By Judy Carmack Bross
Location Scout Taylor White
What would you say to a very nice person who rang your doorbell and asked if you would like to be in the movies?
(More specifically if your house would like to be in a Netflix movie).
Who could say no to Taylor White, a Location Scout and Manager for director Greg Kwedar’s Saturn Return, starring Highland Park’s Rachel Broshahan, Charles Melton and Will Poulter and produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B, shot in spots around Chicago in October? Being a lifelong movie groupie—picture Lucy and Ethel in Hollywood as they climbed a wall to pick a grapefruit from the tree of a favorite star—I said yes.
A month later and still starry eyed, I asked Taylor, now a close friend, to tell me all about his job. His combination of graciousness as well as his knowledge of what making movies all over Chicago entails makes him perfect for a job that finds ordinary people suddenly and delightfully part of the movie world including for this one frat house boys and administrators at the University of Chicago and myself. We sat down over lunch between his work on scouting for Deli Boys, the comedy series streaming now on Hulu.
“Rule Number One, never show your director something that isn’t available,” White, a Chicagoan and a maker of short films, said. “You don’t want the director driving down some street if you haven’t been able to vet it first.”
To make sure this doesn’t happen, White receives the script months before shooting and meets early on with the head of the firm’s art department, the showrunner and the director and writer if possible.
“The script lets you know what mood they are seeking. Because I am a film maker I have a director’s eye. You really have to be able to ‘see it’ in your mind before the filming starts. With some directors there are eccentricities and what is wanted keeps changing. Greg Kwedar has such clear vision.”
I would observe that Kwedar, award-winning director of Sing Sing and screenplay co-author of Train Dreams, considered by many to be one of the top ten movies of 2025, would start off each day of filming with a poem, meditation or reading from a favorite book. “Greg is a real artist. Before shooting he explains how this passage relates to the theme of the shooting for the day,” White said.
White really knows Chicago and wants to promote it. For Saturn Return, a romance about former college students who meet again, a fraternity house and academic halls at the University of Chicago were used and filming was also done at the Adler Planetarium, a favorite location for White who has filmed there three times. “Jennifer Howell who is their Head of Public Relations is tremendous. They are more hooked on these projects and understand the logistics.” White said.
“Chicago is an enchanting place to film. Los Angeles and New York are purely business, but people here are still excited to see a movie set,” White said.
“You have to know exactly what’s available at each location and have nearby support for all the trucks and vans that need parking, heavy equipment that needs to be placed, where food can be served for cast and crew. This job is not for someone who can’t work well under pressure. Flexibility has to be there, you have to know what streets can be shut down. Budgets vary enormously. Once the budget is set my ceilings are clear. But early on I have to gage what the ceiling is.”
People whose houses or offices have been used in movies most often say that things look even better after shooting. Personal schedules dictate if people are willing to consider lending their locations and sometimes you see a real level of enthusiasm, White says. Following a shoot he follows up with owners to make sure no problems occurred.
White never waivers in this goal: “I love my people, and I want to leave it exactly as it was when they come back.” When filming on a residential street he visits all neighbors to acquaint them with shooting details and arrange alternative parking if necessary. White and his team supervise the surrounding area during actual filming, and he finds that most neighbors are shy about getting close to the stars. “Unfortunately, we don’t allow filming photos, and we sometimes have to ask people to delete them from their phones,” he said.
“Sometimes the mood has to be dark and scary. I have scouted in some pretty sketchy neighborhoods but the gangbangers who loved that ‘Shameless’ was filmed there came to know me,” White said.
White, who has navigated the red tape and rules of filming at City Hall, says there is an Ashland Avenue building that can serve as many different things including police or train stations when another location cannot be found. He loves filming in his own Pilsen neighborhood — “very eclectic with many layers, colors and lots of action.”
Taylor White on location.
“Joliet loves to host. There is a real history there, they are used to dealing with budgets, and Lockport is a beautiful place to film.
White began his film career as a Production Assistant. While at the University of Colorado a friend of his who knew Repo Man director Alex Cox said he might be able to get White a job on a western he was filming in Tucson. “I said I would work for free, pay for my lodging, anything. All of a sudden, I was riding around on a horse with my walkie talkie in the middle of the desert.”
Growing up in Evanston White was influenced by his father’s love of westerns. “His favorite was ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and I loved There Will Be Blood. “Tarantino also speaks to me,” White said. “They say you should never meet your heroes, but meeting P.T. Anderson or Tarantino would be great bragging rights.”
To White, finding memorable and unique locations for films is truly an art form, and for every new project, he gets to start with a blank canvas. White hopes that with Saturn Return, he’ll truly be painting his masterpiece.
