While spring has all but passed for the quaint Chicago suburb, the Christmas season is still a symbol of one of the city’s most familiar.
Although the month of April has started and the temperature has reached close to 50 degrees the excitement of filming for the new movie Christmas is in full swing.
“My Grown Up Christmas Wish” was filmed in Long Grove’s Historic Downtown and produced and cast by “Mario Lopez.”
According to recent updates, Lopez spent a lot of time with his wife Courtney and son Nico over the past few weeks while shooting the Christmas movie My Grown-Up Christmas Wish in Illinois.
In the upcoming movie, Lopez plays Brian Ortega, the beloved mayor of “the idyllic community of Long Grove.”
The movie is described as “While decorating for Christmas with the residents, Brian discovers his childhood Christmas wish list, which magically begins to come true, reminding Brian about the spirit and joy of the holiday.”
The description continued, “And soon a connection becomes undeniable.” Nina befriends the mayor upon returning to town for Christmas.
The film’s commentary is “As Brian’s wishes come true, he inspires the town to showcase its warm culture and values while preventing the modern world from suppressing the charm and heart of Long Grove.”
“We love the town,” Mario Lopez said. “Everyone is awesome here and has embraced us. It’s the perfect, quaint, charming holiday town.”
This is the fourth-holiday movie of the last four years, as reported by The Local.
The other three previous films were filmed in Mundelein, for which the filmmakers are already familiar with the area.
However, this time, producers from the Great American Media Company signed with Mario Lopez in February and decided to film the village after scouting locations throughout the country.
Most of the local businesses, including the Vintage Charm Homestead, have also been involved in movie production, which has also boosted the economic status of the village.
Gina Andas, owner of Vintage Charm Homestead, said, “It’s that small-town feel. It’s charming. It has that historic look to it. It feels like a community.”
He further said, “It’s surreal. But it’s also just been a great experience. It’s been bonding for the different merchants around town.”
The film also features the city’s iconic Sock Monkey Museum, which holds the Guinness World Record for housing the largest collection of vintage toys.
The museum co-owner also said, “Once they walked through that door, they saw the magic of this place, and they said, ‘ Let’s write it into the script. ‘ And they did.
How Mario Lopez loves experiencing the strange weather in Long Grove
Mario Lopez posted a video of the Chicago weather on social media earlier this month, explaining that the weather was perfect for filming.
Saying, “Look at it,” and adding, “It’s snowing in April. It’s nice. Great for a Christmas movie.” with the caption, “This Chicago snow just made this movie officially a Christmas movie!”
Recently, Chicago Today’s new channel went on the filming set and collected much information about the film.
While the journalist asked Mario Lopez about the recent Instagram post, “I know you are experiencing strange weather.”
The actor responded, “The people are so nice, and they really embraced us. It’s really like a love letter to the town and the city of Long Grove.”
He added, “I must say, all family and community and don’t forget where you come from, and that’s important to what our story is about, and to be able to do it with my wife and son has been a surreal experience.”
Lopez also stated “We’ve experienced every season here. Snow, it’s been hot, all in one day. It’s been wild,”
He added “I got to take my son to Wrigley Field, which was really cool”
My Grown-Up Christmas Wish is scheduled to be released in November 2024.