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SHOOT: The Hood is Back on ARROW S2. Stephen Amell Below the Hastings Overpass

The Hood is back for Arrow season two. Stephen Amell showed us why he’s the star of Arrow, even with his shirt on last Friday night. Not every actor is capable of the kind of  integrated stuntwork that Arrow does routinely. Amell is almost always part of a stunt so that it looks seamless on screen. And sometimes he does all of it, especially if the scene calls for running fast. Here are Amell and stunt double Simon Burnett talking through the night’s stunts with the Arrow Stunt Department on set below the Downtown Eastside’s Hasting Overpass.

Read More »SHOOT: The Hood is Back on ARROW S2. Stephen Amell Below the Hastings Overpass

STUNT: ARROW S2 The Hood Stunt with Simon Burnett

The Arrow Stunt Department spent most of last Friday rehearsing  in the sunshine for an integrated stunt to be filmed later that night of star Stephen Amell and Hood stunt double Simon Burnett shooting a rope ascender arrow up in the air and then rising on the zipline several stories off the ground. I didn’t hear about the shoot until quite late because I expected Arrow to be filming on private Port Metro Vancouver land, not in the Downtown Eastside with a grandstand public view from the Hastings Overpass. It turned out to be a relatively private location though, because people don’t loiter in that part of east Hastings at night unless they’re  hookers, pimps, dealers or locals. I was mistaken for one of these by a guy in a BMW and later had a lengthy, circular conversation with one of the locals about gentrification of the neighbourhood.

From the overpass, you could look down on the crane, wires, stunt mats and dozens of people who make up the Arrow Stunt Department. Two of the men behind the best stunts on TV were present: stunt coordinator J.J.Makaro, who picked up a Leo Award for stunt coordination of the Arrow pilot last month, and fight designer James “Bam Bam” Bamford, who won his own Leo for stunt co-ordination of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Arrow’s stunt department is doing double duty this season, designing stunts for Arrow and new series The Tomorrow People starring Robbie Amell, for what is being called Amell Wednesdays on The CW.

Read More »STUNT: ARROW S2 The Hood Stunt with Simon Burnett

SHOOT: KING & MAXWELL’s Rebecca Romijn Apprehends a Suspect Near CIBC Tower

King & Maxwell is about Washington, D.C. secret-service-agents-turned-private investigators Sean King (Jon Tenney) and Michelle Maxwell (Rebecca Romijn of The X-Men fame), based on the David Baldacci books. It debuted Monday night on TNT while King & Maxwell was shooting  scenes in downtown Vancouver. This one took place in a laneway near the CIBC tower. After three to four hours of  filming a foot chase sequence along both sides of the 800/900 blocks of West Hasting, former American Olympic athlete Maxwell (Romijn) finally nabbed her suspect (The Killing’s Goldie, aka Brendan Fletcher). King (Tenney) catches up after she’s grabbed him, pulled out his wallet and checked for ID. And then cracked up laughing after the shot. King & Maxwell is one of the most laidback cast and crews around town.

Related: Jon Tenney & Rebecca Romijn’s foot chase opposite the Terminal City Club

Read More »SHOOT: KING & MAXWELL’s Rebecca Romijn Apprehends a Suspect Near CIBC Tower

SHOOT: GODZILLA Crew Tests USS Alameda Landing Craft Set in Steveston

Godzilla crew tested their USS Alameda landing craft set last night on the edge of Steveston’s Garry Point Park. The craft was rocking and rolling as if battling a sea monster in San Francisco Bay with a stunt performer along for the ride. I’m guessing San Francisco because Alameda is the name of the old naval air station there. And the Steveston docks have been remade as San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf for the past two weeks. Filming started on the USS Alameda set this morning with a technocrane, fog machines, rain towers and green screens.

Read More »SHOOT: GODZILLA Crew Tests USS Alameda Landing Craft Set in Steveston