What Elgin, Illinois has over the U of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview will be the setting for the fall 2011 action thriller, Contagion, about doctors fighting a global virus.

But the movie won’t be filmed there, the Minnesota Daily reports.

Apparently, the movie makers chose Fairview because it’s a well-known metro hospital name, but decided to film the movie in Elgin, Illinois.

Why Elgin? It apparently has a recently emptied old facility, Sherman Hospital, where the movie can be shot. (No real doctors and patients to get in the way of the fake doctors and patients, I guess.)

So don’t go looking for small shots of the Twin Cities.

The Daily reports:

“Contagion,” which will hit theaters in October, takes place partly in Edina and Minneapolis, but hasn’t been filmed anywhere near metropolitan Minnesota.

About the blogger

Alex Friedrich

afriedrich@mpr.org

Alex Friedrich reports on higher education issues for MPR News. Among the stories he has covered: the fall of the Berlin Wall, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, 2003 Moscow suicide bombing and 2004 presidential elections in the Republic of Georgia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s in European political economy from the London School of Economics.

Tymm01

Its REALLY too bad it was not filmed here, at least for the Exterior shots of the Medical Center and some other areas…its a shame.

It’s still a “win” for Fairview though.
Anonymous

The movie has a lot of stars in it. Imagine how crazy the area would have become. A celebrity spotted in every restaurant …..