GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Filming for a movie could cause some traffic headaches along I-196 in Grand Rapids Thursday.
A crew for “The End of the Tour” will be filming along the highway between Fuller Avenue and Lake Michigan Drive between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. There will not be lane closures, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation, traffic will be moving slower.
The upside is that drivers may catch a glimpse of “The End of the Tour” actors Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel performing a scene from the movie.
“They are using a film truck and car,” West Michigan Film Office Film Commissioner Rick Hert said. “So the car will be on a trailer and be pulled shooting through.”
A location scout advised the moviemakers will use a process they call “turn arounds” in which the crew will head westbound from Fuller to Lake Michigan Drive, and then turn around and drive from Lake Michigan Drive to Fuller. They’ll continue driving back and forth until they are finished filming for the day.
The shoot has been months in the planning.
MDOT says drivers should consider the traffic disruption as more of a wide load than a lane closure.
“The moving operation will be going about 40 MPH and they will make that loop until they get the shot. There will be concerns with traffic going that much slower than the posted speed limits, but that’s why we have police assistance on hand to help with safety,” MDOT spokesman John Richard said.
He said that stretch of I-196, which services about 70,000 vehicles each day, is ready for a closeup.
“It’s a newly reconstructed stretch, so it looks nice,” Richard said. “It’s gorgeous. Look at it.”
But 24 Hour News 8 learned the stretch was chosen because of the s skyline visible from it. In the movie, Grand Rapids will be playing the part of a Chicago suburb.
Both Grand Rapids police and Michigan State Police will be escorting and monitoring the shoot, and will bill the production company for costs incurred.
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