The ‘Russian Arm’ — Made in Ukraine — Gets a Name Change
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media WriterIn “The War of the Worlds,” Tom Cruise flees an alien invasion in a Plymouth minivan. The camera swoops around and around, capturing the drama inside the van as it swerves through traffic, and rising from a point below the bumper to look down on the chaos from high above.That shot was made possible by the Russian Arm, a gyro-stabilized crane mounted on the roof of a car.
The technology was introduced in the late 1990s, and has become a mainstay of the “Fast and Furious” and “Mission: Impossible” franchises as well as Marvel and DC superhero films such as “Black Widow” and “Wonder Woman.” Whenever there’s a car chase or a cavalry charge or a stampede of giant robots, the director calls for the Russian Arm.
But wait.The arm is not — strictly speaking — Russian. The company that makes it is based in Ukraine.And now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, the manufacturer, Filmotechnic, has decided to rally around its national flag.
The arm’s new name: the U-Crane.“The NEW OFFICIAL name of Filmotechnic’s world famous system is now U-CRANE in honor of (its) country of origin and their heroic fight against Russian aggression,” the company’s U.S.
Read more on variety.com
