Photo: What a coincidence – the UNITRIN sign is blue and has letters U and N

24-Jul-10 – (Above) Debris is now piled on Wacker Drive between State Street and Wabash Avenue. Saturday’s exterior filming for Transformers 3 was canceled due to rain. Instead, scenes will be shot inside 35 East Wacker Drive, also known as the Jewelers’ Building. Mostly sunny skies are forecast for Sunday and should coax filmmakers back outside. (Click on image to view larger version.)

Filming on Sunday is scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Chicago Office of Emergency Management says to expect explosions, fireballs, smoke, and simulated gunfire, supervised by the Chicago Fire Department and Chicago Police Department. An aerial photography unit will be flying near the Chicago River and a helicopter will lift camera equipment to the rooftop of 35 East Wacker Drive.

Wacker Drive – and Wabash between Wacker and Lake Street – will re-open Monday at 5 a.m.

In a letter to property owners and merchants, location managers for the film say they are looking forward to showcasing Chicago on movie screens around the world. “The presence of a film production this size,” reads the July 14 letter from Al Cohn and Nick Rafferty, “brings a significant economic benefit to the area. In addition [to] the money spent during production, locations featured in the previous Transformers movies have reported a measurable increase in tourism directly attributable to their appearance on the big screen.”