A Little Taste Of Hollywood In This Smaller Illinois City

Chicago is a big hub for filming but did you know there is a smaller city in Illinois that has their own little version of Hollywood?

Rockford Is Home To A Professional Sound Stage For Filming

I'm one of those people that actually thinks positively about Rockford. I believe it's a good place to live. There are already many great things about our city but there's also a lot of potential for more. The future is bright for the Forest City.

READ MORE: 3 Popular Movies Filmed In Illinois But Not Chicago

I love finding out new facts, discovering new places, and meeting new people in the area. Sometimes our city gets a bad rap but I don't believe it's always deserving. I'm a big fan of going somewhere and thinking "Wow, I don't feel like I'm in Rockford anymore." That means our community is changing for the better.

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A few weeks ago, I got a call from Dan Block the owner of Insurance King. He was filming some new commercials for his business. He brought in Todd Bridges (Different Strokes) and Stacy Dash (Clueless) to star in them. He invited me down to check it out.

What I didn't realize is that Rockford has its very own professional sound stage for filming like you would find in Chicago or even Hollywood. The place was amazing and blew my mind. Up to this point, the only places available were TV stations.

Since Rockford is a much more affordable and manageable city than Chicago, here is another business with great potential. I can see more producers making their way to the Forest City.

City Stage Studios

Check out my interview with Todd Bridges from that day.