Chicago in TV and Film

Yesterday, I was laying on my couch, recovering from a late night in Wrigleyville with my cousin, and got caught up in an ABC Family marathon of movies. One of my favorites came on, "While You Were Sleeping". It is fun to watch that movie these days because I can pick out a lot of the filming locations, as it was shot in Chicago. It got me thinking about all the shows and movies that are shot in Chicago. Here is a list of some favorites and comments on their filming locations...

(1) E.R. - The eL stop they always feature is Quincy, in the heart of the Loop. There is no hospital nearby however. The exterior shots are shot at UIC's hospital, which is about 15 minutes southwest of downtown. Also there was a scene last season where an ambulance are driving down Wacker Drive and went right past my work building.
(2) While You Were Sleeping - Sandra Bullock's character, Lucy, works as a toll taker for the CTA. This is back in the day where you had to give your token to someone to enter. These days, you put money on a card and there is an automated machine that you run your card through. Her eL stop that she works at is Randolph/Wabash. I didn't realize this until yesterday while watching. "Lucy" also lives in a courtyard building that is pretty typical of Chicago, so it was hard to place. The coma guy (Peter Gallagher's character) lives in a high rise. By the look of his view, it looks like he lives in the Gold Coast as he faces south towards the Hancock Building.
(3) Batman Begins - Chicago stood in for Gotham in the latest installment of the Black Knight's adventures. There are several scenes where the camera pans over Wacker Drive. There is also an awesome car chase scene on Lower Wacker Drive. If you don't already know, there is a whole underground road system that is closer to river level. There is also a scene where Batman is perches on a building and that building is close to my work as well.
(4) High Fidelity - You have got to put High Fidelity on this list as John Cusack is a hometown boy. The record store he owned is in Wicker Park, on Milwaukee Ave. I happened to walk by it one day and had a flashback to the movie. Also there is a scene where John Cusack (can't remember his character's name) is on a college campus with Catherine Zeta-Jones. That campus is actually the campus of Lane Technical High School. I use to walk by it on my way to the bowling alley (I used to be part of a league - don't laugh!). It is a massive and beautiful high school.

Of course, you can reference any John Hughes movie to see suburban Chicago life. I personally loved Weird Science!

Happy Monday :)