8 facts you might not know about 'The Informant!'
2018 marked 10 years since theΒ dark comedyΒ "The Informant!"Β starring Matt DamonΒ was shot in the Decatur area. Here are eight facts you might not know about the film ...Β
About 'The Informant!'
2018 marks 10 years since the dark comedy "The Informant!"Β starring Matt DamonΒ was shot in the Decatur area. The movie chronicles the price-fixing scandal of the mid-1990s involving Archer Daniels Midland Co., then based in Decatur.
Click here to read more about the film.
The movie, released in 2009, was based on a book byΒ Kurt Eichenwald that detailed the role ofΒ Mark Whitacre,Β president of the bioproducts division at ADM.
Here are some things you may not have known about the filming of "The Informant!"
The house
Mark Whitacre's actual former house in Mowequa was used for filming. The decor had to be redone to make the house and its setting to appear more 90s in style. Some day player (single-day) actors were accommodated in the basement of the house (which included an unused indoor jacuzzi) during a chilly and rainy day that slowed down outdoor filming.
Watching film
The scene in which Matt Damon is shown watching the movie "The Firm" was shot at the then Hickory Point Cinemas. "The Informant!" played in the same screening room where Damon was earlier filmed. Director Steven Soderbergh also privately screened the first part of his two-part Che Guevera biographical film in Decatur.
There are special effects
"The Informant!" features one significant special effect. The barn on Whitacre's property is down the road from the house. But filmmakers made specific decisions, including moving the barn's gate and setting up marker points for CGI work, to give the appearance of the barn being across from the house.
Filming locations
Area filming locations include the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel andΒ Chinese Tea Garden in Decatur,Β Hog Trough Too restaurant andΒ Whitacre's former house in Moweaqua and Hickory Point Cinemas in Forsyth.
Scenes also were filmed at theΒ Firestone in downtown Decatur andΒ Hickory Point Mall, but they were not included in the movie.Β
Megatron is in the movie
Voice actor Frank Welker plays Mark Whitacre's father. He's known for voicing Megatron in the 'Transformers' series. "The Informant!" was his first on-camera live-action film appearance in 37 years.Β
That music
Composer Marvin Hamlisch created an odd rollicking instrumental soundtrack that enhanced the odd mood of the film, although some viewers were distracted by it. Hamlisch was nominated for a dozen Academy Awards, winning three. "The Informant!" was the first film he'd scored in 10 years, and was the last one prior to his 2012 death at age 68.
George Clooney was not as omnipresent as assumed
One of the great rumors during the time the production spent in Central Illinois was that George Clooney came to the set to visit Damon. It wasn't an unreasonable thought. By that time, the pair had worked together in six films. But there are no reliable reports of Clooney's presence. Damon's bodyguard, on the other hand, confessed to be regularly misidentified as Clooney, as he was a number of times here.
The absence of the attempted suicide scene
One of the unnerving parts of the story is an attempt by Mark Whitacre to commit suicide via carbon monoxide inhalation. Kurt Eichenwald, who wrote the book on which the film was based, said the attempted suicide scene was removed from the movie because of Soderbergh's consideration for Whitacre's children.
The Herald & Review is sponsoring a free showing of "The Informant!" π¬ Here's how to get tickets.
The Herald & Review is going to the movies β and youβre invited.
βThe Informant!β is part history, part home movie, and a tremendous memory trigger for Decatur.
The four new cases bring the county's total to 61.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. to focus solely on liquid and encapsulated lysine products.
An inspection found "live cockroaches and evidence of rodent activity," according to the report. Read it here.Β
It was the spring of 2008, and βThe Informant!β stars and crew had blown into Decatur and Central Illinois to shoot their scenes over six hectic weeks.
DECATUR β While many tried to catch a glimpse of Matt Damon during his brief stay in Decatur filming "The Informant!,"Β Debra Ashley is lucky e…