DIE HARD INVADES BALTIMORE20th Century Fox has started shooting the Len Wiseman-directed Live Free or Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis, Justin Long and Maggie Q, in Baltimore and you can already view the first set photos online.
Check the pics out here:
www.baltimoresun.com/features/lifestyle/bal-brucewillis-pg,0,7552049.photogallery
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Take a 'Hard' look
Man on set may be 'dead ringer' stand-in, not Willis[/i]
Eric Buarque hears it all the time: He looks just like that actor from those Die Hard films. You know, Bruce Willis.
"One time I was traveling, I can't remember what airport it was, I had a bunch of young girls who were literally trembling who came up to me," the Columbia resident says. "I had my picture taken with them; it kind of made their day. As far as they know, they had their picture taken with Bruce Willis. They were happy."
This week, Buarque has turned his resemblance to the rich and famous into a profit-making enterprise, landing a job as the actor's stand-in during the Baltimore shoot of the fourth Die Hard film, Live Free or Die Hard, which pits Willis' NYPD Detective John McClane against terrorists looking to wreak havoc on America via the Internet.
"It's been great so far," says Buarque, who gets to sub for Willis off-camera while shots are being set up, cameras are being focused or the lighting is being adjusted. "Sometimes during rehearsals, they'll have me doing what he's going to do, and he'll watch the monitor. If he likes the way it looks, then he goes on with the part."
Or, to put it succinctly, "I get out, and he gets in," Buarque says with a laugh.
This is pretty much a dream job for the 37-year-old Prince George's County native and landscaper, who's been trying since 1999 to parlay his looks into some sort of fame or notoriety.
"That's when people started making mention of my resemblance to him," he says, "asking if I had ever doubled for him, saying I should double for him.
"The first place I ever sent pictures was to Nova Models out of Baltimore. They lined me up for an audition for the film Unbreakable," Buarque says. "Based on all the comments and compliments about my looks toward Willis, I kind of felt confident that I would get the role."
"Oh, yeah, he is a dead ringer for Willis," confirms Christian David, owner of Nova Models, who still remembers Buarque seven years later. "He made an impression."
The Unbreakable job fell through - but not before he caught the attention of a director looking for someone to feature in a commercial for a New Jersey car dealership. He got that gig, a take-off on Willis' 1999 film The Sixth Sense, and recently finished filming another commercial, this one for Len Stoler Nissan in Owings Mills, where he appears alongside a Madonna lookalike.
Buarque also worked as an extra on Ladder 49 while it was being filmed in Baltimore three years ago. Stars John Travolta and Robert Patrick, he says, needled him about his resemblance to Willis.
Still, his dream was to double for the real thing. In 2004, Buarque flew to Los Angeles and was to double for Willis on the film Hostage, but was later told that the director of photography had his own guy he wanted to use for the shoot. Once again, Buarque had come close to lookalike-fame but just missed.
When he heard Willis was coming to town for the Live Free or Die Hard shoot, Buarque sent photos to Central Casting, a talent agency in Washington. He was called in for a screen test, got the job and this time made it to the set.
"It's great, being a part of the whole production, being around the people, not to mention being around Bruce," he says. "I haven't sat down with him yet, had any kind of conversation. But he seems real friendly."
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Stoplights, camera, action!
Filming for Bruce Willis movie ties up downtown traffic but gives passers-by reason to gawk[/i]
There he was yesterday, almighty Bruce Willis himself, standing atop a car at Calvert and Fayette streets, stripping off his brown leather jacket seconds after a dump truck rammed into a bus with helicopters whirling overhead.
But all around the theatrical explosions and screeching of the Live Free or Die Hard filming outside the city's courthouses yesterday was real screeching, honking and even some screaming as gridlock seized Baltimore's streets.
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Police cars and ambulances struggled to get by (There was even a Mercy Medical Center detour). Officers blared on their whistles, waving their hands furiously. The city comptroller arrived late to the Board of Estimates. And commuters sat in their cars, wondering why in the world it was taking them 30 minutes to drive several blocks.
Thank Willis and the latest installment of the Die Hard blockbuster movies, a 20th Century Fox distribution due out in theatres in July. And get ready, Baltimore motorists, for more of the same today.
"It's terrible," said Cindy Chrystal, 54, who was one in a long stream of commuters forced to turn left onto Baltimore Street from Calvert Street. "It took me 30 minutes to get here from the harbor. And I have a doctor's appointment in 30 minutes."
But for others, a little star power goes a long way. "Oh really?" said Sean Maynard, 20, of Catonsville, when told of the movie. "I think it's kind of cool. We have a movie filmed here. Wow."
Even city officials got caught in the traffic. Before yesterday's Board of Estimates meeting, officials hung around waiting for others to show up. City Comptroller Joan M. Pratt was one of the people who showed up late. "Traffic was horrible," Pratt said as she took her seat at a pre-meeting conference.
"Was Bruce Willis chasing you down the street?" Mayor Martin O'Malley asked.
Just four blocks were closed yesterday, but they were four crucial blocks. And today could be worse.
In addition to the 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. closure of Calvert Street between Baltimore and Lexington streets, and Fayette Street between Guilford Avenue and St. Paul Street, a portion of Charles Street around the Washington Monument will be closed starting this morning in preparation for the weekend's Baltimore Book Festival in Mount Vernon.
David Brown, a spokesman for the city's Department of Transportation, said the plan today would be similar to yesterday, with 17 traffic enforcement officers, along with additional police.
He said that message boards alert motorists to use different routes and that the city is advising employees to leave early and carpool, if possible. "We urge people to please exercise not only caution, but a little bit of patience. This is bringing additional revenue to the city, and we understand that there are some inconveniences that may transpire as a result."
Confusion and excitement reigned in much of downtown yesterday, including the man grumbling that he couldn't get to the post office, the stargazers scrambling to take cell phone pictures, and the two women wondering why there was a bunch of new flags on the courthouse and what were the ones with red stars? (That would be a D.C. flag, as Baltimore is meant to substitute for the nation's capital in the film.)
Gawkers stood by hushed as they waited for the big slam of a dump truck into a taxicab and later into a bus.
There was simple curiosity for many - including prosecutors and criminals trying to get into the courthouses, and city employees and investment bankers on their lunch break.
"What's going on here?" Ronnie Rivers, 25, asked the police officer directing traffic, as he craned his neck out of his car. (He had already been through two CDs worth of music, 28 songs.)
"And why are all the cars on Calvert Street pointing in the wrong direction?"
Surely, the southbound parked cars sitting on Calvert Street between Baltimore and Fayette streets was the first tipoff that something was amiss. And the bountiful American and District of Columbia flags waving from the courthouses the next.
And then there was the Pennsylvania Station Metro stop sign and the D.C. taxis and bus.
Some residents felt a little slighted over Baltimore being the stand-in for Washington. "That's upsetting," said Alex Galiani, 34, of Towson, who was still excited enough to take pictures of Willis with his cell phone. "It should be a featured location rather than pretending to be another city."
