11-Sep-16 – If approved by the city, a remake of the 1974 film Death Wish will include action filmed along the Chicago River.

Filmmakers plan to stop traffic from Franklin Street to Michigan Avenue for 10-15 minutes at time, over five hours on Saturday, October 1, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., so that a low-flying helicopter can film vehicles traveling east on Wacker Drive.

During those 10-15 minutes, all pedestrians, vehicles, and boats will be held in place, according to Maria Roxas, location manager for the film. Anyone on the Riverwalk will be allowed to remain there but, says Roxas, “they’re just not going to be able to travel back and forth on the Riverwalk. We’re just going to ask them to stand by for those minutes while the helicopter passes and then when it’s safe, let them go.”

At least one and as many as three bridges would be raised and lowered for the filming.

The plan is only preliminary and still has to be approved by various city officials and departments, as well as the United States Coast Guard. As of Friday, a filming permit had not been issued.

Michael Borgstrom, president of Chicago Harbor Safety Committee, says he has asked the Coast Guard to limit the river closures to no more than ten minutes at a time and that the Coast Guard be in charge of closing the river and not the film production company.

There have been four sequels but this is a remake of the 1974 film that starred Charles Bronson. This time, Bruce Willis stars as Paul Kersey, an architect who becomes a reluctant vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is raped. Death Wish Productions LLC will film in Chicago from September 26 to October 2.