Last night, at the stroke of midnight, Batman fans, action junkies and good old movie lovers filled theaters around the country to be among the first to see The Dark Knight. The movie has received rave reviews for acting and cinematography, but for Chicagoans a special pleasure is the movie’s scenery. For all of the shots of the city – from the heights of 330 N. Wabash to the depths of Lower Wacker Drive, we have Chicago-based location manager James McAllister to thank.

McAllister was the principal location manager on The Dark Knight as well as Batman Begins, and he recently joined us to talk about his work. Even though New York might seem the more obvious reference for Gotham, McAllister says Chicago was a natural choice for Dark Night director Christopher Nolan.