The recent influx of stars and camera crews for the filming of
the 20th Century Fox creation “Unstoppable” also brought in stars
of the four-legged variety.

“Houdini” and “Finder” may not be known by name, and “Houdini”
may not even be known by sight, but the two horses are recognizable
by film credits.

Nancy Dart who, along with her husband Ray, owns Rainy Day Farms
outside of Smethport, confirmed that they had two boarders for
roughly a week that had notable acting experience.

“Houdini” is a buckskin quarterhorse that played Zorro’s horse,
“Tornado,” in the “Legend of Zorro,” which was released in 2005.
Dart explained that “Houdini” had to be painted black to fit the
role.

“Houdini’s” time in front of the camera was shared with acting
talent Antonio Banderas (Don Alejandro de la Vega/Zorro), Catherine
Zeta-Jones (Elena de la Vega) and Alberto Reyes (Brother
Ignacio).

Meanwhile, “Finder,” a thoroughbred, was the stunt double for
the horse “Seabiscuit,” in the movie named after the equine and
released in 2003.

“Finder’s” time on the big screen was shared with actors Jeff
Bridges (Charles Howard) and Valerie Mahaffey (Annie Howard), among
others.

“For anything other than when Seabiscuit was standing in the
stall, that is the horse they used,” Dart informed The Era.

The pair of horses are reportedly in a scene in “Unstoppable”
that involves their trailer being hit by the runaway train.

Dart also shared the fact that one actor or stunt double who was
in “Unstoppable” and who had limited equestrian experience visited
the stable prior to filming in order to gain some experience with
the horses.

Filming took place over two days, with the actress visiting the
horses the day or two prior to filming.

“Unstoppable” is set for release in November 2010. It stars
Chris Pine as a young engineer and Denzel Washington as an older,
experienced engineer who are fighting to stop a runaway train
carrying chemicals before it wrecks and decimates a large city.

Filming for the movie has resulted in a big boost for the
economy both in McKean and Cameron counties, where a majority of
the filming took place. Many of the actors and crew found rooms and
visited restaurants and other businesses in the Bradford area.