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Casey Connor, Action Hero: The Bleachers
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This scene impressed me with its "action" the very first time I saw the movie, as opposed to some of the others that took me awhile to appreciate. I noticed this one because of how good Elijah's timing had to be to pull it off. What I didn't notice immediately was how good Casey's timing had to be, in the midst what could be a mind-numbing, panicking situation. The one thing he can't do is panic.
One thing I love about Casey's scheme is that it's his identity as the geeky Stephen King kid that makes it possible for him to use it. It's unlikely that a jock would have had to learn how to open and close the bleachers for a game, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to find that Casey's been drafted for that duty more than once.
At first his hand goes to the button quickly enough to blur.
But he knows he can't push it yet.
He primes himself to run, but carefully keeps his finger off the button...
...until the alien is in the right position. Of course, she doesn't know that, which is also essential to the plan.
He has to look as though he's really trying to run away and hide from her, or she won't follow. When I first looked at this in stop action, I was trying to figure out what that "stain" would be on the wall by the button, then realized it's the alien's shadow! Casey's playing things close, but that's the only way.
That blue splotch by his right hand is the cluster of caffeine hits he took from Zeke's unconscious body. He's very careful of them throughout.
Coming up with this idea took Casey's special skills. Pulling it off takes Elijah's. As in the scene on top of the school bus, sometimes it helps to be Monkey Boy...
He stops again...
...finds himself a good patch of light so he can watch the alien...
...and doesn't move until he's sure she's following. (I have to believe that Casey has another plan that he'd switch into at this point if the alien didn't follow--whether or not Elijah or Robert Rodriguez had one.)
The problem with playing things this close...
...is that you can be in trouble if, say, you fall or something (not that such a thing would ever happen to any of Elijah's characters).
Now he doesn't have to pretend that he's running for his life (meaning Casey).
Another bit of Monkey Boy action. (I mean, look at how he's getting his head through the opening, and his foot... don't you just love it?)
Till we have another fall. Judging from the previous caps, I'm thinking this one's due to his inability to use his right hand properly because of the caffeine hits.
The following close-ups are the only time we see Casey scared during all of this. Not that he shouldn't be. But notice that he's scared differently from any of Elijah's other characters (that I can think of).
This is the only stunt shot in the entire movie where I would put my money on it not being Elijah.
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