Once again I’ve followed a caravan of Lightning Production vehicles to their inevitable destination, a film set in Boston. Last week I climbed up to the side of a parking garage to a nice little spot above Ted, the Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis comedy by the creator of Family Guy. (We previously revealed plot details here.)
Over the course of the night, a car chase was filmed from all angles. Watching one of these is a lot less fun than you might guess. What you see in a film’s action sequence is actually closer to twelve hours of filming every minor stunt before splicing it all together into actual entertainment.
I’ve included a few pictures and the video but, more importantly, what I gathered from the conversations that took place underneath my stealthy perch. For a few fresh scene descriptions and Marky Mark dressed as a Star Wars character, click here.
- A chase sequence features a collision or near-collision with a Duck Boat, one of many tourist vehicles that squawk around the city proper before splashing into water.
- Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis will share a Swan Boat, not to be confused with a Duck Boat, which is sort of a fairy tale version of an Italian gondola. It looks like a swan and is relaxing provided Mrs. Marley’s 2nd grade English class hasn’t chosen that day to explore the Public Gardens.
- A complete re-creation of the 1999 premiere of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was shot outside the Somerville theater in the recently gentrified area of Davis Square. The scene was filmed without me, but extras were seen all over the area and Wahlberg was dressed as the villain Darth Maul. I’ve included a photo of that even though I didn’t take it.
- There is a full-on car accident that takes place on the green at Fenway Park. Pyrotechnics were employed, a Fenway crowd simulated with a few dozen extras, and from what I’ve been able to gather, is only one of many explosive sequences.
- Seth McFarlane, director, is also starring. The teddy bear is Seth in a motion capture suit.
It stands to reason that, while we haven’t actually seen any official footage of Ted, when we do it won’t be a quiet, quirky romance-with-a-gimmick trailer. That already pretty clear, though, when we previously described a CG Teddy Bear banging some girl in the back of a convenience store.
