Downtown Lynn buzzing over Bruce Willis

LYNN – The crowd came to see Bruce Willis, packing into Central Square where scenes from his latest movie, “Surrogates,” were being filmed Friday.Walking from his trailer to the set, Willis waved and growled as fans cheered and called out his name. At one point, a pickup drove by during a lull in the action, the two guys inside shouting “Go Bruce” and “Die Hard.”And that’s how it went from mid-morning to near sundown.Lynn police stopped traffic during each take and let it flow again once the command “cut” was heard over walkie-talkies carried by the movie crew.The big scene Friday was informally known as “the 40 percent” because it involves Willis shopping for a new robot, or surrogate, in a futuristic electronics store. One of the surrogates in the showroom that catches his eye is marked at 40 percent off.With each new take, Willis stood on the two-step entrance to the former bank at the corner of Blake Street, then on command headed into the fake electronics store.Inside, the set resembled a store you might find in New York’s Time Square, only with a Brave New World twist. Vibrating recliners in white-and-black cow patterns and wrapped in clear plastic shared the showroom floor with an array of surrogates. The shelves were laden with merchandise that blinked and beeped.Ernie Malik, the movie’s on-site promotional agent, explained that Willis, who plays a cop, must shop for a new surrogate after his is damaged. Did Willis buy the robot on sale? Nobody on the crew would say.The set was crawling with talent – actors, actresses, cameramen, audio crews, gaffers, Teamsters, prop specialists, makeup artists and caterers. In all, about 150 people made up the production team.Among them was Tony Leonardi, a prop specialist who worked on such films as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Castaway.” It was Leonardi who painted the face on the Wilson volleyball that has become an icon for “Castaway.””I’m Wilson’s father,” he quipped.The film, set for release in late 2009, will continue shooting in the Boston area over the next month. The cast and crew returns to Lynn in about three weeks, when a motorcycle chase scene on Munroe Street and an alley foot chase on Andrew Street are tentatively scheduled.Greg Alpert, the location manager, said he and another crew member were walking through Central Square on a Saturday morning several months ago when they came upon the bank. “The fact that it’s on a corner is attractive because it gives us more angles,” he said. “And it’s a great space inside.”The corner location also gives the filmmakers the ability to shoot straight down Munroe Street.