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Those who have seen this shot all seem to have the same question: "WTF? How the hell did they do that?"
My answer: "I don't know, and I was there. But I do know this much- it was one of the most difficult shots I've ever taken."
These guys- Ryan Breslin, Julian DeGuzman, David Guzman, Jacob Guzman, and Evan Kasprzak- are performing right now in an undisclosed Broadway mega production (I'm sworn to silence, but it rhymes with Twosies). They're young, fit and totally nuts- perfect. They would lie on the ground, clutching their money. On the count of three, they would push up, extend into position, and then land hard on the concrete (without letting go of the money).
And they did this fifty-four times!
Why so many? Because I wouldn't stop until they cried, "Uncle". And dancers don't cry, "Uncle". So we were at an impasse.
As I will show you now, there were many roadblocks. "All we need is one," I kept saying. Followed immediately by, "So let's do it a few more times." It seemed like EVERY TIME something went wrong- cars, busses and people in the background were a big issue. However, getting all five dancers to hit their position (arms and legs extended) at the same moment without blocking each other was the biggest challenge.
Take a look:
I'm exhausted just looking at those shots, and there were forty more!
Besides the difficulties above, keeping 5th Avenue clear while they jumped was no picnic, and there were plenty of distractions behind me as well:
Plus the Juicy Couture guard kept telling us to stop blocking the doorway, and I really had to pee.
Eventually they cried, "Uncle". And with good reason- they're hands were like sides of beef at a butcher shop.
We got our shot, RTL got some amazing footage, and I finally had my pee. A perfect day!
