It’s Double-O Go! Although principal photography with Daniel Craig as 007 is yet to begin, some preliminary production shooting on Bond 25 has already commenced this week in Norway.
A ‘B25’ crew, with a large number of support vehicles and filming equipment (including some specialist diving equipment), started work on Monday (March 25th) in Nordmarka, an area just north of the country’s capital city of Oslo.
The Nordmarka area is well known for its beauty. It consists of large lakes, hills, valleys and forests, and is a location which, at this time of year, still has significant snow on the ground.
The JBIFC understands that the decision to commence some early production work was largely governed by concern that the wintry weather conditions could become unpredictable and change, leading to possible early thawing of some of the snow and ice (and a frozen lake is part of a key plot sequence). The B25 crew is using Trehorningen in the forests as its main location base, and is filming at Langvann and also at Lutvann. A large wooden cabin (Hyttte) was carved into the ice at Langvann, one of the local lakes in Hakadal.
The brief filming in the forest area has been scheduled to last from March 25th to April 2nd. Permission was secured from the area’s local authority to use some camera-helicopters to fly at high speed at low altitudes in the area. The filming also involves some shots both above a lake and underwater in a lake. Security has been very tight in the area, with key areas fenced off temporarily. Contract workers for the Pro Sec Security firm have been employed to keep curious onlookers away. A huge number of wooden logs were put down for temporary vehicle parking purposes, and some equipment is being stored in a large rented barn.
The new James Bond film has taken advantage of some generous financial incentives offered by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian State Film Institute is thought to be paying 47 Million NOK in state aid grants to the film-makers as a reward for using locations in Norway. The incentive scheme provides an estimated 25% refund of expenses for an international movie production to shoot in the country, and the sum being paid to Bond 25 is said to be the largest sum paid so far by the Norwegian state to an international movie production. As with the Mexican government in relation to location shooting for Spectre, the Norwegian state has calculated that, in terms of publicity and additional income from a boost to tourism, hosting the latest 007 adventure is a win-win situation.
Meanwhile, 007 star Daniel Craig has been busy maintaining his highly disciplined physical training regime as he awaits the main filming to begin in just a few weeks time.
Watch this space for further Bond 25 production news as it develops. You know the name, and you know the number.
