HBO Max series 'Station Eleven' filming in downtown Glen Ellyn
The last time the Glen Art Theatre charmed location scouts, Charlie Sheen was still a baby-faced jock and Winona Ryder had not yet become a goth icon.
Glen Ellyn audiences have a special affection for the 1986 coming-of-age tale "Lucas" starring Corey Haim. Scenes featured the 1920s-era movie house, Glenbard West High School and Duchon Field.
More than 30 years later, another large production will film interior shots inside the theater.
Cameras will roll Saturday for the new HBO Max series "Station Eleven," an adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel's 2014 novel about a swine flu pandemic that wipes out most of the world's population.
The series will star Mackenzie Davis, who delivered one of the best action performances in 2019 as the augmented human soldier Grace in the female-led "Terminator: Dark Fate."
The filming will close the Glen Saturday, which means some procrastinators will be scrambling to catch showings of Oscar nominees before the awards show Sunday.
But owner Eric White said he "couldn't be happier" to rent out the four-screen theater from 6 a.m. to midnight.
"We're thrilled about it," White said.
What attracts location scouts to the Glen? "Nostalgia," White said. The theater transitioned to digital projection in 2013, but a soulless corporate multiplex it is not. The old-school marquee makes the Glen an icon in downtown Glen Ellyn. It's also known for showing indie and foreign movies.
Gael García Bernal ("Y Tu Mamá También," "Coco," "Mozart in the Jungle") and Himesh Patel ("Yesterday") also have joined the "Station Eleven" cast, according to trade reports.
Hiro Murai, whose directing credits include the FX series "Atlanta" and Childish Gambino's "This is America" music video, is helming the 10-episode adaptation. Murai's Instagram account also is documenting his, uh, appreciation for Chicago's winter climate.
White said he doesn't know which actors will be filming scenes Saturday. At least 100 people will converge downtown, White said.
The village has approved a film permit application. All filming will be completed inside the theater at 540 Crescent Blvd. There will be no street closures, village officials say.
It's not yet clear when the series will premiere on HBO Max, a new streaming service launching in May.