Copyright Chicago Tribune
Area residents know the Dairy Palace for its delicious homemade ice cream and friendly staff, but also for the vintage vibe the business of 72 years brings to Tinley Park. It’s that look that brought movie magic to the village Friday. A production crew came to Dairy Palace to film “Trash Mountain,” a movie set in Missouri that stars Zooey Deschanel, Caleb Hearson, Kyle Marvin and Jaboukie Young-White. It’s directed by Kris Rey. “It’s a charming ice cream shop — exactly what we were looking for,” said location manager Danielle Weber. Weber and her crew scouted Chicago suburbs to “present options to the director, producers and production designer, and they pick the best option for the storyline from there,” she explained. “The movie is set in the modern day, but we chose something with nostalgia for the look because in the storyline they wanted a nostalgic feel.” Production designer Matt Hyland kept busy Friday redecorating the building’s facade, switching its ordering and pickup windows on different sides of the building, but said his work would be minimal. “We were looking for a preserved, throwback, neighborhood institution. That’s the character. He’s trying to recycle a memory,” Hyland said. “We change a few things at the location and film it. Me and all the departments make sure everything is put back in as good a shape as we found it or better,” Weber said. ”This is ready as is. Most of what we’re doing here has to do with brand names” and covering up or removing anything that says Tinley Park, Hyland said after snapping a few photos to capture the building’s “before” look. “We designed a few vintage logos. We take it as an opportunity.” One of those logos amused Kevin Hoffmeister, son of Dairy Palace owner John Hoffmeister, because it’s the same one he ordered for the shop’s 1972 Good Humor truck. He said his dad didn’t like the logo,so it’s funny the movie created a sign using the same wording: “Ice cream the way you remember.” That’s what we want people to feel when we roll up,” Hoffmeister said. “Everything tasted so much better when you were a kid — you remember it so well.” Hoffmeister said someone at Village Hall told him it’s the first time a movie has been filmed in Tinley Park. The production crew looked at 14 different sites narrowed it down to four before they picked Dairy Palace, Hoffmeister said. “That place has been there for 72 years, and it’s nice to get a little bit of recognition for the town as well as our business,” Hoffmeister said. He said he thought it was the ice cream parlor’s “old-school look” that sealed the deal. “We’ve resisted changing the look. I’ve tested the waters several times, and people say ‘No. We like it this way. I like bringing my kids to a place that I went to and my mom went to and it basically looks the same,’” he said. “It’s part of the infrastructure of Tinley.” Hoffmeister called the filming “mass organized confusion. And it just went on seamlessly. Everybody has their part to do and they all fit together,” he said. The crew camaraderie was great, he said, because so many had worked together before on TV shows such as “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.” and “The Bear.” “The people were so nice. I didn’t know what to expect. I thought there might be a bit of an attitude being movie people, but they couldn’t have been nicer, more down to earth, more accommodating,” Hoffmeister said. The crew’s kindness continued after filming when Hearson, who plays the main character, “reached into his pocket and paid for ice cream for everyone on the crew. It was personal –— not out of funds for the movie,” Hoffmeister said. “There were 70 people, maybe more,” with many ordering the shop’s “tornado” treat. He also enjoyed the “little cheer, like a football team just won” that the crew did at the end of filming. Because it’s an independent movie, those on set Friday weren’t sure when it might be released. “We’re at the end of festival season for the year,” said executive producer Zachary Spicer, who described his role as solving problems. “Most films go a year in advance. The goal is (to present it) next fall.” Residents of Flossmoor and Homewood may see the movie crew in their communities as well. “This was our first week of filming,” said Justin Franklin, assistant location manager, who said filming started Oct. 28 and would wrap up by Thanksgiving. “On this show it’s pretty much all location, but normally we’re split between working on locations and stages.” Logistics require that Franklin reach out to villages for special permits, such as hiring a police officer for security. On Friday, the crew also worked with Zion Lutheran Church in Tinley Park, which allowed them to park crew cars and host a catered lunch. Amanda Gaus, who handles special events permits for the village, confirmed the production crew requested a police office. “It’s pretty standard in their business,” Gaus said, saying having a movie film in Tinley Park “is kind of a fun, notoriety thing.” Although Hoffmeister stayed off camera, his wife, Terri, and son Brenden were filmed as extras. “My son picked up an order and my wife sat in the crowd,” he said. “One of our employees, Emily (Castro), will definitely be in the movie having a part because she was the one handing out the product. She would hand it out to them as well as the main character and his mother.” “This is so much fun,” Terri Hoffmeister said. “We’re so excited. It’s such a great opportunity.” When Castro first heard about being on set, she didn’t believe it. “I thought he was joking at first. I was like ‘Yeah, I’ll call you from my mansion in LA,’” she said with a laugh. “But then he was serious. … I’m pretty sure he was the one who talked to the directors and told them to pick me. I’m grateful for him speaking up for me for the part. It’s exciting.” One reason for choosing the Oak Lawn resident is likely her experience at the shop, where she’s worked five summers. She made all the ice cream shown on camera with just a bit of help from a props person. “I ended up making a malt. We did mostly hard scoop ice creams and a sundae. The hardest one to make was the sundae,” Castro said. “We wanted to make one that looked like it had already been eaten, the last leg of it. I’ve never had to do that.” She said she had to keep remaking the sundaes. “They had to be the same every time if an actor was eating a little bit of it for a scene. Even the background characters were holding something or eating it. You’d have to touch it up. If it melted, you’d have to fix it or make a whole new one.” Nobody was in the shop during filming except Castro and the props worker. “He was helping me make it look the way they wanted it to look and whatever we needed for the scene,” she said. “He said he’s been doing this for 13 years, making fake food and stuff. I was asking him all kinds of questions.” She said the props person has been behind the scenes at restaurants so he knows how to make burgers and other things. “He caught on to making ice cream really quick,” she said. Castro called being on the movie set surreal. “I was surprised by how many people were there,” she said. “I was talking to people and they were saying it was a small production.” She was most surprised by the time spent waiting. “Most of the time it was just standing around waiting for them to set up the shot or a different shot or switch the lighting,” she explained. “The actors would go back and forth to get touchups and move this around or that around. I thought it was supposed to be constantly moving but it was the exact opposite of what I thought.” Castro was nervous about the filming so she didn’t tell her family until that day. “I didn’t want them to jinx it,” she joked. “I went down at 5 a.m. to tell my mom and my little brother. They were like ‘No Way?’ My mom was asking a million questions.” She’s sure everyone knew before long. “I know my mom. She’s probably told the whole family. I think they’ll all buy tickets to the theater when it comes out,” she said. “I’m so excited. I really hope so too.” Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
