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Details of filming in Panama and Italy for the 22nd
James Bond film "Quantum of Solace" emerge...
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Production Diary (9)
2nd February 2008
Panama
A 78-year-old building that houses the Cultural Institute
of Panama will be transformed into a hotel for the filming of
the
new James Bond film "Quantum of Solace". Shooting will
also includes scenes set in the northern province of Colon.
Filming in the Instituto
de Cultura building in the Old Town district of the Panamanian
capital will start on February 11th. The shooting will
last about a week and will include other sites in the area
such as a former colonial social club.
The Instituto de
Cultura has been repainted and fitted with new carpet
for the filming. The building constructed in 1930 and served
from 1932 as the seat of the Supreme Court.
Local press
claim that one of the scenes include an assassination
attempt on James Bond when he is in the hotel elevator. |
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Above: The Instituto de Cultura building in the Old Town district of Panama. |
For the filming will use hundreds of extras
both in the Old Town and in Columbus, about 80 kilometres north
of the capital.
For shooting in the Old Town, parking lots near the National
Theater
were rented and the area of an old public market was
used as a focal point. Pitu Jaén, assistant head of the
Old Town office, confirmed the details to local reporters.
Above: A typical street in Old Town, Panama |
Jaén
said that the Panama locations will be doubling for Bolivia.
Panama will not feature as Panama in the film. He added that
his office has been in consultation with the production to coordinate
with local residents to "minimize inconvenience" during
the shooting.
Elsewhere, Carlos Chavarria
the district mayor of Portobelo, in the Atlantic province
of Colon, said that filming in his area would take place
between March 1st and March 4th.
"They are going to
shoot in the town of La Guaira, on Goat Island and in the
Tunnel of Love, a place where there is only mangroves and
is located between the towns of Garrote and Cacique",
he said. Chavarria, who noted that the film highlights
the historic sites of Portobelo, revealed there are plans
to hire some 700 people to work as extras, 'although most
are choosing to (the city of) Columbus'. |
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Above: The old colonial town of Portobelo |
The Marketing Coordinator of the Panamanian
Institute of Tourism, Andres Castro, said that Panama receives
benefits of filming. "Many
of the films we see in the movies leave us images that stay with
us and encourage us to want to visit places where they thrive
plots," he added. He stressed that "the production
of a film also generates foreign exchange and creates local jobs
associated with the films." He added that jobs, temporary
or permanent, "serve as a great experience for the development
of Panamanian qualified personnel in all areas of film production." In
July 2007, President Martin Torrijos signed a law on the Promotion
of the Film and Broadcasting in Panama, which helps
boost the country's film industry.
Italy
Cast and crew will arrive in Italy to shoot at Malcesine from
March 15th to March 21st, according to reports. The filming will
take place between the resort towns of Malcesine, Tempesta and
Navene.
The locations have been
selected for the pre-titles sequence for the film, which
will see a stunning 200 KPH car chase along the banks of
Lake Garda.
The pursuit will feature spectacular and
reckless manoeuvres in a series of tunnels, culminating
with a scene
where a truck brings the action to an abrupt halt and
huge explosion.
After March 21st, the production will
move to Limone in order capture the remaining shots for
the chase. |
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Above: The resort town of Malcesine |
News Round-Up...
Spanish actor Fernando
Guillen Cuervo has been cast in "Quantum
of Solace", according to media reports.
The Barcelona-born 45 year old actor/director has mostly appeared
in Spanish-language films up until now. Cuervo's agency confirmed
the casting to reporters. There are no details yet on his character
MI6 attended the 2008 Toy Fair in the UK earlier this week to
witness the unveiling of new James Bond products coming out later
this year. Corgi
announced a new series of 7" action figures that will feature characters from the 21 James Bond films to date
as well as the upcoming "Quantum of Solace". In the line-up
of figures from the new movie, Corgi mysteriously included a character
named "Elvis" in the list. This character has yet to
be announced by the production. Back in December, Swiss actor Anatole
Taubman confirmed he had landed
a 'henchman' role in the film. Taubman has yet to be officially
announced too.
Briefing
Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (Eon
Productions), QUANTUM OF SOLACE was released in the
UK on October 31st 2008 and is directed by
Marc Forster. Principal photography started on January
3rd
2008 at
Pinewood Studios and around the UK, and foreign locations
including Italy, Panama, Chile, Peru and Austria.
Paul Haggis completed the script based on a first draft
screenplay developed by regular scribes Neal Purvis & Robert
Wade, with later polish by Joshua Zetumer. The story
is a direct continuation of the events of Casino
Royale. 007 faces off against
villains Mathieu Amalric (Dominic Greene), Anatole
Taubman (Elvis) and Joaquin Cosío (General Medrano).
Olga Kurylenko (Camille) and Gemma Arterton (MI6 Agent
Fields) play the Bond Girls. Dame Judi Dench (M), Jeffrey
Wright (Felix Leiter) and Giancarlo Giannini (Mathis)
reprise their roles as Bond's allies. It is British
actor Daniel Craig’s second outing as James Bond,
following his debut film Casino Royale released November
16th 2006.
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