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Location shooting for the 22nd James Bond film looks
destined to take place in Austria as negotiations
to use the
floating opera stage near completion...
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Bond 22 Pre-Production Diary (20)
13th December 2007
As MI6 first reported, the production crew of
the upcoming Bond 22 movie have considered Austria as a shooting
location since August. Local news confirms today that shooting
arrangements have been finalised for for the 22nd James Bond
film.
A casting session for around 2000 extras will
be held in Bregenz in mid-January. Although there is no contractual
agreement in place yet, the tight shooting schedule is reportedly
behind
the move to make arrangements. The extras will make up an "audience"
for a performance of the opera "Tosca" - which will act as a
backdrop to action involving 007.
Above: The impressive set for
the production of Tosca on the floating stage in Bregenz,
Austria |
Leonhard Gmür, the manager of Swiss production
company Unicorn, told reporters he is bust preparing filming
for Vorarlberg, which includes casting
extras
and making accommodation
arrangements for cast and crew. Gmür and Unicorn has previous
experience working for Eon Productions with "Goldeneye" (1995)
and "Tomorrow
Never Dies" (1997).
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Gmür stressed that shooting arrangements
had not been finalised yet due to ongoing negotiations
with the team behind "Tosca" and the Bregenz
Festival because they have to consent to the use of the
stage and its design and direction. Axel Renner, spokesman
for the festival, said talks were in full swing, and the
timetable is not yet at risk.
The opera stage "Seebühne Bregenzer" is
currently scheduled to host James Bond in late April with
filming to take place at night. A short driving sequence
(presumable in the recently confirmed Aston Martin DBS)
will take place in the old town of Feldkirch.
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Above: The city of Bregenz in the
Voralberg region of Austria.
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Bond 22 In Austria - A Brief History
Austria first hit the Bond 22 newswires in August, when
MI6 reported that the production team had visited the city
of Bregenz to take in a rehearsal performance of "Tosca" a
unique Opera stage which floats on the water (known as the "Seebühne").
The stage is a key tourist attraction of the region, and due
to the expensive sets used in the productions, each opera is
featured for two consecutive years. The production team also
visited the Festival Opera House in the city during the trip.
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Above: The central
'eye' rotates in the stage backdrop (left),
the 7000-strong audience watches from inclined seating (right)
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A month later, location
scouting took place again in Voralberg, the westernmost state
of Austria. Though it is the nation's second smallest state in
terms of area (Vienna is the smallest), Voralberg borders Germany,
Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Bregenz is the capital of the
Voralberg region, which also is one of the five cities (the other
four are: Dornbirn, Hohenems, Feldkirch and Bludenz). Production
representatives were also interested in the modern architecture
around the Rhine Valley region Ländle. Location scouting
also took in the art gallery in Bregenz, the area of Bodensee
around Lake Constance, and the nearby Friedrichshafen airport
across the border in Germany, and then between the cities of
Dornbirn and Friedrichshafen.
On
November 23rd, location
scouts flew in to Friedrichshafen airport and moved to the Old
Town of Feldkirch
in the Voralberg region. Press reports that the production team
ignored the Christmas market that had just been put in place
for the holidays, instead focusing on the historic buildings
and arcades. A day later, members of the production team were in
the nearby town of Bregenz to develop negotiations. Agreements
to film the floating opera stage that currently hosts "Tosca" were
ongoing.
