CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Cean Chaffin, producer of the movie "Gone Girl," said the production is extending its stay in Cape Girardeau, Mo., because he likes the small town so much.
The Ben Affleck film tells the story of a housewife, played by Rosamund Pike, who goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary, and the search for the woman that ensues.
Chaffin said the production initially planned to shoot in Cape Girardeau for only two weeks, but town turned out to the perfect setting for "Gone Girl's" fictional North Carthage, Mo., as written by the author of the original book, Gillian Flynn.
"The book is fairly specific about the kind of community where the husband [played by Affleck] lives," Chaffin said. "The fictitious town is called North Carthage, Mo., and it's on the river. There's an area of new homes where the families were hit hard by the recession and are facing foreclosure. That kind of development doesn't really exist in Cape Girardeau, but we could create it. And the downtown was perfect for the area where the husband owns a bar."
The production received tax credits from the state to film in the town, and local crews and actors were hired to take part, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday.
"It was our hope to find our fake Missouri city in Missouri itself, and the state gave us tax incentives that helped make it possible," Chaffin said. "There are good, experienced people in St. Louis, and that's a big help," she said. "If we can't find enough from St. Louis, we look as close to the shoot as we can -- Atlanta, Memphis, Chicago. Because of the competition between states, crews are used to traveling."
