All this for a 30-second commercial?
That was the query that crossed our minds when we found out director Phil Joanou (“The Gridiron Gang”) is in town this weekend shooting three days of car chases, culminating with a car plummeting from the Marina Towers early Sunday.
It’s all for an Allstate Insurance spot by Chicago’s Leo Burnett advertising firm. The commercial is an homage to action films, particularly “The Hunter,” which starred Steve McQueen and was filmed here in 1979. In that flick, a car flew out of the Marina Towers and into the Chicago River.
“We’re just having fun with the entire world of car-chase movies,” Mylene Pollock, creative director for Leo Burnett, told us after Friday’s staged chases around Wacker Drive.
And city officials have been assured the fun will stop by 9:30 a.m. Sunday. That’s when the last of the private boats roll across the Chicago River for winter storage.
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Terry Armour co-hosts “The Stan and Terry Show” Monday-Friday at 9 a.m. on WCKG-FM 105.9.
The Personals page was compiled by Cheryl Bowles from Tribune news services and staff reports.