. American Beauty was supposed to be set in a sort of "every suburb", an anonymous place that people could easily identify with, but not single out by name. With this in mind, screenwriter Alan Ball purposely avoided giving Lester Burnham's (Kevin Spacey) suburban hell a name. As it turned out though, American Beauty is set in Chicago's northwestern suburbs, judging from the prominent 847 area code on the 'For Sale' signs that are posted throughout the film. Kind of makes you wonder what's going on up in Barrington and Winnetka, doesn't it? Adapted from Bret Easton Ellis' underground novel of the same name, American Psycho was adapted to the silver screen by the film&'s director, Mary Harron (Who Shot Andy Warhol?), and ex-Chicago film hyphenate, Guinevere Turner. Turner rose to fame in 1994 with her co-writing and lead acting duties in director (and lover) Rose Troche&'s lesbian love story, Go Fish. Since Go Fish burst onto the scene, Turner has busied herself with small acting parts in independent fares like Dogma, Kiss Me Guido and Chasing Amy among other films. Her writing duties on American Psycho are the first authoring work she has pursued since Go Fish. Look for her in a small role in American Psycho as the character named Elizabeth. Chicago native Michael Clarke Duncan used his work in security to land several noticeable roles in the movies. It wasn't his experience as a security guard that enabled him to play characters listed as 'bouncer' or 'bodyguard' in the credits, but the fact that Duncan would ask the celebrities he was working for to give him the opportunity to do (essentially) walk on roles in their projects. While doing security for Will Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Duncan convinced Smith to let him have a small part on the show. These small parts began to snowball into larger small parts, like the role of the Roxbury bouncer here in A Night at the Roxbury. Duncan displays a great deadpan humor as the two Butabi brothers (Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan) attempt to bribe him with their good friend "George Washington". This was the last of Duncan's 'small' roles. A supporting part in Armageddon soon followed. Writer/director Oliver Stone turned his sights on the world of professional football in his latest incendiary film, Any Given Sunday. Since the NFL, the world's premier football league, refused to give Stone permission to use their team names or logos (not surprisingly given the content of the film), Stone had to turn to other places to gain a credible and realistic football atmosphere. Stone's preferred way of gaining this was by placing ex-NFL stars in key cameos throughout the film. Linebacker (and drug addict) Lawrence Taylor played the part of an intense linebacker in the film. Ex-Chicago Bears star, Dick Butkus, tackled the role of the defensive coordinator for the team in the spotlight, the fictional Miami Sharks. In this paranoid conspiracy thriller (is there any other kind?), Jeff Bridges stars as a regular guy who begins to suspect that his next door neighbors are, in fact, right wing terrorists who blow things up. Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack and Mason Gamble play his neighbors. Cusack and her brother John remain two of Chicago's most prominent faces in Hollywood, while Gamble is quickly becoming a mainstream 'name' as he gets more and more movies under his belt. Debuting in John Hughes' comic Dennis the Menace in 1994 as Dennis, Gamble's wide-eyed innocence and cuteness shot him to the forefront of child actors at the time. Now a teenager, Gamble has begun to tackle more challenging teen roles in dramatic and independent films like Arlington Road and Rushmore. Austin Powers: Man of Mystery The character of Paddy O'Neill (Dr. Evil's henchman who announces that people are after his lucky charms) is played by Chicago actor Paul Dillon. Dillon is best known in Chicago for co-writing the Ivanhoe Theatre play Hellcab. Dillon also performed as the original driver in the play (to date there have been six drivers). Dillon reprised this role in the 1998 film of the same name that was adapted from his play. The Babe Whenever it comes time to shoot a movie about an old baseball legend ala Babe Ruth (after whom this film is titled), Wrigley Field is the first place the location scouts head towards. The reason for this is simple and fairly obvious: Wrigley Field is one of the few existing ballparks that actually looks as though it could pass for a ballpark in the '20's or '30's. Outside of a few tastefully placed advertisement (like the Torco and Budweiser signs on the rooftops) and the electronic message board below the scoreboard, Wrigley remains virtually as it was during the golden ages of baseball. In The Babe, John Goodman plays the titular character, the hard drinking sultan of swat. Besides his most famous moment&--calling his homerun shot&--the Babe had several other claims to fame, all of which are outlined in this somewhat interesting biopic. Backdraft Just like in any other business, things can sometimes change in Hollywood. Originally slated to be shot in New York City, director Ron Howard's Backdraft ran into some problems there when an unexpected firefighters strike came up. And just like that, the production moved to Chicago, where the material seemed better suited to the city anyway. Kurt Russell stars as Stephen "Bull" McCafferey, a second-generation fireman. Bearing the brunt of responsibility in his family&--his younger brother jumps from job to job with amazing speed&--with a chip on his shoulder because of the untimely death of his father when he was a small child, Bull is a hard drinking man who lives in a dry docked boat near the Amtrak railyard, just off the south branch of the Chicago River. Bull works out of a firehouse in Bridgeport, on Chicago's southside, and celebrates all manner of things at the local Irish tavern. A direct-to-video number about one young, attractive female district attorney&'s (Tracy Needham) attempts to bring down a drug cartel from her position in the mean streets of Chicago, Backlash suffered several realistic and logistical problems, to say nothing of the fact that most of the "Chicago" locations appeared to be Canadian or Los Angelian. One might assume that Chicago&'s prodigal son, Jim Belushi (who is now going by James Belushi), would set the director straight on some of this, but such was not the case. Save for a couple of exteriors, Backlash rarely made use of our fair city. Bedazzled Since taking a hiatus during the late '80's and early '90's, Chicago resident writer/actor/director Harold Ramis has (somewhat) consistently been churning out likable, engaging and truly humorous tales of modern fantasy. Beginning in 1992 with Groundhog Day, continuing in 1996 with Multiplicity and returning (after the comical Analyze This) in 2000 with a remake of the '60's British comedy, Bedazzled. Bedazzled's international premiere came at the Musicbox Theatre (on north Southport) during the second week of the 2000 Chicago International Film Festival. Ramis himself attended the event and was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Festival. Being John Malkovich Actor John Malkovich has always had an on-screen charisma and panache that other actors just can't seem to tap. Despite his baldness and average looks, Malkovich comes alive on the screen, enchanting all those who watch him. Charlie Kaufman's screenplay attempts to capture this essence (those things that are Malkovich) in his script, Being John Malkovich. Unusual and intriguing, Kaufman's script was truly original--in an interesting twist, a filing clerk finds a portal that allows a person to be John Malkovich for 15 minutes at a time. Malkovich was the screenplay's original choice for celebrity du jour and luckily (for Kaufman and director Spike Jonze) Malkovich agreed to do the movie. Malkovich is one of Chicago's true acting stars. He was born in Chicago in 1953 and lived here for the duration of his childhood before attending Illinois State University. After graduating, Malkovich returned to Chicago where he co-founded the illustrious Steppenwolf Theatre. For further history on Malkovich, watch the movie. Being John Malkovich also starred Chicago native John Cusack in one of his most off-beat performances. Writer/director Michael Moore's latest incindiary film, The Big One, consists of nothing more than snippets of dialogue and events a camera crew recorded while following him around the country in 1997 on his 48 city national book tour. Interspersed with the practical jokes Moore plays on his publicity reps and of the footage of recently laid off blue collar workers crying is Moore's trip to Rockford, Illinois, the worst place to live in the universe. While there in Rockford, Moore heads on down to the house of the lead guitarist of Cheap Trick and finds time to strum a few chords with him. The Big Town The Big Town does something that I don't believe any other film set in Chicago has been able to accomplish: it effectively reduces the size of Chicago down to two garishly lighted city blocks. With the entirety of the action in this 1987 coming-of-age story of an Indiana farm boy (Matt Dillon) taking place on those two blocks, the size of Chicago has never been smaller. The reason for this is fairly obvious: budgetary constraints didn't allow filmmakers the opportunity to transform any other blocks into '50's-esque neon cathedrals to commercialism, but the effects of just doing two blocks are also real. Actually shot in Chicago, most natives will be hard pressed to recognize our current State Street as the location of choice in the gambling film known as The Big Town. Blankman In this Bad News Bears kind of superhero adventure movie, Damon Wayans stars as nerdy Rube Goldberg like inventor by day and nerdy bath towel clad "super" hero, nicknamed Blankman, by night. Set squarely on the southside of Chicago, Blankman wants to clean up the gang infested portions of town so that the neighborhoods are livable for his grandmother&--a noble goal at worst. A direct take-off of Batman (and inspired by the TV series as well), Blankman has a "cave" of his own; an out-of-service CTA subway station. Not ever bothering to explain why the CTA has no problem with Blankman's preferred method of transportation&--a souped up motorcycle that rides on the El tracks&--Blankman is a rather fanciful, forgettable movie that doesn't always appear to be filmed in Chicago. Boogie Nights In 1997, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (who now goes by the more cryptical PT Anderson) surprised the world with his stunningly well-made sophomore effort, Boogie Nights. Focusing on the world of 1970's porn, Anderson managed to pull off a poignant human touch in this seedy, oft depressing world of skin. The cast of Boogie Nights was filled with great character and independent actors including Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Chicago native, John C. Reilly. A favorite actor of Anderson's (Reilly also appeared in the director's first film, Hard Eight and third film, Magnolia), Reilly spent his formative years growing up in an Irish neighborhood on the city's southside. After high school, Reilly went to DePaul University's School of Drama at the Goodman Theater, where he ultimately graduated in 1987. The Breakfast Club During the mid-'80's, John Hughes was hotter than Georgia asphalt. With a string of hits that include National Lampoon's Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the man could do no wrong. Growing up in Chicago, Hughes has a penchant for setting scripts and shooting in Chicago. Trying to list all the movies that Hughes has shot or set in Chicago would merely be an exercise in typing. In the case of The Breakfast Club, a movie set within the confines of one high school (and basically that school's library at that), Hughes chose to shoot at the then closed Maine North High School. Hughes had previously used this school for the interior shots of Sixteen Candles and liked the location so much he returned a second and third time. Interestingly, the Maine North library wasn't big enough to accommodate all the film equipment that Hughes needed to shoot his cast with, so the crew built a library in Maine North's main gym, and shot there. The high school was again, named Shermer High. Chicago native actor Michael Clarke Duncan owes much of his now successful career to actor (and friend) Bruce Willis. Duncan was first introduced to Willis on the set of their mega-budgeted summer blockbuster Armageddon. Willis played the lead, Duncan one of Willis' oil drillers. The two hit it off and Willis gave Duncan a part in his next movie, Willis' personal project and adaptation of author Kurt Vonnegut's book, Breakfast of Champions (Duncan played a character named Eli). After Breakfast of Champions, Willis set up an audition for
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