Written by new-contact on Sep 23, 2011. Posted in General Interest

Editor's Weekly

Guinness re-asserted itself as a brand this week with an epic rain-soaked battle shot in Hungary. South Africa and New Zealand formed a co-production agreement that could boost both of these global production hubs, and there was news from two of the biggest studio features shooting right now.

This week saw the release of Guinness’ new commercial Some Are Made Of More, which made use of a hilly landscape near Budapest and was brought to life by Oscar’s 2011 Best Director, Tom Hooper. It’s a dynamic spot that’s all about the visuals, evoking Zack Snyder’s 300 with its rich atmosphere. Colour palette aside, the connection to Guinness is tenuous, but that’s never been a problem for the brand in the past.

Guinness' spot is all about the visuals, evoking Zack Snyder’s 300 with its rich atmosphere. Colour palette aside, the connection to Guinness is tenuous at best, but that’s never been a problem for the brand in the past.

In our latest interview, we spoke to Alex Sutherland about filming in Istanbul and the importance of having good Government contacts when trying to lens places in the city that don’t tend to show up on-screen that much. Alex gave a fascinating insight in the wake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’s portrayal of the city, a film he worked on. Istanbul’s not seen on film all that much, but with the city’s Parisian Court being the setting for one of the film’s crucial scenes it becomes apparent what filmmakers can accomplish with a great local fixer.

Elsewhere, Scotland’s biggest city Glasgow has continued its pretty stunning summer by hosting the big-budget feature epic Cloud Atlas only a few weeks after parts of the city centre were shut down for World War Z. The US studios like the city’s historic streets and this summer they’ve doubled for Philadelphia and San Francisco, while Glasgow’s also close to world-class studio facilities elsewhere in the UK and in Europe. These factors have put the city firmly on Hollywood’s radar and it’ll be interesting to see what business comes its way in the coming months.

Scotland’s biggest city Glasgow has continued its pretty stunning summer by hosting the big-budget feature epic Cloud Atlas only a few weeks after parts of the city centre were shut down for World War Z.

We’ve also taken a look at Toronto and Stockholm this week. The big-budget remake of Total Recall has just wrapped in Toronto. It’s been a significant project for the city and could pave the way for more summer tent-pole releases to head for Canada as they chase generous filming incentives and a skilled crew base.

Stockholm has already hosted the Swedish-language Millennium Trilogy that made Noomi Rapace a star, and the city is now considering how to benefit from film tourism, especially with David Fincher’s remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo just around the corner.

Alaska’s incentive scheme doesn’t seem to be convincing Hollywood’s biggest studio productions yet, so the state will be hoping for a change in attitudes in the near future.

Alaska will be recreated in British Columbia for Zack Snyder’s Superman film Man of Steel. Alaska’s incentive scheme doesn’t seem to be convincing Hollywood’s biggest studio productions yet, so the state will be hoping for a change in attitudes in the near future. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films will probably be filming in the picturesque idyll of Queenstown. It’s one of the Southern Hemisphere’s busiest production hubs for both films and commercials.

As always, The Location Guide’s Film-Friendly Locations database continues to grow and we’re always looking for your input. If you manage a building or a location that you think qualifies as film-friendly, or you’ve filmed somewhere recently that you think should be listed on our website, please contact Ewa.

If you’ve got some great location filming stories to share and you’d like to be part of our profile section (see here), or you have an idea for an article (see here) please contact Murray. We’d be happy to hear from you.