At The Movies: New Film Features Scenes Shot in Elgin

It’s always a kick to see movies filmed in the area and to try to recognize the places you know up on the screen. This week’s box office releases includes Contagion, which features scenes filmed in Elgin.

Parts of Contagion were filmed in Elgin’s old Sherman Hospital on Center Street over the winter.

The scenes filmed locally feature Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne, according to The Courier-News. Several local residents were used as extras in the scenes.

The plot can be viewed as scary, given the country’s brush with the bird flu, or H1N1, in 2009. Here’s the synopsis from moviefone.com:

Steven Soderbergh presents this look at what happens when an infectious disease threatens humanity through varied viewpoints from an ensemble cast, including Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Winslet. The Informant's Scott Z. Burns provides the script.

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for disturbing content and some language.

Genre(s): Action

Distributor(s): Warner Bros.

Director(s): Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Marion Cotillard , Matt Damon , Laurence Fishburne , Jude Law , Kate Winslet

Themes: plagues and epidemics

Contagion is playing locally at AMC Lake in the Hills 12, 311 North Randall Road, Lake in the Hills. The site also will give you locations of other nearby theaters showing the film.

For movie times and a trailer or information on other new releases, click here for moviefone's website.