A major motion picture has been filming close to home here in central Illinois the past three weeks. Matt Damon stars as FBI informant Marc Whitacre in director Steven Soderburgh's movie entitled, The Informant.

The majority of the filming has been in Decatur, Illinois, and in several nearby smaller communities. Last Friday, I paid a visit to the set in Moweaqua, one of those small communities. They were shooting scenes in the former home of Matt Damon's character. While we were treated to three different Matt sightings, he opted not to stop for our group of about thirty fans.

As evening arrived and the crew began to wrap, I overhead a conversation that the director was wanting to shoot an outdoor scene back in Decatur. We weren't sure of the location, so we opted to return to the movie's base hotel, The Decatur Conference Center and Inn. Much to my delight, I discovered they planned to shoot in the parking lot. As the group of on-lookers grew to about sixty, Damon and his co-stars, Scott Bakula and Joel McHale shot several scenes near the hotel's marquee. It was interesting to see the director call for take after take after take after take...all just a bit different.

While Matt promised to sign for fans following the late night shoot, he made a quick exit via a transport vehicle to his dressing room trailer at the back of the facility. However, Bakula and McHale casually strolled through the parking lot, through the hotel, and out the back door to their trailers. I caught up with Bakula inside and he gladly stopped to sign an 8 x 10 and pose. I then found McHale outside engaging a large group of fans. He spent at least 10 minutes signing autograph, posing for photographs, and trading one-liners with fans. In the meantime, Damon entered and exited two different trailers before hopping a ride to a side door at the hotel. Security kept fans back at a distance so they wouldn't bother Matt.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon at the Illini Country Club in Springfield. Matt and his co-stars were set to shoot indoor scenes at the private club. I found a spot in the parking lot to assess my chances. No sooner than I had settled in, but Matt drove by eating a bag of Doritos on the way to the front door of the club. I opted to remain in the background and wait for him to finish shooting.

About an hour later, I was rewarded with this shot as he exited. I called to him and asked if he'd sign. "Sure, come on over," was his reply. He signed a photograph of the two of us taken in 2007 on the set of the Bourne Ultimatum in New York City. I don't think he remembered, but he smiled nonetheless as he added his signature to the 8 x 10. He also signed my Good Will Hunting DVD cover (previously signed by Robin Williams), and a group shot from Ocean's 12. He driver asked if he wanted a ride back to his trailer. His response, "No, it's a nice day. I'll walk." With that, he strolled across the parking lot back to his dressing room trailer in the Club's lower parking lot.

I waited another couple of hours for a chance to meet Soderburgh, but he remained inside the Club working on the shots for later that evening.

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee was one of the featured guests at the Saturday session of the 10th Annual Roger Ebert Film Festival in downtown Champaign, Illinois. Lee, a 1980 University of Illinois graduate, was in attendance for a screening and Q and A of his 2003 film, Hulk.

Just as I was pulling into the parking lot, I spotted Lee walking up the street towards the historic Virginia Theater, home to the Festival. Unfortunately, by the time I got the car parked and ran inside, he was being whisked away to the VIP room to prepare for the screening.

Following the screening and a very interesting Q and A session, Lee took a seat at the edge of the stage to sign autographs, take photographs, and meet fans. He stayed about 10 minutes before being pulled away in anticipation of his plane trip back home to New York. In that time, I managed to get a signed 8 x 10 and the photo above. I got another signed photograph as he exited the theater to catch his ride to the airport.

While waiting for the evening feature film to start, I got to visit again with actor Joe Pantiliano. "Joey Pants" had been in town for the entire festival, including a screening of his film, Canvas, on Thursday night. He gladly signed a photo I had taken with him on Thursday, commenting on how much he looked like his cousin, Kelly.

Saturday evening's feature was the 1987 film, Housekeeping, starring actress Christine Lahti. Lahti and the movie's director, Bill Forsyth, both stopped to take photos and to sign my Housekeeping movie poster as they entered the theater. Lahti, probably best remembered for her Emmy-winning role on Chicago Hope, was especially interested in seeing the poster and asked where I had located the piece.

This past Thursday, during the Festival's second day, I got photographs and signatures from two English actors, Timothy Spall and Rufus Sewell. Both were at the Festival for a screening of their 1996 film, Hamlet. Spall is best known for his role as Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films.

Time to catch up from last week . . . this past Friday, I had the pleasure of meeting two-time Grammy winner Rita Coolidge. She was in concert at the Argosy Casino in Alton, Illinois for two weekend shows. She gladly posed for this photograph upon arrival at the venue and signed my CD and a couple of 8 x 10s. As an added bonus, I got to see the show for FREE thanks to another fan who had an extra ticket. The only disappointment from the show . . . she omitted one of her most popular hits, "All Time High," from the soundtrack of the James Bond movie "Octopussy."

The Golden Jet, Bobby Hull, flew into Springfield, Illinois, earlier today for an appearance at the last home game of the Springfield Jr. Hockey Blues at the Nelson Center. Regarded as one of professional hockey's greatest players, the Hall of Famer entered the lobby of the ice rink by demonstrating the "right way to skate." Sporting his 1961 Chicago Blackhawks championship ring and a Hawks leather jacket, he quickly became fast friends with folks waiting in line with hearty handshakes and posing for photographs. Once his table of merchandise was set-up, he sat down and began signing. Each person was required to purchase one item ($10 postcards, $20 and $30 8 x 10s of very poor quality, ie. no glossies, $20 pucks, $100 replica sticks) and Bobby would sign that item and however many additional items you brought. I got Hull to sign a postcard and then he gladly added his signature, complete with his uniform number and The Golden Jet inscription, to my hockey stick that I brought.

Here's John McCain, your Republican nominee for President of the United States. This photo was taken on April 13, 2007, at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois, during a Republican Day event.

Time for a little catch-up tonight after enjoying a beautiful, sunny 70 degree day here in Jacksonville.

Last week in St. Louis, it was a two-for-two night, highlighted by author Salman Rushdie. Rushdie was making an appearance at Maryville University's St. Louis Speaker Series. Salman Rushdie was condemned to death by the former Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on February 14, 1989, after publishing Satanic Verses. He was late in arriving and took time to only sign before entering the Powell Symphony Hall venue. Following his presentation and a reception, he emerged two and a half hours later. Rushdie was surprised to see me still there and gladly took a minute to exchange greetings and pose for this photograph.

Earlier in the evening, I visited Vintage Vinyl for an in-store signing by the band, Angels and Airwaves. Here a photograph with the elusive Tom Delonge, former front man for the band Blink-182. And, here's a shot with Atom and Matt, and if you look closely, you'll notice the rabbit ears Atom is applying to Matt. They all got a kick from seeing my friend, Mark's, photographs he had taken at the David Letterman show in 2006.

In-store signings are a great way to meet a band/celebrity, but lots of times obtaining that great shot is next to impossible because you have to lean in, lean over, bend backwards, etc. (see above) to get yourself into position.

Last night in St. Louis it was three-for-three highlighted by an exciting encounter with socialite Paris Hilton as she arrived at Lambert St. Louis International Airport from Los Angeles. She was originally scheduled to arrive at 5:20 p.m., but inclement weather in St. Louis delayed her flight until 6:50 p.m. Paris and her bodyguard were some of the first people off the plane. Dressed in all black with a hood and sunglasses, she was barely recognizable as she came off the plane. Although talking on her cell phone, she took time to sign autographs and pose for photographs for myself and about ten other collectors as she walked to the baggage claim area. It was quite the scene as we followed her. It had lots of other passengers wondering what was happening and the identity of the celebrity. As Paris came to the baggage claim area, her bodyguard led her outside to the parking garage and her SUV. By the time she approached the car, she had ended her telephone conversion and continued to sign autographs and take photographs. She even signed an old Time magazine, featuring her grandfather, Conrad Hilton, on the cover, for my friend, Jay. Paris was more than generous with the autographs, signing three for me and as many as six for another collector.

Here's another shot with Paris as we were walking through the airport. The hand on her shoulder was the bodyguard. He kept a hand on her the entire time walking through the airport before relaxing in the parking garage. The shot above was taken by the car. By the way, Paris was in St. Louis to promote her new fragrance, Can Can, at the South County Mall today. $150 would have gotten you the opportunity to meet her and get a signed photo.

Next, we hit the interstate for Laclede's Landing and the Laugh Factory. Actor, comedian, and former Saturday Night Live star Tracy Morgan was appearing there this weekend. We only had to wait about 15 minutes before he rolled up in a Lincoln town car. As he opened the door, we couldn't help but smell the aroma of a wonderful herbal cigarette that he'd been enjoying on the ride to the comedy club. Tracy was very nice and stopped to sign a photograph and take this picture. We also pointed out to him that the name of the street on which the club was located is Morgan Street and the pub across the street was the Morgan Street Brewery (see the sign in the background). He thought that was "cool."

Earlier in the afternoon, we stopped by the Holiday Inn in Alton to get an autograph and photo with comedian Emo Phillips as he departed for his show at the Argosy Alton Casino. Emo was the executive producer of the movie Meet the Parents and also starred in the Weird Al/Michael Richards movie UHF. What a silly guy! The inscription on my autograph: "To Kevin: My 18th favorite mammal of all time. Love...Emo."