It’s safe to say that Gibbons Funeral Home in downtown Elmhurst never presented a body quite as lovely as the one in a casket Monday.
That may be because the body was alive and belonged to actress Ivana Milicevic, who was among a film crew of about 110 who descended on the funeral home at 134 S. York Rd. to shoot one scene of a comedy, “Witless Protection,” due to hit theaters in February or March.
Location scouts were in the area months ago and “liked the look” of Gibbons’ interior, said Tom Busch, the film’s executive producer, adding that “it’s got a certain Gothic feel to it.”
The film’s representatives contacted the funeral home about six weeks ago and visited twice before negotiating to use the home for one full day, said Marya Gibbons, one of the business’ directors. A few fragile porcelain figurines and valuable paintings were stored, and the set was ready.
“It’s a nice change,” Gibbons said Monday, adding that the crew was “very polite.”
“It’s exciting for a day, but we’re doing a lot of waiting around,” she said. “You get little bits of work done in between, but it’s kind of hard because, you know, you want to see what’s going on.”
Throughout the day, many people wanted to see.
Cars slowed. Local employees took their lunch breaks on the sidewalk in front of the funeral home. Teenagers on summer vacation milled around the 14 trailers. “Witless Protection” was, after all, the first time Hollywood had filmed in Elmhurst, said spokesmen for the Elmhurst Historical Museum and Elmhurst College.
John Wilton and his stepdaughter, Sophie Raffen, 12, of Elmhurst were among those hoping to catch a glimpse of and get an autograph from the stars, who include Larry the Cable Guy, Chicagoan Joe Mantegna, Jenny McCarthy, Eric Roberts, Peter Stormare and Yaphet Kotto.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Sophie, a participant in local theatrical productions. “I just thought there would be a little more action.”
Indeed. What action there was, was indoors.
The comedy centers on a small-town Mississippi sheriff who detects something fishy about the purported federal protection of a witness, played by Milicevic. The sheriff kidnaps the witness to rescue her and takes her to Chicago for the trial at which she is to testify.
Monday’s shooting was for a scene in which Milicevic’s and Larry the Cable Guy’s characters fake her death, apparently to end the villains’ pursuit.
The crew is in its fifth week 10 they will spend in the Chicago area, Busch said. Other sites include Brookfield, Glen Ellyn, Lemont, Plano, Virgil and downtown Chicago.
In another example of Hollywood’s resourcefulness, or perhaps Illinois’ versatility, the state plays itself and other locations in the film. Plano doubles as the small Mississippi town. The terminal at the former Meigs Field along the Chicago lakefront is the Memphis airport.
The “stable, experienced crew base” and Illinois’ tax incentives for film companies attracted the movie’s producers, Busch said. In addition, the crew has strong Chicago ties.
Busch resided in the area for nearly three decades before moving to Southern California about a year ago. Director Charles Carner is a Chicago native and former Columbia College student. Mantegna, another Chicago native, is an alum of the Organic Theater Company who helped write the play “Bleacher Bums.”
Plans call for the crew to move the production to the Cuneo Museum in Vernon Hills on Tuesday, Busch said.
One day is plenty for Gibbons.
“It’s not difficult,” she said. “It’s just different. When we can get back to normal around here, I think we’ll all be glad.”
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tgregory@tribune.com
