Summer of Superman: Smallville Pumping Up Plano

In a matter of weeks, Marlene Kee will be at the center of the Smallville set for the new Superman movie partially filming in Plano.

The front of her shop, The Office Works, will be included in the movie set.

Crews associated with the movie, , descended on the town of 10,850 in early May. They reinvigorated the downtown, cosmetically and economically, said Kee, who also chairs the local chamber of commerce's board of directors.

"It's been a real boost in the economy," Kee said. "There's not an empty building around here."

Thursday afternoon crews continued work on facades for buildings along Main Street west of Center Street. A sign on the main entrance for Heads and Tails Bar announced reduced hours in light of the movie construction and reduced customer parking, while a large American flag had been painted on the side of the building.

The flag will stay long after all the movie crews leave - likely in October, Kee said. She said she considers it an improvement.

"There used to be a billboard there [advertising beer,]" she said. "We all hated it."

Plano is slated to depict Smallville, the boyhood home of Superman, with other scenes being shot in downtown Chicago in September, the Huffington Post reported last month. The Beacon-News reported Thursday that an office building on Aurora's East Side is being used to coordinate shoots throughout the Chicago area.

Representatives but, as of Wednesday, had not submitted it, said Yorkville City Administrator Bart Olson.

The movie itself is expected to explore Superman's origins, with Julia Ormond playing Superman's Krypton birth mother Lara Lor-Van and Russell Crowe depicting his Krypton birth father Jor-El, according to Huffington Post. The director is Zach Snyder, while Henry Cavill will assume the role of the title character, Huffington Post reports.

Kee expects shooting in Plano will being mid-August.

Editor's note: Patch will regularly feature local tidbits, trivia and filming news in this "Summer of Superman" column. Next week, we will highlight ways the Man of Steel has already popped up around town, but we also would like to feature area residents who will be working as extras. If you are going to be an extra and are interested in being interviewed, please e-mail jillian.duchnowski@patch.com.