Action! Film crew filming at The Rink at Pine Creek, Dixon and Oregon – Shaw Local

OREGON — If you’ve noticed an orange compact car with a broken right headlight and Texas license plate floating around Oregon and Dixon, don’t worry — it’s just Dahlia, part of a new road trip movie being filmed in the area.

Be Right Back is an independent feature film about two sisters who drive Dahlia across the country to Evanston to see her sister’s boyfriend, who she met in the early days of the Internet.

“It’s about two sisters who go on a road trip to meet their boyfriend,” director Kate Cobb said Monday.

In recent weeks, the team has been filming scenes for the comedy in Ogle and Lee counties.

“We filmed in Dixon, Oregon and Grand Detour,” Cobb said. “This is day 15 of 20 days.”

On Monday, Cobb and her production team filmed at The Rink at Pine Creek, 6929 West Pines Road, Mt. Morris, between Oregon and Polo, west of White Pines State Park.

The iconic ice rink with the unique terrazzo skating surface – formerly known as the White Pines Roller Palace and later the White Pines Skating Rink – opened in 1948 after being built by Clyde Wishard of Mt Morris. It is now owned and operated by Rebecca Jones of Oregon. It offers roller skating and party rentals.

At lunchtime, Cobb tutored three actors as they filmed a scene at one of the rink’s booths before heading out to roller skate as extras skated across the floor.

The crew traveled to Oregon on Tuesday to film additional scenes at the Patchwork Inn. Cobb said scenes were also filmed at Jay’s Drive In in Oregon, as well as in Dixon and Grand Detour.

Michael Waller and Sydney Blackburn wrote the screenplay for the film and were on location at The Rink on Monday.

“It’s not a true story,” Blackburn said. “It’s about two sisters getting to know each other better.”

Cobb said local residents welcomed the actors and 35-member crew. “Everyone was so kind and nice,” Cobb said.

Cobb said the independent film is being funded by Chicago Media Angels – an investment group that seeks returns by financing content in the media and entertainment industry and connecting investors with independent filmmakers.

Several independent films and an HBO series have used the Oregon area for some scenes in recent years. In 2018, “Lovecraft Country,” a 1950s horror drama, filmed scenes in White Pines State Park and on country roads around Polo and Oregon.

Three other independent film projects have also filmed scenes in the area: “Adult Children” in 2023, “The Blacklight” and “Lacy’s Christmas Do-Over.”

Cobb is no stranger to the area either. In 2021, she filmed the feature-length independent film “Okie” in and around DeKalb.

This 82-minute film features a character named Louie Mulgrin who leaves her rural Illinois town to become a best-selling author. When he returns after his father’s death, he is met with both admiration and resentment for the stories he wrote.

“Okie is a compelling and complex dramatic thriller about the delicate balance between ambition and loyalty,” wrote one of the film’s reviewers.

Cobb and her husband Kevin Bigley, who is also an actor, founded In The Rye Productions.

Okie is available for pre-order on Apple TV and iTunes and will be released on November 8th at