Metra train stars alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in explosive thriller
They sell coffee and doughnuts on Metra trains?
That's my stunned reaction to “Source Code,” the thriller that opened Friday starring Jake Gyllenhaal and a thinly disguised Metra train. Trust Hollywood to distort reality.
Oh, and in addition to the coffee shocker, the so-called Chicago Commuter Rail train blows up. Again and again and again.
Gyllenhaal portrays Capt. Colter Stevens (plot spoiler warning), a deceased U.S. Army pilot who keeps going back in time to a morning commuter train so he can foil a sociopath bent on blowing up Chicagoland.
Stevens is able to time travel thanks to the “source code,” something to do with the afterglow from a light bulb and eight minutes of brain activity once you die. Don't ask me to elaborate — my eyes glazed over as the parallel universe theory was explained, which is why I cover transportation and not films. Although I suppose time travel does fall into the transportation category.
The “Groundhog Day” premise has to resonate with Metra officials, who continually are getting reminders of errors in judgment made by former Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano. Metra officials aren't happy with the use of the trains, which was authorized by Pagano and for which Metra received $44,000, significantly less than the $185,727 it was paid for use of property in the “Transformers 3” movie.
Pagano, who was well regarded during his long tenure at Metra, committed suicide last year while being investigated for swindling at least $475,000 in unauthorized vacation pay.
Even though the logo isn't on the blue locomotives in the film, anyone from the area will know it's a Metra train that keeps exploding.
In a post-911 environment, any depiction of a Metra train involved in a disaster is clearly inappropriate, agency spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said. “While it is a movie and movies are based in fiction, the images are of great concern.”
Metra's new Executive Director Alex Clifford is reviewing film contract policies, said Pardonnet, adding that the agreement with “Source Code” producers did not go before the board.
“We go to great lengths to protect our riders and our employees,” Metra Director and Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder said.
“Phil approved it, as far as anyone can tell, in his own way,” said Metra Director Jim LaBelle, who represents Lake County. “It's disappointing that there might be something that could cause people to be anxious or fearful but Metra takes safety very seriously.”
Personally, I think Metra was shortchanged. Having one of your trains blown up, however generically and fictionally, has to be worth at least $500,000.
But on the bright side, “Source Code” ends happily with the train intact, Gyllenhaal smooching a comely fellow commuter and all the passengers laughing — which again defies reality if you've ever been on a morning train.
Flotsam and jetsam
Ÿ Resurfacing on I-90 between the Elgin Toll Plaza and Barrington Road plus U.S. Route 20 and Genoa Road near the Belvidere Oasis kicks off this week.
Ÿ The Illinois Department of Transportation holds a meeting on the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway extension and the latest options from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. It's at the Holiday Inn Itasca, 860 W. Irving Park Road.
Ÿ If you love Twitter, and who doesn't, catch my tweets at dhintransit.