Plainfield Photog Captures Plano 'Superman' Set

Just 15 miles west of Plainfield, the small town of Plano is being transformed into a movie set that will serve as "Smallville" for the new Superman film Man of Steel. It stars Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent and Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

Gregory Zonsius, a professional photographer from Plainfield and president of Zoncom Productions, has captured how the production company is creating sets along Plano's main downtown street and is converting a local house into Clark Kent's boyhood home.

Jillian Duchnowski, editor of the Yorkville Patch, wrote this about the movie, which is expected to start shooting later this month:

Some wonder who will be the first to try to pump gas at the 7-Eleven along Plano’s Main Street.

The gas station isn’t real.

It’s part of this small town’s transformation into Clark Kent’s Smallville for filming of the new Superman reboot Man of Steel.

Crews also built structures in vacant lots flanking the town’s depot, closed off Hugh Street north of Main Street to build a Sears and constructed a barber shop in another open space.

“When you look at it, you can see the chairs of the barbershop,” said Richard Healy, executive director of the Plano Area Chamber of Commerce.

Crews were still working on the set this week, but Healy suggested fans check it out before filming starts there. The set—and in a few cases, a block or so surrounding the set—will be closed to the public during filming, Healy said.

Production schedules and ideas can change, but Healy said that at some point soldiers will repel into the set from a helicopter. Other scenes could leave brass casings in the street, he said.

“They’re going to be blowing stuff up,” Healy said.

The Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday that the Main Street will be featured in a major tornado scene, with officials choosing Plano to depict Smallville after scouting about 50 rural towns.

Several media outlets, including MTV.com, reported this week that Laurence Fishburne has been cast as the Daily Planet's editor-in-chief. He'll join Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Henry Cavill as Clark Kent.

Meanwhile, Healy said filming downtown is set for about two weeks in mid-August, although Crain’s Chicago Business recently reported filming will be from Aug. 22 to 29.

“It’s always a moving target,” Healy said.

This week, crews filmed at Centennial Elementary School on the town’s south side, which won’t interfere with the beginning of the academic year, Healy said.