| Author |
 Topic  |
|
silly 
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
|
 Posted - 04/24/2007 : 16:45:51
|
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Blevins
In fact, I eat my lunch at the Union Station food court only a few steps away from those stairs (part of the station's Great Hall).
I was watching Walker, Texas Ranger (which is, as far as I know, not a movie but only a TV show) and having a blast pointing out various locations to my kids. They were shooting in Fort Worth, where I lived while going to college and for a few years after.
Logan's Run had a lot of shots near us, too, and that's actually a movie. My dad worked at the building they blew up at the end (that supposedly held the computer, I guess) and they had a couple days of giant styrofoam blocks and stunt extras blocking access to and from the office. |
 |
|
|
Downtown 
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
|
Posted - 04/24/2007 : 17:18:11
|
When I watched Batman Begins, at first sight of Gotham City I immediately thought to myself, "this was definitely modeled after Chicago." So it doesn't suprise me if some parts are actually filmed there.
Assuming Gotham City will look similar in the next film, I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I'm okay with it because it looked pretty good...meaning, it looked bad: old, dirty, and run down, suggesting poverty, crime, and despair, but also with some buildings that are clearly symbols of great wealth and power...and seperation from all those dirty, impoverished elements. That is certainly what Gotham City is supposed to look like.
But on the other hand, Gotham City is supposed to represent New York City. I think that when I look at Gotham City - either street-level, or the skyline - the one real-life city it should remind me of is New York, not Chicago or anywhere else. Burton's Gotham City did that. Nolan's doesn't. |
|
|
|
Joe Blevins 
"Don't I look handsome?"
|
Posted - 04/24/2007 : 17:39:43
|
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: The words "GOTHAM NATIONAL BANK" have been restored. They've driven the schoolbus through the fake door many times now. But even cooler -- there's now smoke billowing from the top of the post office. Let me try and set the scene for you. Wailing sirens! A news chopper! Flashing lights! Police cars! Fire trucks! Guys in orange coats! It's pandemonium!
Confirmed: there's a fire in the post office where they're filming Dark Knight. Fire crews are fighting it now. |
Edited by - Joe Blevins on 04/24/2007 17:43:35 |
|
|
|
Shiv 
"What a Wonderful World"
|
Posted - 04/24/2007 : 18:03:40
|
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Blevins
This post office in Chicago, by the way, is right near Union Station where they shot the "baby carriage rolling down the stairs" scene for The Untouchables. In fact, I eat my lunch at the Union Station food court only a few steps away from those stairs (part of the station's Great Hall). While I was shooting those Dark Knight pictures, I also snapped a few shots of that Great Hall, and I also dug up some photos from when I lived in Joliet and visited the prison from the beginning of The Blues Brothers.
I was making a trip from New York to Minneapolis a few years back. I stopped off in Chicago especially to see where the Blues Brothers final scene was shot, and the Union Station where above mentioned scene was played out. [I was also there for the Blues, of course. ]
I went into the Richard J Daley Center and spoke to one of the security guards. I was excessively disappointed that he knew nothing about the film and was unable to show me the direction in which the Elwoods headed for the elevator. I believed anyone working in the building would need to know about the Blues Brothers just to be employed there. Oh well 
|
|
|
|
silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
|
Posted - 04/24/2007 : 21:23:11
|
quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
I believed anyone working in the building would need to know about the Blues Brothers just to be employed there. Oh well
I used to work a few miles from Southfork, and we always had people asking for directions.
If they didn't buy anything, we sometimes gave them the wrong directions. Oops. |
|
|
|
Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
|
Posted - 04/24/2007 : 21:53:55
|
quote:
Originally posted by silly
quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
I believed anyone working in the building would need to know about the Blues Brothers just to be employed there. Oh well
I used to work a few miles from Southfork, and we always had people asking for directions.
If they didn't buy anything, we sometimes gave them the wrong directions. Oops.
Ummm...should we be impressed by that? |
|
|
|
silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
|
Posted - 04/24/2007 : 22:27:13
|
When I was fifteen I thought it was pretty cool. Anybody older than that would see it for the dumb kid thing it was...
I was responding to somebody thinking that anyone employed on the once Blues Brother's set should know about the movie. Same thing happened to those of us living in Dallas during those glorious years - folks expected us to know a lot more about it than we did. Oh well.
Having a good sense of humor has never been one of my strong suits..  |
Edited by - silly on 04/24/2007 22:33:36 |
|
|
|
Chris C
"Four words, never backwards."
|
Posted - 04/24/2007 : 22:49:59
|
Thanks for the pics and the mini-blog, Joe.  |
|
|
|
Joe Blevins
"Don't I look handsome?"
|
Posted - 04/24/2007 : 23:48:19
|
Glad you've liked the photos.
NEW IMAGES ADDED TO PHOTO ALBUM:
http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m315/JoeBlevins/
Image 7
(A)Even from a block away, you can see the school bus crashing through the fake bank doors. Notice the other school bus in the middle of the photo. There was a whole line of 'em.
(B)The whole area was crawling with cops and security guards. You couldn't even stop to rest at a corner without one of them hustling you away.
Image 8
(A)Firemen and fire trucks parked in front of the once and future Gotham National Bank
(B)Close-up on the bus crashing through the bank doors, plus a fire truck and some film equipment. Look at the windows above the school bus and you'll see the reflection of 222 S. Riverside Plaza, the building where I work.
Image 9
(A)A column of smoke coming from the roof of the post office.
(B)Firefighters convene in front of the filming location.
Image 10
(A) and (B)Nice views of the scene, complete with firefighters and trucks. The fire was quickly contained, and rumor quickly spread that it was all a publicity stunt.
Image 11
(A)One of the firetrucks that pulled up directly in front of the building. You can see the shiny modern building across the street. (B)More views of the neighborhood surrounding the post office (which is defunct, BTW, and scheduled to be turned into condos). At the extreme left, you can see the post office and the smoke. Across the street, another modern office building (not the one in 11A) and a parking garage. At the bottom of the photo, you'll see various crew members and gawkers.
Image 12
(A)Smoke billows from the post office roof. (B)The view from my office window. I had an excellent perch from which to view the proceedings, and there were people standing behind my workstation all day. |
|
|
|
BiggerBoat 
"Pass me the harpoon"
|
Posted - 04/25/2007 : 00:07:14
|
| My brother went to school with Christian Bale in Bournemouth (previously a sleepyish seaside resort on the south coast - now the venue for every other stag/hen do in England), although he was a couple of years younger than my bruv. After he appeared in Empire of the Sun and returned to the school he was the victim of some quite severe bullying, so I was led to believe at the time. Who knows, maybe his experiences at that time helped him, perversely, to become one of the best young actors at portaying complex, lonely characters. I'm sure he had a few of his old schoolmates in mind when he was in American Psycho. |
Edited by - BiggerBoat on 04/25/2007 00:14:49 |
|
|
|
Shiv
"What a Wonderful World"
|
Posted - 04/25/2007 : 00:14:34
|
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
quote:
Originally posted by silly
quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
I believed anyone working in the building would need to know about the Blues Brothers just to be employed there. Oh well
I used to work a few miles from Southfork, and we always had people asking for directions.
If they didn't buy anything, we sometimes gave them the wrong directions. Oops.
Ummm...should we be impressed by that?
I was only joking too |
|
|
|
Joe Blevins
"Don't I look handsome?"
|
Posted - 04/25/2007 : 18:16:00
|
The story is being reported on the IMDb today:
Fire Breaks Out on 'Dark Knight' Set
The set of the Batman Begins sequel in Chicago, Illinois was brought to a standstill yesterday after a fire broke out. The blaze broke out on the roof of a vacant post office building, which was being prepared for a scene in The Dark Knight. The city's fire department responded quickly to the fire, which is believed to have started in the building's ventilation system. As WENN went to press, it was unclear whether the filming was responsible for the fire. No one was injured. The post office building was being used as Gotham National Bank in the film. |
|
|
|
Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
|
Posted - 04/25/2007 : 18:29:58
|
quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
quote:
Originally posted by silly
quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
I believed anyone working in the building would need to know about the Blues Brothers just to be employed there. Oh well
I used to work a few miles from Southfork, and we always had people asking for directions.
If they didn't buy anything, we sometimes gave them the wrong directions. Oops.
Ummm...should we be impressed by that?
I was only joking too
You were? Sorry, I didn't pick up on it.
Very amusing!  |
|
|
|
Conan The Westy 
"Father, Faithful Friend, Fwiffer"
|
Posted - 04/25/2007 : 21:55:40
|
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Blevins
The story is being reported on the IMDb today:
Fire Breaks Out on 'Dark Knight' Set
So it wasn't a stunt fire... |
|
|
|
Joe Blevins
"Don't I look handsome?"
|
Posted - 04/25/2007 : 23:07:13
|
quote:
Originally posted by Conan The Westy
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Blevins
The story is being reported on the IMDb today:
Fire Breaks Out on 'Dark Knight' Set
So it wasn't a stunt fire...
The official story is that it had nothing to do with the Dark Knight filming. It just happened to break out during filming. An article I read today blamed it on a ventilator:
http://tinyurl.com/2zv4xl
It was a small, harmless fire which was quickly contained, but it created a huge stir while it lasted. One local TV station (NBC 5)was apparently even covering it live by helicopter. The rumor that it was all done for publicity persists (at least throughout our building), though obviously it's just conjecture. I can say that in three plus years, that ventilator hasn't caused any other fires that I know of. (Believe me, we'd know.) Odd that it should cause one while Batman is fliming, eh? |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
"Batman Begins 2": filming right outside my window
