Cape could help garner award for 'Gone Girl' location

While not for an Oscar or a Golden Globe, Cape Girardeau is in the running for another Hollywood trophy.

The Location Managers Guild of America on Thursday named Rick Schuler and Steve Mapel, location managers for "Gone Girl," among five nominees for its outstanding locations in a contemporary film award, which will be announced March 7 in Beverly Hills, California.

Other films in the running are "Chef," "Nightcrawler," "The Gambler" and "Wild."

Spectators watch from the Common Pleas Courthouse as extras rehearse before filming a scene for the 20th Century Fox feature film "Gone Girl," Friday, Sept. 27, in downtown Cape Girardeau. Directed by David Fincher and staring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike the film is expected to be filming in the Cape Girardeau area for several weeks. (Adam Vogler)

Established in 2005, the Location Managers Guild is an organization whose members research and scout locations for film, television, commercials, music videos and print advertising and manage location shooting -- including security, possible street closures, filming permits and the like.

Chuck Martin, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, remembers Schuler and Mapel.

"Steve [Mapel] probably met more people and dealt with more people in Cape Girardeau than our local citizens do," Martin said, recalling the initial call to him from the Missouri Film Commission was almost two years ago, in March 2013, informing him the principals of a major motion picture were scouting three Missouri towns -- Hannibal, St. Louis and Cape Girardeau.

While Mapel was on the ground when Cape Girardeau was selected, it was Schuler who made the initial half-day scouting trip to Cape.

"On Rick's initial site visit, there were myriad places we went. They didn't have a list, exactly. They wanted to see places that could serve as the primary house, the father's house, the sister's house. They knew in their heads what they were looking for. We scouted different neighborhoods," Martin said.

As an example, Martin explained the crew wanted a location for the scene in which Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck, returns his father, Bill, played by Leonard Kelly-Young, to a nursing home. The site selected was the Saint Francis Immediate Convenient Care Center at 1702 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

Rosamund Pike has been nominated for an Academy Award for best performance as an actress in a leading role for her portrayal of Amy Elliott Dunne, whose disappearance sparks the film's plot. The Oscars will be awarded Feb. 22.

A list of the film's nominations and awards is available at imdb.com/title/tt2267998/awards.

nhadler@semissourian.com

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