Lights, Camera Action on Bridge
By IAN HICKS Staff WriterArticle Photos
There's certainly been a healthy dose of Hollywood intrigue in the Ohio Valley in recent weeks.
That trend continued Tuesday as filming of the major motion picture "Unstoppable," starring Denzel Washington, made its latest local stop - the Market Street Bridge, which connects downtown Steubenville with W.Va. 2 just north of Follansbee.
That location joins Bellaire, Martins Ferry and Mingo Junction as filming sites for director Tony Scott's action thriller, which also stars Chris Pine and Rosario Dawson. The plot: a runaway train carrying toxic chemicals must be stopped before it derails and causes a devastating spill.
Film crews were busy Tuesday shooting various driving scenes on the century-old bridge, which was closed to traffic for about 12 hours. Filming was originally set to occur Monday, but last-minute delays forced everything back a day. On the Steubenville side, a portion of Third Street was closed to accommodate the filming.
Onlookers gathered in spurts on the sidewalk near the Jefferson County Courthouse, about a block away from the bridge. Some appeared to be curious workers sneaking a peek on their coffee break, while others came armed with cameras - perhaps hoping to catch a glimpse of the two-time Academy Award winner Washington, though there was no indication he was present during Tuesday's shoot.
Steubenville resident Ting Lawson said he's been a Denzel Washington fan for quite some time, and while he's never met the actor, Lawson said he'd like to someday.
"I followed him all throughout his whole career," said Lawson. "I've seen every movie he's ever made."
Lawson said he's particularly impressed by Washington's versatility, noting he's just as talented whether he's playing the hero or the villain. Lawson said he was there at about 6:45 a.m. when a helicopter used during filming landed in the area, sending the hats of many close by flying.
"That wasn't in the script," Lawson joked. "They weren't planning on that."
While "Unstoppable" has many area residents excited about the attention, not all of the valley's recent Tinseltown connections have been positive. On Monday, a Belmont County jury convicted suspended Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter of receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence and theft in office for his role in a celebrity scandal involving the surrogate mother who bore twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.
Carpenter was accused of taking items from the home of Martins Ferry resident Michelle Ross, who gave birth to the celebrity couple's children in June, and offering to sell those items to tabloid news magazines.
Bridgeport Police Chief Chad Dojack also is accused in the conspiracy. He is set to stand trial beginning Jan. 12. Charges against a third man, Bruce Callarik Dojack's father-in-law and son of Bridgeport Mayor John Callarik were dropped when prosecutors decided they would be better served calling Bruce Callairk as a witness against the police chiefs.
|
ConservativeKaty
|
|
|---|---|
|
11-26-09 9:04 PM
|
Pardon the Latin abbreviation. On the rare chance that an actual idiot might stop by, QED of course stands for quod erat demonstrandum, which even idiots fluently understand. Fortunately. Happy Thanksgiving to the full range of IQs (another abbreviation, sorry).
|
|
ConservativeKaty
|
|
|
11-26-09 8:48 PM
|
No TD, if I had genuinely been an idiot at the instant I asked the question, I would have used an over-abundance of loud-mouthed capital letters. QED.
|
|
BrianCoddington
|
|
|
11-26-09 2:33 PM
|
How does every article, no matter the topic, get turned into a political tirade? There really is more to life than talking about BO!
|
|
TONYDOG
|
|
|
11-26-09 12:09 PM
|
CONSERVATIVE KATY,, YOU'RE AN IDIOT WHEN YOU SAID,,Is it true that Barack was Denzel's stunt double? BUT THAN AGAIN, MAYBE IF BARACK WAS HIS STUNT DOUBLE,, MAYBE HE'D DO EVERYONE A FAVOR AND FALL OF THE TRAIN
|
|
Shark88
|
|
|
11-26-09 10:15 AM
|
Happy Thanksgiving!!! Let's see now...where were we? Oh yea... Ross Perot was Ann Richards jockey..
|
|
ConservativeKaty
|
|
|
11-26-09 8:43 AM
|
Rude Rudy should avoid being so stereotypical of his place and his race – often devoid of intelligence and overloaded with sexual indulgence. I thought Jody Foster had put him out of our misery when he played himself back in Silence of the Lambs, yet still he blats.
|
|
corgitoy
|
|
|
11-26-09 8:41 AM
|
Actually, at one point, more of Silence Of The Lambs was to be filmed in Bellaire, when Gene Hackman was attached to the project, but some religious group flipped out and raised a stink about the film. As it turned out, they were luck to get the bridge shot in the film.
|
|
overseerer
|
|
|
11-26-09 8:03 AM
|
After reading this article I was just wondering what compensation is received by the citizens of these communities that are told they can`t go down this street or you can`t use this bridge or this section is blocked off for filming, you will have to go another route at your own expense of time. Are these communities receiving anything under the table for all of this, because I`m sure the citizens aren`t receiving any checks in the mail.
|
|
Shark88
|
|
|
11-25-09 11:38 PM
|
Don't forget that 'Silence of the Lambs' was filmed in Bellaire back in '91. That movie was a real piece of work.
|
|
ConservativeKaty
|
|
|
11-25-09 8:28 PM
|
Is it true that Barack was Denzel's stunt double?
|
|
BurningUp07
|
|
|
11-25-09 4:10 PM
|
Every movie depicts this area and WV in general as very drab and depressing. I mean, I'll be the first to admit it is in a number of ways, but they take it to the extreme. Watch the movie October Sky, they make WV out to be like a third world country or something. It's ridiculous.
|
|
JamesT
|
|
|
11-25-09 4:03 PM
|
Yes, I recall when they made the film "Reckless" in Weirton and Mingo Junction. Very dreary and the angle shots were dimmed to give that depressed feeling. I personally know of several people who moved out of the regoin over twenty years ago and vowed never to return. It is like that in many othe rplaces but we are in the top ten metro areas in North America for migration out of this area.
|
|
AlexanderShulgin
|
|
|
11-25-09 3:55 PM
|
Have you ever noticed that they are just using what is here in those films that depict this areas as rather drab.
|
|
JamesT
|
|
|
11-25-09 3:41 PM
|
True,true!
|
|
dyingov
|
|
|
11-25-09 2:45 PM
|
"If the shoe fits"
|
|
JamesT
|
|
|
11-25-09 12:43 PM
|
Ever notice any film made in our area depicts us as drabb and poor? From The Deer Hunter to these two local films now being made, has the area as dark and gloomy.
|