Last week we told you about the cast and crew that came to Seattle to film scenes for the upcoming flick, "Traveling." Today I asked co-writer and Seattle area resident Mike Thompson how the Emerald City emerged as the backdrop to his romantic drama.

Movie producer and co-writer Mike Thompson of Seattle watches the filming of "Traveling" on a monitor at the corner of Virginia Street and Pike Place in Seattle March 12, 2008. (Meryl Schenker/Seattle Post-Intelligencer).

Here's what Thompson had to say about his favorite Seattle landmark, why Portland just didn't make the cut and how star Jennifer Aniston could be at the gum wall without ever walking down Post Alley:

Big Blog: So why did you decide to set 'Traveling' in Seattle?

Mike Thompson: When we (he and co-writer and director Brandon Camp) were writing the movie we sort of established this concept of a guy on a business trip -- hence the title "Traveling" -- and how our lives change when we're traveling. Going down that road, we had to pick a destination. We wanted the city to be a character in the movie, to have a unique quality, kind of like in "Lost in Translation."

I live in Seattle, and obviously I think it's the greatest town in the world. It's easy for me to make that suggestion, but my partner agreed that it had a certain uniqueness to it we could exploit. As we wrote the script, we tried to tell the underground Seattle tale as opposed to the obvious postcard tale.

BB: What locations fit that mold for you?

MT: The gum wall, the Fremont troll, the Lake View Cemetery (Capitol Hill) where Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried -- I also had some experience here in Seattle at hookah bars before they outlawed smoking and at slam poetry events. The hookah bar (in the movie) doesn't exist, but we fictionalized it.

BB: What happens there?

Much of these locations I was rattling off are part of a night walk, so Jennifer Aniston's character and Aaron Eckhart's character are at a hookah bar watching Aniston's character's friend do slam poetry (inspired by shows Thompson saw at the Mirabeau Room in Queen Anne). They all have drinks, whoop it up, then it's a music montage of a walking tour of Seattle that she takes him on. They pass by all these places, one of places they pass by is gum wall. They stop by the troll and mess around there, then stop by the cemetery. It's part of a five-minute music montage.

BB: You said Jennifer Aniston couldn't make it to Seattle because she was in Miami filming Marley and Me. How is she still a part of the night walk?

MT: We literally planned from the beginning how to integrate her in Seattle. We fabricated a gum wall in Vancouver so we could shoot the two of them in a two-shot in front of it. We shot Aaron Eckhart and Judy Greer and a photo double for Jennifer (in Seattle).

We did the same thing at the troll. In Vancouver we shot her whole body in front of green screen. We have a wide shot of a group staring up at the troll, and we'll literally insert her body in between them.

Also, we shot a two-shot of her and Aaron in front of Vancouver, under the 99 bridge, where there are the big giant columns. We built one of the big giant columns in Vancouver and shot them in front of it. We did the same thing at Bruce and Brandon Lee's graves -- replicated those in Vancouver and shot them there.

BB: You were saying that traveling can really change people. What about Seattle can do that to someone?

MT: Having lived here my whole life and knowing people here and having the same group of great friends and people for decades, there's a certain communal quality to the people here and an openness and friendliness and no b.s. approach to talking about oneself and self analysis and what have you. This character of Jennifer Aniston's is the first person in his life, for three years, who has not really allowed him to avoid confronting his issues. For me, personally, that comes from my feeling of Seattle people and it just felt that Seattle that would serve that character.

BB: You said Camp is from Dallas. Did you consider any other cities before settling on Seattle?

MT: We've written lots of things set in different cities and try not to repeat ourselves, though the TV series "John Doe" was set in Seattle. We thought about Portland a few minutes, but we decided it wasn't quite large enough. We talked about Chicago for a minutes, but ultimately decided Chicago had been a little overexposed.

BB: How was the Seattle shoot?

MT: We spent 40 days shooting in Vancouver. Vancouver's become Hollywood north -- you forget you're shooting a big movie there. 'Cause in Pike Place Market everyone on the cast and crew was remarking and marveling at how excited people were, coming down and taking pictures. The experience of a movie being shot in their beloved city made our experience fulfilling ... we remembered how exciting it is.

BB: Of all those Seattle locations you included in the movie, which is your favorite?

MT: The troll. I spend most of my time going out with friends in Fremont, so the troll is really it.

Screenwriter Mike Thompson grew up in Bellevue, lives in Bryn Mawr, south of Seattle, and has co-written scripts for film and TV with writing partner Brandon Camp for 14 years. For more about Thompson and his previous work, check out his page on the Internet Movie Database.