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Rich Moskal, director of the Chicago Film Office, talks about plans for closing city streets and landmarks for the filming of “Transformers 3."


“Transformers 3” — the sci-fi action thriller filming in Chicago this summer — will pump $20 million into the local economy and create 200 jobs.
It's also going to create a lot of traffic, because crews will be filming in the streets.
OEMC Executive Director Jose Santiago said the closures on LaSalle Street (8 p.m. July 9 to 5 a.m. July 12), the Michigan Avenue bridge (8 p.m. July 16 to 5 a.m. July 19) and Upper Wacker Drive (9 p.m. July 18 to 5 a.m. July 22) will have the most impact on traffic. He added that most of the movie's filming in Chicago will take place during daylight.
“It's an ambitious production … but we and the producers are committed to mitigating the disruptions and addressing community concerns,” said Chicago Film Office Director Rich Moskal.


Little is known about the film's plot, but USA Today reports it will involve the Transformers' role in the space race between the U.S. and Russia. Bay, who considered shooting scenes from the original “Transformers” in Chicago before settling on Detroit, told USA Today the storyline will wrap up the trilogy.
"Transformers 3" is expected to open in 2011.

New York veterinarian Cindy Bressler sued Mariah Carey today in Manhattan state court for $30,000, the Associated Press reports. Bressler claims the pop star hasn't paid for the services rendered for three of her beloved dogs, Cha-Cha, Dolomite and JJ.
Bressler provided "extraordinary services" for the Jack Russell terriers — Cha-Cha, Dolomite and JJ — but the Grammy Award-winning singer paid only about $8,200 of the roughly $37,800 in charges, the lawsuit says. The bills cover a little more than a month of care.


Micheal C. Posner, Bressler's lawyer, wouldn't elaborate on the dog treatments.
Carey's spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to telephone and e-mail messages.
The pop diva has made her dogs something of characters in her multiplatinum-selling career, including in some comic video sketches made as part of an MTV.com promotion and posted on YouTube. In one, she and JJ compare the fit of their jeans: "I told you those `fat-free' dog treats weren't fat-free," she scolds.
She also regularly chronicles her dogs' doings on her Twitter feed, from Cha-Cha urinating on her dressing room floor and jumping on her last September to Dolomite stealing her underwear out of a suitcase while she was vacationing in March.

People magazine reports that former American Idol contestant, Kellie Pickler, is engaged.
For Kellie Pickler, June 15 has long been "sad and hard for me," as it is the birthday of her late grandmother, Faye Pickler.
But the traditional sadness of the day turned to happiness last week, when Pickler's boyfriend, songwriter Kyle Jacobs, proposed on a Florida beach at sunset.
“It turned out to be the most amazing day of my life. My whole world changed. We both feel like we got my grandmother’s blessing.”


Pickler considers Jacobs's proposal a moment she hardly could have imagined. "I remember saying to Kyle, 'Baby it's like I'm dreaming -- but if this isn't real, I'm going to be very upset!' "
Jacobs meticulously planned the proposal, arranging a blanket, champagne and candles to be waiting as they strolled on the beach. "Afterward, we just held each other and had the most beautiful prayer," Jacobs says. "We had a little champagne and talked and laughed and cried."
The couple met through friends about 2 1/2 years ago, and Pickler, who was raised by her grandmother after her mother left and her father went to jail, says she learned how to have a healthy relationship from her new fiancé.
"We're all just happy for each other," Pickler says. "I'm sure we'll be having some girl talk and we'll share ideas. We just keep joking about how there must be something in the water!"
The couple has yet to set the date for the ceremony.