Images

Phil Cory has been working on films for over 30 years. During that time he has created the "standard" type of effects, rain, snow, wind, etc. and has been credited with creating some of the most spectacular effects seen on the screen.

These pages contains some images of some on his more recent films.

The Money Train | Die Hard With a Vengeance | Drop Zone

The Money Train

In the background is the actual 'Money Train". In place of the high current electric motors, used by the New York subway, Phil Cory designed a power plant using, 4, tandem, turbo charged, propane burning, 454 Chevy engines, powering high performance hydraulic pumps and motors. This power plant gave the director the speed he needed to sell his shot. That's 120,100lbs' moving at 40 mph, in less than 400 ft.!

The pictures below are two angles of the same scene. Here two, of the three Money Trains, are shown at the north end of the subway set. In the foreground is the motion controlled slider car, on its flatbed car. The slider car could travel from 0 to 20mph in 30ft., while the subway trains pulling the flatbed car traveled through the station near 40mph. Repeatable and predictable crashes allowed the director to stage precise events with full scale effects.


The third "Money Train", was a set of semi-stationary motion controlled gimbals. These gimbals were made to perform the same crash as the moving train, but in a much safer environment
	The Money Train gimbals could traverse 30ft of floor, while rocking from 4 points. The subway car gimbals (to the right, out of frame), could yaw its front cabin 6ft side to side, while rocking from 4 points.
Side view of the ``Money Train" slider, as it sits on a flatbed car. The rear end of the subway car has been crushed, by the motion controlled crash of the ``Money Train"

The "Money Train", inside the 3000+ foot long, 20 foot high, 60 foot wide, tunnel and subway station. Built near Chinatown, north of downtown Los Angeles, the set is the longest in film history.
	On the left, Stunt Coordinator Andy Gill sets up a stunt, using the motion controlled slider car. As the slider approaches to ram the end of the subway car again, two stunt doubles make the leap from car to car.