The rocks stunt double
Another shot of Hollywood
ALBANY – Gunshots could be heard in downtown Albany on Wednesday morning, but police at the scene didn’t appear concerned.
Hundreds of onlookers gathered near the corner of Park Avenue and Broadway as day one of local filming for “The Other Guys” began.A black Cadillac Escalade tore down Broadway with a blown-out back window as men with dreadlocks shot blanks, a camera mounted on the roof of another SUV capturing the action from close behind.
Naomi Krakower and Maria DeGeorge, who work at a downtown law firm, stood nearby watching during their lunch hour.
“It’s cool to come outside our building and see some action,” Krakower said, noting that crews working on the Angelina Jolie movie ‘‘Salt’’ in April could be seen from the firm’s windows. “But we didn’t get as close as today so it’s pretty cool to see the car chase and crash up close.”
Conrad Palmisano, second unit director in charge of action scenes, said he will be filming two car chases in Albany. The first, part of which was being filmed Wednesday, is planned as the opening scene for the movie. A light blue Chevy Chevelle is being driven by cop partners played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as they chase the SUV with shooters aboard down the street. Columbia Pictures has said the stars will not make appearances; stunt doubles were on the scene.
The second scene to be filmed in Albany will be the climactic chase of the movie.
“Next week we’ll be shooting a Prius trying to run what we call the gauntlet,” Palmisano said. “To save the end of the day at the end of the movie.”
David Suchomel and Jim Carella, employees of Xerox, were standing at the corner of Park Avenue and Broadway for twenty minutes, waiting to see some action.
“It’s incredible how much goes into filming all this,” Suchomel said. “There’s so many people. It’s probably going to just be two minutes in the movie, but it’s taking all day.”
With 40 stunt people and 100 other crew members, Palmisano said the few hours spent on Broadway in the morning would amount to about 15 seconds of the movie. By the time he’s through in Albany, they’ll have about three minutes, he said.
According to Variety magazine, “The Other Guys” is a comedy in which Johnson and Jackson play an elite cop duo that is the envy of the rest of the police force, including partner-cops played by Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.
The movie is being directed and co-written by Adam McKay, who has worked with Ferrell on hits such as ‘‘Anchorman,’’ ‘‘Talladega Nights,’’ and ‘‘Step Brothers.’’
Stunts for “Salt” were filmed on the overpasses of Interstate 787. Several days into the shoot, Jolie was in Albany to film scenes on top of a moving tractor-trailer.
Pedestrians will be allowed on the streets except when stunts are being performed, according to Albany Police Detective James Miller.
Staff writer Humberto Martínez can be reached at 454-5057 or by email at hmartinez@timesunion.com.
http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?storyID=845101&newsdate=9/24/2009
