Chicago is a great city. We have all the benefits of a large metropolis area without the stereotyped ego of New York or superficiality of Los Angeles. We have huge parks with winding bike paths… we have world-renowned architecture with soaring skyscrapers… plenty of pedestrians and cars active at any time of night… and of course, an amazing skyline. Not to mention the salt-of-the-earth Midwestern people that are the everymen and –women of the US (part of the reason newscasters all have Midwestern accents). So, why are we never the target of cinematic invading aliens or natural disasters?
I first noticed the trend with Independence Day. Amazing shots of Washington DC, New York, and LA getting the alien treatment. Ok, that’s one movie… of course you’d want to see the peril of the president, and our biggest city in panic, and LA… well, at least that was covered by the plot of the nearby air base and the strip club. I felt a twinge when Chicago was mentioned only halfway through the movie in the same breath as a couple of other smaller cities like Cincinnati I believe – instead of footage, just a footnote.
Envy mounted with Volcano (lava/LA), Deep Impact (tidal wave/New York), The Core (cosmic rays/San Francisco), The Day After Tomorrow (tornados/LA, flood-freeze/New York), and War of the Worlds (aliens/pretty much everything, with no mention of Chicago AFAIK).
What gives? Our legendary skyline would be so much fun to see destroyed in a blockbuster movie. Picture a UFO creeping over Lake Michigan during the Outdoor Film Festival, or Taste of Chicago. And a slimy bug-eyed Martian would look menacing and creepy reflected in the Bean, approaching some couple who are admiring their multiplied images.
Vince Vaughn, please see what you can do.
