'Food' is the tale of a mother's battle to treat the effects of her son's mystery illness and, after seeing the script, Brett Hays of Shatterglass Studios in Champaign was eager to get involved. However, he explains that it was a battle to get the cameras here at the start, telling the Daily Illini:
“It took convincing to film in Champaign.
“They wanted to film in Chicago originally because they’re from New York and L.A. and when most people think of Illinois they think of Chicago.”
However, with the need for a university and farmland throughout the film, Hays knew the city was ideal, explaining:
“With the resources and connections that Champaign has, it was a much better choice.”
Starring Taylor Kinney and Zoe Lister Jones, the Daryl Wein movie is also in need of local people to star on screen. Some actors were approached by members of the production team directly. Indeed, Champaign local Nick Bonn is now one of the leads in the film, after the eight-year-old happened to be eating breakfast out with his mom and pop at a table next to a group of the filmmakers.
Once filming is complete, local officials will no doubt want to highlight Champaign’s involvement in the film through techniques like flyer and poster printing.