Nikolaj Coster-Waldau at a time of the filming of 'Game of Thrones' in Seville
The gossips tell that the sprees that Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif they stuck in Seville while filming lasted Lawrence of Arabia they were almost as famous as the film itself.
They also say that Natalie Portman , to go unnoticed during the days when she filmed the sequences of Star Wars: Episode 2. Attack of the Clones in the mythical Plaza de España in Seville, she signed up as Sophie at the Hotel Alfonso XIII In case someone recognized her...
No one explained to them that Pamplona and Seville have nothing to do with each other
What surely had to be good is the face that the representatives of the Seville City Council must have had when the producers of Knight and Day _(Night and day) _ they were told that they planned to shoot a running of the bulls –with their bulls included- with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz along the very Sierpes street. Obviously, this never happened.
The list of anecdotes is long. Almost as much or more than the number of great directors who have based part of their films on Sevillian settings.
And it is that the patrimonial wealth of the city is tempting. From great Hollywood blockbusters to Marca España, few are those who can resist falling at his feet.
It is not that we have become nostalgic wanting to recall stories from the past. Perhaps it is simply that we have brought out our most cinephile side.
With the excuse that this week kicks off the 15th ** Seville Film Festival ** (from November 9 to 17) and taking advantage of the fact that this year, in addition, the capital of Seville will become the venue for the award ceremony of European Film Awards 2018 , we wanted to pay tribute to this beautiful city that has a special color, even for the seventh art.
It probably all started when David Lee chose different locations in Seville to set part of Lawrence of Arabia. It was the 60's and the eastern essence, inherited from the Arabs and present in many of the city's monuments, was the key to represent, in the film, interiors located in Cairo, Damascus or Jerusalem.
Scene from 'Lawrence of Arabia'
Until four months the team spent staying at the Hotel Alfonso XIII while doing his job and O'Toole discovered the magic of the Sevillian night….
At that time, the Alcazar of Seville became Damascus; the Captaincy General of the Plaza de España, in a General Headquarters in Cairo; the America Square, in Jerusalem municipal buildings; and the Casa de Pilatos, a beautiful 15th-century palace in which Mudejar and Renaissance elements are combined, in the headquarters of General Allemby in the same city.
It was clear that the presence of Hollywood was going to mark a before and after in Seville. Perhaps that is why it did not matter when a cable wound around the head of one of the Roman statues of the House of Pilate, shamelessly decapitating it. As the Marchioness of Medinaceli, owner of the house, said at that moment: "Nothing happens, it was just Roman."
Pulling from anecdotes and assumptions, one more: it is said that it is said that It was precisely seeing this cinematographic work of art that George Lucas fell in love with Seville.
Star Wars: Episode 2. Attack of the Clones
A few years later, it was clear: decided to transform the majestic Plaza de España, the one projected by the architect Aníbal González for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, on Naboo, one of the planets in Obi-Wan Kenobi's universe.
Could there be anything more surreal? Lucas' ingenuity worked to achieve create an absolutely fantastic imaginary world in one of the most traditional corners of Andalusia.
Impact? Seven thousand people auditioned for extras in Star Wars: Episode 2 Attack of the Clones. What could be more exciting than appearing in the background while Princess Amidala (Natalie Portman) and a young Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) strolled through the Plaza de España? We tell you: absolutely nothing.
The result was 48 hours of filming, 2 minutes of footage and one more step to catapult the Plaza de España to film stardom.
We have to say that Lean and Lucas were the only ones: the provocateur was also clear Sasha Baron Cohen by revolutionizing this mythical square during the filming of The dictator in 2011.
In this case, transformed into the presidential palace of an Arab dictator whose subjects (1,500 extras) acclaimed him every time he stepped out onto the balcony. The most peculiar thing about the experience? That the dictator ran into a demonstration of the United Left that, banner included, decided to plant itself in the offices of the Captaincy General in the middle of filming...
Sacha Baron Cohen in 'The Dictator'
What is clear is that all the figures of international cinema who land in Seville end up captivated by her. If not, ask Ridley Scott who, after basing much of his film 1492: the conquest of paradise at the Casa de Pilatos, he returned in 2004 to repeat the stage in the filming of The Kingdom of Heaven , and add incidentally the Royal Alcazar to its repertoire of Seville locations.
That's how it is, Jeremy Irons and Orlando Bloom they were walking around Hall of the Ambassadors and by the Patio de las Doncellas like Pedro for his house. They even had time to enjoy some flamenco –the best he has ever seen, according to Irons-.
Yes indeed, they did not set foot in the gardens of the Alcázar: those better reserved for other productions that would come in the future.
And they arrived. Wow, they arrived! Since Game of Thrones set the kingdom of Dorne in them during its fifth season, the Real Alcázar increased its views considerably. Even the very Jaime Lannister collaborated on it! And how did he do it? Paying his entrance like any other tourist when he was on his way to the shooting of the series.
Guided tours, mentions in the guides... The revolution that the HBO series has brought about in Seville has been unprecedented. And it is that the thing did not end there: In the seventh season, the film crew returned to expand locations by adding the Reales Atarazanas and the Roman ruins of Itálica to its list. , on the outskirts of Seville.
And from the Lannisters, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in their Knight and Day. Both Hollywood stars staged a whole motorcycle chase through the streets of the historic center, with bulls included (this part was finally shot in Cádiz) in what pretended to be a running of the bulls for the San Fermines. Yes, no one explained to them that Pamplona and Seville are located, literally, each one in a corner of Spain.
There is no shortage of curiosities in this film either. Like, for example, who was the actress Ingrid Garcia-Jonsson, only 18 years old, who made her first steps in the world of cinema participating as Cameron Diaz's lights double. Who was going to tell her that years later she would be nominated for a Goya…
The list of movie sets goes on. Because who has not remembered while he walks through the Santa Cruz neighborhood , for example, from Eduardo Noriega being persecuted by Nazarenes in Nobody knows anybody? Paz Vega and her character from Carmen de ella walked through the Former Tobacco Factory, today the Rectorate building , that she dressed in period clothes for the occasion.
'La Peste' recreates Seville in the 16th century
More recently, a series of locations, including the surroundings of the cathedral , became the Seville of Plague to set the scene for this successful series that is already filming its second season.
Dani Rovira, Clara Laguna and their horse carriage they put the point and followed the box office Eight Basque surnames next to the Guadalquivir . Ariadna Gil and Juan Echanove recreated a scene from Captain Alatriste at the Casa de Moneda y Timbre; Y Paco Leon used numerous locations in Seville to reflect the reality of him in carmine or bust Y carmine and amen.
And in this way we could go on and on, but we will have to leave some surprises for when we visit Seville, don't you think?
Of course, we reveal the last of the signings of this infinite list of shootings: MotherFatherSon, a series for the BBC starring Richard Gere and Elena Anaya that, after filming in the buildings of the Parliament of Andalusia and the City Council , has reminded us, once again, that Seville is a huge movie set.
So just in case… Hush, it's rolling!