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SXSW 2011 Opener 'Source Code' Set and Shot in Chicago

Previously, Director Duncan Jones explored the moon with Sam Rockwell in 2009's appropriately titled independent hit Moon. Now, Jones (son of David Bowie) has brought his science-fiction imagination to a location that holds its own beauty and mystery, Chicago. His latest film, Source Code, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Famiga and Jeffrey Wright, was shot in and around the Windy City. Not only does it feature shots of Chicago's skyline, but it also features shots of the city's unsung hero, the Metra line. For all of you midwesterners, be sure to look out for the Downer's Grove, Skokie, LaGrange, LaGrange Park and Orland Park Metra stops when you catch Source Code when it opens on Friday, April 1st.

And for all of you that have visited Chicago before - yes, there's also a shot from inside the city's curious tourist attraction, the Bean.

Source Code will be opening the 25th annual South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas tonight.

Here's the trailer for Source Code:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKcDnd9PFE0

And here's an extensive plot description for Source Code:

A helicopter pilot recruited for a top-secret military operation finds himself on a startlingly different kind of mission in Source Code, a smart, fast-paced action thriller that challenges our assumptions about time and space. Filled with mind-boggling twists and heart-pounding suspense, Source Code is directed by Duncan Jones (Moon).

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) awakens on a speeding commuter train with no idea how he got there. Seated across from him is Christina (Michelle Monaghan), a woman he doesn't know, but who clearly believes she knows him. Seeking refuge in the bathroom, he's shocked to see another man's reflection in the mirror and ID cards in his wallet belonging to schoolteacher Sean Fentress. Suddenly a massive explosion rips through the train.

Almost instantly, Colter is transported to a high-tech isolation unit where a uniformed woman named Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) demands to know everything he saw. Colter has been on a high-priority mission to identify a bomber who destroyed a train just hours earlier and who plans to kill thousands more with a much larger explosion in the heart of Chicago. A top-secret program, codenamed Source Code, allows Colter to exist briefly as Sean in the parallel reality of the doomed commuter train.

Each time he returns to the train, Colter has just eight minutes to uncover the bomber's identity. He gathers new bits of evidence each time, but his quarry eludes him. The more he learns, the more convinced he becomes that he can prevent the deadly blast from ever happening—unless time runs out first.

Source Code is directed by Duncan Jones (Moon) from a screenplay by Ben Ripley (Species III). It stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Brothers, Brokeback Mountain), Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye, Gone Baby Gone), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Departed) and Jeffrey Wright (Quantum of Solace, Syriana). Producers are Mark Morgan (Twilight, The Wedding Planner), Philippe Rousselet (Lord of War) and Jordan Wynn. Director of photography is Don Burgess (Forrest Gump). Production designer is Barry Chusid (2012). Editor is Paul Hirsch (Mission: Impossible). Costume designer is Renée April. Co-producers are Stuart Fenegan (Moon) and Tracy Underwood (White Oleander). Executive producers are Jeb Brody (Little Miss Sunshine), Fabrice Gianfermi (Lord of War) and Hawk Koch (Untraceable).