Where is this $2 million coming from? Expected revenue sources for movie filming

The city of Chicago charges production companies $30 per hour per police officer. Sergeants command $35 an hour. A mounted police officer will cost a combined $80 per hour for the officer and the horse.

And a yellow barricade – just one – how much do those run? $3.50 per day. Blue barricades, seemingly fancier, are $4.50 per day.

But aside from hiring out municipal employees and street blockage, where can Chicago expect to cash in on the projected $2 million that Paramount Pictures will be dropping on the city for the filming of “Transformers 3?” Think services, lots of them.

“Money gets spread in ways specific to the industry, to the less predictable things like dry cleaning. When you have a production of that size with so many people, [you can expect they'll be] gobbling up services,” said Rich Moskal from the Chicago Film Office.

Final numbers won’t be available until after filming wraps, which may run until the end of the month.

Also in this issue…
• Hollywood does Chicago: Transformers’ visit a benefit to Chicagoans, local economy — not just about Bay and LaBeouf
• Raking it in and dishing it out: The most lucrative and expensive Chicago productions
• Chicago Loopster chats with Chicago film expert Patrick McDonald
• What’s in it for Paramount? The incentives and expenses for filming in Chicago
• Movies in Chicago: Features of the past 60 years
• What’s the buzz on “Transformers 3?″