Filming along Chicago River this week for <I>Divergent</I>

Filming along Chicago River this week for Divergent

(Above) From her balcony at Marina City, Holly Lipschultz caught this image of filming over the weekend on Wacker Drive. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

July 9, 2013 – The Lake Street Bridge in the northwest corner of the Loop will be the setting for one of three science fiction films being shot in Chicago this summer. The bridge will be closed from 8 p.m. on Friday to 7 a.m. on Saturday for filming of Divergent, a film about a futuristic society divided into factions.

Expect that corner of the Loop to be at least partially closed from Friday morning to Saturday evening. The area includes Wacker Drive from Franklin Street north to Randolph Street and Lake Street from LaSalle Street west to Wacker Drive.

Over the weekend, scenes were shot on Wacker Drive just west of Michigan Avenue – and at 401 North Michigan Avenue. Filmmakers moved to the LaSalle Street Bridge on Monday.

Reel Chicago is reporting that the film will wrap on July 17.

According to Internet Movie Database, Divergent is set in a “futuristic dystopia” where society is divided into five factions, each representing a different virtue. At age 16, members of the society must decide between staying in their faction or moving to another for the rest of their lives.

The film’s cast includes Kate Winslet and Ashley Judd. It is scheduled for release on March 21, 2014.

Also being filmed in Chicago is Jupiter Ascending. Written, produced, and directed by Chicago natives Andrew and Lana Wachowski, Jupiter Ascending officially starts filming on July 13 at many locations around the city.

Transformers 4 is still filming in Michigan but is expected to move to Chicago on August 4 for about two months.

(Above) This photo was posted on film director Michael Bay’s website on June 11. It shows a billboard on a movie location in Texas where the new Transformers sequel was being filmed. Against a Chicago skyline that includes John Hancock Center at right, it urges people to “report alien activity.” The telephone number works but goes to someone’s voicemail.