Recent local reports suggest that the 007 team are looking at spending up to 25 days shooting in Obertilliach, but rumours from the nation's press also suggest that the Bond production was looking to use the stunning Dachstein glacier - about a two hour drive from Obertilliach - as a backdrop for one sequence. Costs of establishing a base here were said to be prohibitive. The location was to involve an explosion at a ski lift and a helicopter landing.

Above: Altausseer See (Lake Altaussee) in winter.

The Austrian town of Altaussee, about 150 miles north of Obertilliach, is also expecting Daniel Craig and the cast of Bond 24 from January 5th 2015, with lensing to start on January 6th. The town is purportedly preparing for the arrival of the film crew by covering their ice rink in readiness to house forty vehicles for the duration of the shoot. It is understood that director Sam Mendes scouted the Altaussee locations himself and the production are hoping that the nearby Lake Altaussee (Altausseer See) will not be frozen during their visit to the small town with a population of just 1,777. A log cabin named Jagdhaus Seewiese with views of the lake is one of the main attractions for filmmakers. Filming is expected here before the principal cast and crew move to Obertilliach.

Above: Altaussee Jagdhaus on the edge of the Altausseer See.

In Obertilliach, the call went out for crew members with good English skills to assist the production of an un-named international film. The advertisement, quickly picked up by local papers, promised up to a total of six weeks work for the film, between November and February. The production are understood to be recruiting 150 crew members. Naturally the papers are speculating this is a thinly veiled call for work on Bond 24. The production are searching for: 18+ with full drivers licences; those with mountaineering experience and mountain rescue skills.

Above: Production continues in Obertilliach on constructing a temporary building on the outskirts of Obertilliach that will either be blown up or see a plane crash in to it during the film.

Locals are not sure whether Obertilliach will be mentioned by name in Bond 24, or merely double for another location. The production recently dropped their original plans for Norway due to financial considerations. Either way, the locals will welcome the lucrative tourism boost that inevitably follows 007. Bond 24 starts principal photography on December 6th, 2014 with locations that include Austria, Morocco, Italy and London.