If you thought you heard gunfire coming from the Elmhurst Quarry Monday, you were right.
Well, kind of.
It was simulated gunfire used in the filming of a brand new Fox television show called "The Mob Doctor." Yes, some famous people were in town, along with their dozens of trucks, makeup and wardrobe trailers and other support vehicles, to film in our very own quarry.
A notice distributed to neighbors by the production company stated: "Woodridge Productions Inc., in association with Sony Pictures Television, will be filming scenes for the upcoming Fox television show called "The Mob Doctor." … We will be using special effects, including simulated gunfire, during filming on Monday."
This show and these actors must be pretty special to be allowed in the quarry. Nobody gets in there. It's guarded like Fort Knox, with all its barbed snaggle wire and a top security system.
The lead actor in this drama is Jordana Spiro ("Must Love Dogs," "My Boys") as Dr. Grace Devlin. In the series, she makes a deal with the devil and does nasty business for the mob to save her brother's life.
From the show's website: " 'The Mob Doctor' is a fast-paced medical drama focusing on a young female surgeon caught between two worlds as she juggles her promising medical career with her family’s debt to Chicago’s Southside mob."
William Forsythe ("Raising Arizona," "Extreme Prejudice") plays Constantine Alexander, a former head of the southside mob recently released from prison.
The show's director is Michael Dinner, who also worked on episodes of "Law & Order," "Sons of Anarchy," "Justified," "Grey's Anatomy," "Chicago Hope" and The Wonder Years."
The actors and director were nowhere near their trailers on Monday afternoon—they were shooting down in the quarry. Apparently, we weren't allowed to take pictures of them, anyway—not without "permission from L.A." one of the production managers said. But we did run into a few of the crew members.
One local Teamster, Victor Chin, is in charge of driving one of the many big rigs that carry the actors' gear. He's even done a little acting, himself. Among other things, he was an extra on "Boss," which stars Kelsey Grammer. Chin played the mayor's wife's driver.
He was humble about his acting stint with Grammer.
"I didn't have any lines or anything," he said. But with some prompting, he confessed he's also worked on the movies "Transformers, "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Batman," to name a few.
"I've been doing this since 1996," he said. In between acting gigs, he drives the trucks.
Chin, who lives in a northwest suburb of Chicago, said it's fun work. And there are a lot of opportunities these days, with no shortage of movies and TV shows filming in Chicago.
The premier of "The Mob Doctor" will air at 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, on Fox.
"It's replacing the show, 'House,' " Chin said.
The episode filmed in Elmhurst will be the fourth in the series, so look for that one around Oct. 8.
Check out the trailer, with some cool scenes of Chicago, here.
Yes, it's another show exploiting a "Chicago mob" stereotype cast upon our great city, but how cool is it that they're shooting in Elmhurst? They got to go in the quarry, for crying out loud.
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