“Gone Girl” goes Local in Saint Louis

St. Louisans who went to see the movie “Gone Girl” starring Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne may have noticed several shots of the media vans parked in front of Dunne’s house.  Prominent among them was the Fox2/KPLR 11 van (all of the vans represented real local stations).

So how did that happen?  According to Channel 2 spokesperson Suzi Mahe, a member of director David Fincher’s crew called the stations vice president of news Audrey Prywitch to ask permission to use the station logos in the film, set mostly in the Cape Girardeau area.  As they talked, Prywitch, who loved the book, asked if they could do more. The crew member told her a live truck would be great.  After checking with station general manager Spencer Koch and the engineering department, she discovered they had a disabled microwave truck being taken out of service.  The film’s transportation division got the van to the Cape Girardeau area.  “No money changed hands—-it was just good promotion.” said Mahe.  Indeed it was.