The chase is on
Ed Stannard, Register Metro Editor
06/29/2007
Stuntmen ride a motorcycle on Elm and College streets Thursday for a chase scene from the fourth "Indiana Jones" movie.
Stuntmen ride a motorcycle on Elm and College streets Thursday for a chase scene from the fourth "Indiana Jones" movie. Peter Hvizdak/Register (Buy Register photos)
NEW HAVEN ? Hollywood came to New Haven in full regalia Thursday, with classic cars, vintage clothes and dozens of production staffers, extras and onlookers.
As the assistant director called out all day, "Indiana Jones" is "Rolling!"
As the chase scene in the fourth Indy movie got under way, stuntmen standing in for Harrison Ford and another character rode a motorcycle down College Street, from Grove Street all the way past Chapel Street, weaving between a New Britain Transportation Co. bus, a Ronconi's Plumbing truck and various 1950s sedans, followed closely by another cycle decked out with cameras.
While professor Henry "Indiana" Jones was dressed in a tweed jacket, the motorcycle driver wore black leather, with "Mitt" written on the chest.
It was a little hairy and not in the script, but shortly after 1 p.m., the cycle toppled, slightly injuring the driver.
Dennis Stewart, co-producer of the movie, said the bike "hit a rough patch of road" and the stunt actor bumped his head and scraped his elbow. He was brought to the hospital as a precaution.
"He is, in fact, on his way back" to the set, Stewart said at 5:15 p.m. He said the crew took a break for lunch and another stunt actor was brought in while the first was patched up.
Of the injured actor, whom he would not name, Stewart said, "He is one of the best motorcycle stunt men in the world. We brought him in especially for this project."
Katie Ambrose, a Yale School of Music graduate, was watching filming from the second floor of Sprague Hall and saw the accident.
"I'm sort of amazed he didn't get run over," she said of the injured man, whom Stewart said is British.
Meanwhile, the real Harrison Ford was filming a classroom scene in William L. Harkness Hall on Cross Campus. He and groups of actors wearing kilt skirts, saddle shoes and cat-eye glasses came out for snacks at one point.
Ford interrupted a cell phone call when a reporter shouted a question, but, while polite, said only, "I'm sorry, I can't right now." as he went back into the Gothic building.
Ford and girlfriend Calista Flockhart, of "Ally McBeal" fame, received positive reviews Wednesday evening as they ventured downtown.
Accompanied by a boy, likely Flockhart's son, they had dinner at Barcelona on Temple Street and then stopped for ice cream at Tasti D-Lite on High Street.
"He walks into the restaurant, and you watch his movies your whole life and there he was, standing in front of you," said Matt Davies, Barcelona's general manager.
"They were extremely nice people. They came in, they had a nice, little tapas experience. It was almost just like a normal family came in," he said.
Alvaro Zuniga, a senior at Wilbur Cross High School, served them a chocolate gelato and a French vanilla cone at Tasti D-Lite.
"I'm a big fan and so's my dad, and I wanted so much to ask for his autograph, but I didn't want to seem trendy," Zuniga said.
On the College Street set Thursday, extras could be seen pushing baby carriages or just strolling down College Street.
"To be an extra, your best training is military training," said one, a Screen Actors Guild member who wasn't allowed to give his name. "You show up at Oh-dark-30, they feed you ? and then you stand around waiting for something to happen."
Addyson England was visiting Yale from Phoenix, weighing whether she wants to study medicine here. "Whoa! It's a little hectic," she said while waiting for a scene to finish. "I'm definitely more interested" in Yale, she said after watching the ancient cars roll by, caught up in "the excitedness of this whole area."
On Chapel Street, cell phone cameras were everywhere as people took photos of the redone 1957 storefronts. "I really think it's the best P.R. I have seen in 20 years," said Pansy Croft, owner of Seychelles, which is appearing as Johansen & Sons Ltd. Tuxedos and Bridal. "A lot of people came down and it's almost a Mardi Gras atmosphere."
Today, filming is likely to include Chapel Street and Yale's Old Campus. Fire Marshal Joseph Cappucci said the crew was practicing blowing up flower pots, which will somehow be smashed during the chase.
And in the midst of the Old Campus, workers were creating a fake statue. It appeared the chances were good the statue wouldn't survive the chase.
