FLIP THIS TRUCK

The script was clear: “The truck somersaults through the air.” The director wants this shot for real and chooses a truck uncompromising in its length.

So, how to make this happen? Creative special effects brains trade some ideas and plans are formulated. Weight is removed from the truck, an impregnable steel safety cage is fabricated into the driver’s cabin and an 18-inch steel piston is welded into the heart of a skeletal framework.

Filming night arrives. The location is Lasalle Street in Chicago, the city’s main banking district, a street barely wider than the length of the 50-foot-long truck. Manhole covers hide myriad underground cavities and bank vaults. Only one area can withstand the 120 tons of pressure exerted by the piston. Cameras are positioned and a tense concentration fills the air.

The stunt driver is strapped in and the high-pressure nitrogen tanks are filled and ready to project the piston onto the road. Action is called, the camera rolls and the truck pulls away. There is a loud release of white vapor as the piston emerges from beneath the trailer, causing it to arc upward and mingle with the skyscraper fascias like a surreal dream. The truck crashes onto its back and applause echoes along the street as the driver emerges safely from the overturned truck. I am again proud of my talented crew and we will sleep well tonight.

-- Chris Corbould,

special effects supervisor, “The Dark Knight”