Batman crew makes a Pittsburgh stop
The Caped Crusader's latest adventure will feature a fictional football game filmed in the Steel City.
PITTSBURGH - Steeler Nation went "rogue" Saturday inside Heinz Field as thousands of extras played the fans of a fictional team in a scene from a new Batman movie,
The Dark Knight Rises
.
In the fictional game, the Gotham Rogues played the Rapid City Monuments, and after a morning of filming several takes of a kickoff scene, the mayhem started.
Fans who spent hours donning coats and cheering, then waiting while scenes were set, got a chance to play a panicked crowd as an attack on the field took place.
Vehicles called Tumblers - which resemble Batmobiles but are painted in camouflage - rolled onto the field after noon, and special-effects teams set up for the explosives scene being filmed. Shortly before 3 p.m., an announcement that explosions were about to start went out over police radio.
Earlier, thousands of extras decked out in the Rogues' black and gold cheered as some Steelers, including Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward, appeared, playing members of the Rogues. Bill Cowher returned, prowling the sidelines in his first coaching gig since leaving the Steelers after the 2006 season. Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' director of football operations, reunited with Cowher as an assistant coach for the Gotham Rogues.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl dusted off his college skills, playing a kicker for the Rapid City Monuments, the Rogues' rivals. That may have been one of the reasons he was booed when a practice kick did not go well.
Ravenstahl, a 2003 graduate of Washington and Jefferson College, was a kicker there during his student days.
Fans were given gold hankies to wave at the on-screen action and, in keeping with gridiron tradition, the national anthem was sung.
On the kickoff, Ward received, blowing past the mayor as he returned the kick. That scene was repeated many times over about three hours, with the fans putting on the coats they had been instructed to bring to simulate the cold, then taking them off between takes to try to get relief from the muggy weather. Shortly after noon, the kickoff scene was done, and set-up began for the special-effects scene.
As expected, whole sections of extras were moved between shots so it would look as if the stadium were packed. In the filmmaking equivalent of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, there are two ways to make 10,000 or so extras look like 60,000: Film them and reproduce them digitally to fill in empty seats, or have them move so the background always appears robust and full.
The fans had lined up outside Civic Arena early in the morning to board buses for Heinz Field, making it seem like game day. They had been told to expect filming to last until 7 p.m. or so and were told there would be moments of "high exciting energy" and down time.
"This is very exciting but can be tiring by the end of a big day," extras were told in a packet they received after being chosen online. "If you do not plan on staying to experience the whole day, please do not come."
Extras were promised stadium food - hot dogs, burgers, pretzels, ice cream (and water) - and chances to win raffle prizes, including a grand prize of airfare and tickets to the U.S. premiere of the movie in July.
Waiting to board a bus Saturday morning were Jeannette Walker, 51, and Cindy Witham, 40, and their children, Jaime and Levi, respectively. They wore black and gold wigs, their faces were painted black and gold, and they wore black and gold boas and clothing.
Walker and Witham, rural postal carriers from Cambria County, had taken the day off and driven about 100 miles.
"We wanted to be a part of the movie. I plan on starting as an unpaid extra and leaving as a paid one," Walker said, laughing.
Before shooting concludes, the movie will visit three continents. The production started in India more than three months ago and then moved to England and Scotland before arriving in Pittsburgh.
Director Christopher Nolan has said The Dark Knight Rises will be the conclusion of his Batman trilogy. The film returns Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Anne Hathaway joins the fray as Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman.