While you’re watching the onscreen row between Iron Man and Captain America when “Captain America: Civil War” hits theaters next year, keep an eye out for a local celebrity.
The would-be star is a 1960 Route Master bus owned by Rufus Marye of Chattanooga Double Decker. When not being used as a movie prop, the iconic British bus gives tours of historic sites around town.
But for about four days last month, it sat in a hotel parking lot in the Buckhead area of Atlanta while a film crew shot scenes for the upcoming movie starring Chris Evans as Captain America and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.
In the film, the two action heroes can’t seem to play nice together and disagree on how certain things should be handled. The schism eventually leads to a battle. The film is scheduled for release in May 2016.
Marye drove the bus down on a Saturday for a Monday shoot. A crew rewrapped one side of the bus with temporary logos advertising The Royal Mint and tours of Piccadilly Square in the United Kingdom. The bus was not moved or driven for the film and was used as a static prop.
“It was just parked at a hotel,” Marye said. “I just waited while they filmed.”
Marye, who also operates the Chattanooga Brew Choo, attended McCallie School as a boarding student “and fell in love with Chattanooga.” After college he returned to start a business. He bought the bus in Los Angeles in 2010 and drove it back to Tennessee.
“I bought it because it had already been retrofitted with an American engine and transmission,” which are more reliable and less trouble than the British versions, he says.
Since he’s had it, the bus has been used in a couple of commercials, including one for a foreign company that was shot in Miami.
“It was a long drive, but it was worth it,” he said.
While Marye got the bus originally for the tours, “it seems we make most of our money from private rentals for things like weddings and parties.”
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.