What do Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller have in common? Well, they're all going to shoot movies in Iceland this summer.
Iceland has been a popular retreat for celebrities for some time and a very popular location for TV commercials for brands like Audi, Porsche, Peugeot, Johnny Walker and a series of others making the most of the magnificent Icelandic atmosphere. Now it seems like Hollywood has fallen in love with Iceland. The otherworldly landscape with glaciers, deserts, waterfalls and volcanoes within easy reach, well trained local crew with proofen experience form producing quality films in tough conditions and of course, the low value of the currency, are all very attractive features for the film industry.
Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson are starring Darren Aronofsky's film Noah which is a very large and complex production. Shootings are starting soon and will be all summer. Russell sounded excited about finally visiting Iceland on twitter:
I don't know about you, but I can easily picture Russell Crowe as a convincing Viking.
Ben Stiller was here this winter looking at locations for his next film "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and found what he was looking for. He'll be shooting in August and September and unlike most other projects, he will be doing a lot of urban shooting here as well in both Reykjavik and Seydisfjordur in the east.
Tom Cruise's film Oblivion is still more of a secret. All that has been heard is that it has been confirmed that it will be shot here this summer. According to IMDB Morgan Freeman and Andrea Riseborough will be co-starring the film. And the topic of the film:
"A court martial sends a veteran soldier to a distant planet, where he is to destroy the remains of an alien race. The arrival of an unexpected traveler causes him to question what he knows about the planet, his mission, and himself."
Otherworldly landscape sounds like the perfect match for that ;) And Tom Cruise isn't the only one to think so. Last summer Ridley Scott shot his film Prometheus here in Iceland, the prequel to the Alien movies and this summer the new Star Trek movie will be shot here as well. Looks like Iceland has become the cheap alternative to outer space.
Outer space isn't the only fictive world Iceland makes the perfect background for. So are the fictive worlds of Game of Thrones but last year part of series two was shot here and this year more of series three will be shot in Iceland. All those film projects have been a great boost for the small economy of Iceland as a lot of local crew and cast has been used. And if you watch closely the episode aired tonight you might actually see yours truly as one of Ygritte's Wildlings. Who knows, if I have the time, I might participate in some of the upcoming projects as well :)
Hjörtur
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