BY MORGAN ROSCOW
Contributing Writer
St. Louis will possibly be the host of a new, upcoming thriller, A Fall from Grace. According to Fox 2 News, the movie, directed by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, is a suspense thriller about a St. Louis homicide detective who is put on a case dealing with a serial killer who kills and disposes the bodies of girls near the Chain of Rocks Bridge, while dealing with his own demons. The film is said to start filming in St. Louis this fall/winter, but for now it’s being filmed primarily in Louisiana.
Interviewed by St. Louis Magazine’s Andrew Wyatt, Jennifer Lynch, the co-writer, producer and director of the film, said that the production team is waiting for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and the St. Louis Film Commission to give them a tax credit to film in the city. Lynch said in she wants to film in St. Louis because not only is the movie set in the city, but she loves St. Louis, and says that “you guys have everything: the bridges, the farmland, the city, the wealth, the poverty, the old, the new. I was awestruck.” The movie is said to star David Lynch (The Cleveland Show), Tim Roth (Lie to Me), and French Stewart (3rd Rock from the Sun). The film is said to be released next year.
The city of St. Louis will not be used as a primary film location, which is a shame, since the city has so much potential and needs to be able to show both its beauty and its scary side.
Before this film, according to the Missouri Film Office, five movies that have been credited for being either fully or partially filmed in St. Louis. At least two in the list of eight below were filmed in areas other than the airport, and four completely in Missouri. Let’s hope the production team of A Fall from Grace can receive permission to film in St. Louis.
- Escape from New York (1981): This movie was filmed in Union Station, parts of downtown near the city museum, St. Louis Masonic Temple on Lindell and the Chain of Rocks Bridge (that’s ironic). Screenplay by John Carpenter.
- National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983): Part of the film was filmed in East St. Louis, but the only actual shots of St. Louis are of the exterior shots. Screenplay by John Hughes.
- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987): The airport that was used in the movie is St. Louis International Airport. Screenplay by John Hughes.
- King of the Hill (1993): The entirety of the movie is filmed and set in St. Louis, and shows life in the Midwest during the Great Depression. Screenplay by Steven Soderbergh.
- Up in the Air (2009): The St. Louis International Airport was in the movie, but Affton High School was also in the movie – it was used as Ryan Bingham’s (George Clooney’s character) high school. Novel by Walter Kirn. Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner.
- Meet Bill (2007): Filmed entirely in St. Albans, MO, (which is about 50 minutes west of St. Louis0 and at the St. Louis Galleria. Screenplay by Melisa Wallack.
- Gone Girl (2013): Filmed in Cape Girardeau, MO, Thebes Boat Ramp, IL, and in Giant City State Park Lodge, IL. Novel and screenplay written by Gillian Flynn.
- Winter’s Bone (2009): Filmed primarily in Forsyth, Taney County, Branson, and Christian County MO. Novel written by Daniel Woodrell, and screenplay by Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini.
