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MOMENCE — While thousands of miles from Hollywood, Momence will once again become part of the entertainment world.
The Netflix drama series “Monster” will be using the historic downtown Momence landscape as its backdrop for filming in early 2025 in its popular production.
At Monday’s Momence City Council meeting, permission was granted allowing the use for the area.
Production crews are targeting February as the start. Filming will likely take several weeks.
The filming will feature actor Charlie Hunnam. He was a main character, Jax Teller, in the FX drama series, “Sons of Anarchy.”
The third series of “Monster” will focus on Ed Gein, who was known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul. This Plainfield is located in Wisconsin.
He is a suspected serial killer and body snatcher from 1947 to 1957. He gained widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered in 1957 he had exhumed corpses from local cemeteries and fashioned keepsakes from the bones and skin.
He confessed to killing two women, one in 1954 and the second in 1957. He was suspected of seven other murders.
He died at the age of 77 in 1984.
Season 1 of “Monster” was “The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” Season 2 was “The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
Site crews have already been in Momence completing preliminary work.
Momence Mayor Chuck Steele said the film crew will use a portion of the downtown and well as some residential areas for filming.
Steele couldn’t be happier with the Netflix’s choice of using this eastern Kankakee County city.
“It’s very important to bring in this kind of notoriety to your community,” Steele said.
Momence is not unfamiliar with the phrase “Lights. Camera. Action.” In 2019, a portion of television series, Fargo, staring Chris Rock and Bill Bob Thornton, was filmed in the downtown area.
On Tuesday, Oscar Montesdeoca, of Chicago, a Director’s Guild member and a location manager, said he was unable to provide many specifics about the filming.
He did note a portion of the downtown area would be brought back to a “different era,” obviously in reference to the 1940s and 1950s.
“We love Momence. This community is great to work with. The people are great to work with,” he said.
He noted with production crews ranging between 125-200 people, it can also be an economic benefit to the area.
“The economic impact we have in these towns is huge. We have to feed them. We love to spend money in these areas.”
https://daily-journal.com/news/local/momence/netflix-filming-targets-momence/article_834c41c0-bca3-11ef-9eb0-bf921c6da0f8.html