Steven Soderbergh, Matt Damon Film in Wilmette

Warner Bros' global action-thriller Contagion  literally will hit home this year. The cast and crew arrive in Wilmette to film at three locations in November and December.

The village is one of a slew of sites in the Chicago area that will host the latest project by Oscar-winning film director Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Ocean's 11). The cast includes Academy Award winners Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard, plus nominees Jude Law and Laurence Fishburne.

Set for release in October 2011, the film traces the rapid progress around the world of a lethal airborne virus and explores the ways different groups of people respond to the worldwide pandemic.

At center stage is an international team of experts, contracted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), manages the epidemic and controls the ensuing panic. Most of all, the narrative highlights ordinary people as they struggle for survival in a chaotic society.

Location, location, location

Filming will take place in Wilmette at the  on 910 Central Ave. on Nov. 23 and  Nov. 29; in a single-family house on 614 Greenleaf Ave. on Nov. 24,  and at the Wm H. Scott Funeral Home on 1100 Greenleaf Ave. on Dec. 9, according to Lisa Roberts, assistant director of community development at the village.

Spooky Stevens, the film's spokeswoman, could not give details about why Wilmette was chosen for filming but said that the location scouts look for places that match the sites in the script.

"[The location scout] takes pictures of various places … and then shows them to the director, they whittle them down ... then the director goes and decides which sites he wants. It's a long process," Stevens said.

She could not say which actors would be in Wilmette, nor in which specific scenes they would participate. Stevens also could not confirm reports that the 7-year old Chicago boy who has been cast for the film is from Wilmette.

From Chicago to Hong Kong

And while the village is awaiting its turn, filming in other parts of Chicago is already well underway. Parts of Glenview, Waukegan, the historic South Shore Cultural Center in South Lakefront and a vareity of places in Chicago proper all host scenes of the movie. The crew will be in Chicagoland through Dec. 15 before moving to Atlanta, London, Geneva and Dubai. Prior to Chicago, it filmed in Hong Kong, Stevens said.

Although the global action-thriller may not have a long-term impact on Wilmette's 27,000 residents, it is stirring excitement among neighbors willing to take part in the filming process, Roberts said.

"It gets the village's name out there," she added. "Generally, there's probably not a big economic driver. It might be of interest to people after the fact, if the film is successful, but it's more of a fun thing to have, which happens periodically here."

"People think it's exciting. They would love to see what's going on, and kids love to see film stars," said Shelagh Donoghue, communications manager at the Wilmette Park District.

The Park District will provide the parking lot on  to the film crew Monday. With most of the filming slated to take place during Thanksgiving break when school is out, Donoghue does not expect the crew to disturb normal community life.

Cmdr. Patrick Collins of the Wilmette Police Department also expects a routine shoot, as the police plan to control traffic during filming,

"It really depends on the movie," he said. "In the past we had a movie that had a big train scene in it. This one doesn't seem to require serious traffic rerouting."

Contagion is being produced by Stacey Sher, Gregory Jacobs and North Shore native Michael Shamberg.

Timeline of film sights around town

Friday:  Set-up at the Central Elementary School on 910 Central Ave.
Monday:  Set-up at the Central School and a single-family home on 614 Greenleaf Ave.
Tuesday:. Filming at the Central School and prep-up at the Greenleaf house
Wednesday: 24  Filming at the Greenleaf house
Nov. 29:  Filming at the Central School and cleaning up at the Greenleaf house
Dec. 8:  Setting up at the Wm H. Scott Funeral Home on 1100 Greenleaf Ave.
Dec. 9:  Filming at the Scott Funeral Home
Dec. 10:  Cleaning up at the Scott Funeral Home

Check out a list of Wilmette's other silver screen appearances.