Rolling ball sculptures in "Fracture," Anthony Hopkins movie
Rolling Ball sculptures, both desktop and 6-foot tall, appear in the 2007 Anthony Hopkins film “Fracture.” These elaborate rolling machines serve as dramatic metaphors for the character of Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) and the story, symbolic of the many intricate and crafty plot twists that lie ahead in this clever late-breaking suspense thriller.
Anthony Hopkins plays Ted Crawford in the movie ‘Fracture’, a wealthy aeronautical engineer from Los Angeles, a precise and meticulous man who builds these rolling ball sculptures for fun. In the living room of his elegant designer home there is one of those rolling ball sculptures, also known as kinetic art (sculptures that have movement), approximately 6 feet tall by 6 feet wide with shiny metallic tracks and carved wooden wheels. , where little glass balls slide and roll. an elaborately choreographed dance, a beautiful piece of precision machinery and dramatic art.
The machines are also known as ‘Rubes’, originally represented by the famous draftsman and engineer Rube Goldberg, ‘complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect and complicated ways’. It is difficult for a writer to describe these sculptures – they are whimsical, not only functional but highly visual with all the works on display.
The writer of the movie ‘Fracture’ came up with the idea to use a rolling ball machine in the movie ‘Fracture’ while playing with his son who likes marble mazes. The marbles roll through a maze of confusing tracks only to emerge in unexpected places.
The film’s writer appointed Mark Bischof, a Dutch artist, to advise and supervise the special effects team that built the rolling ball sculptures for ‘Fracture’. Bischof has been working in kinetic art for over 10 years and designs the sculptures to showcase the slow release of energy from a guided ball along metal tracks. It uses track change mechanisms, loops, spirals, gutters, and other devices to demonstrate various aspects of this energy – the sculptures are fascinating.
The writer Gers said: “It is always better when you can find an external sign to show the inner person (speaking of Ted Crawford, Anthony Hopkins) but when I wrote the paragraph, I never imagined the complex machine they would have to build.”
Various configurations of Bischoff’s designs were built on set. Anderson, the special effects director, and his team were honored and excited to step outside the normal purview of their pyrotechnics, explosives, and mechanical effects duties to build the 8-foot sculpture along with a full-size “stunt double.” Together they designed the kinetic brass sculpture and its wooden base to complement the dynamic architecture of Crawford’s unique home.
The large sculpture measures 8 feet tall x 8 feet wide x 2 feet deep and uses two 12-volt, remote-operated electric motors, weighing about 250 pounds. The manual desktop version measures approximately 14 inches x 32 inches x 12 inches wide.
