'Contagion' extra special for suburbs
“Contagion,” a virus outbreak thriller set for theaters next fall, is coming to Elgin to film today and early next week at the old Sherman Hospital.
The set at 934 Center St. is closed for Hollywood A-listers Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, and the filming will involve more than 50 extras in a hospital emergency room.
Elgin residents have wasted no time getting in on other scenes filmed in the suburbs.
One extra is Dennis Stewart, an Elgin native who now lives in Streamwood.
Stewart also served as an extra in a funeral scene shot at Elgin's Bluff City Cemetery in spring 2008 for the remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
Stewart couldn't talk about the plot of “Contagion,” but he was thrilled to see more movies being filmed here in recent years.
“You've got beautiful scenery in Elgin,” said Stewart, who also works with the Elgin Theatre Company. “I think it's a great place to shoot and they should do more.”
Elgin resident Laurie Faith Gibson-Aiello found out about the need for extras through a theater networking website.
She was called for a scene this coming Monday for a group of angry people gathered outside the hospital. She also part of a shoot at Midway Airport Nov. 19 with stars Kate Winslet and Paltrow.
Gibson-Aiello was in the background at an airport bar scene with Paltrow and stood next to Winslet in a scene near baggage claim, which was dressed up by film crews with signs saying it was a Minneapolis airport. Some real-life travelers did double takes when they saw Minneapolis signs at the Chicago airport.
“A lot (real passengers) were shocked or confused. That was amazing to watch,” Gibson-Aiello said. “You meet so many different people from all over the suburbs and all walks of life. It's fun. It's a good experience.”
Jeff Myers, host of “Elgin Today” on cable channel 17, was an extra in a one-day session Oct. 28 in Naperville where the Tellabs building was supposed to be the World Health Organization headquarters in Switzerland.
“You always want to get in a scene. Either way, it's great. You meet some nice folks, you can't lose,” he said.