Quantum of Solace – filming in Panama and Chile

The Quantum of Solace production has returned to Europe to shoot in the picturesque Italian town of Siena after a gruelling shoot lasting almost 2 months in Panama and Chile during February and March.

Daniel Craig touched down in Italy on April 6th to take part in filming on the rooftops, which planned to continue until April 12th. Once the rooftop sequence is in the can the production will move to Lake Garda for 2 weeks, while a second unit will be located a Talamone. The main unit then moves to Carrara for a fortnight, after which they head back to Siena to shoot scenes in the Piazza del Campo between 13th and 17th May.

South and Central American locations

Previously the production had been filming in Panama and Chile after location work in London and the 007 Stage at Pinewood in January. Filming first took place in various locations in Panama City old town, followed by Colon, some 80 km from Panama City and additional scenes shot off the coast of Panama in mid-March.

Although it was widely reported by some sections of the media that on set gang rivalry was affecting the shooting, this turned out to be a fabrication. And the report of a local gang member being shot dead by police in a riot connected with filming turned out to be a “journalist” falsely linking a protest about working conditions in the construction industry with Quantum of Solace and the equally false gang stories.

Reports that crewmembers were in fear of their lives finally prompted the producers to releases a statement to the effect that filming was on schedule and those reports were completely false, as loved ones back home were becoming increasingly concerned at hearing these reports repeated throughout the gutter press.

Following Panama, the cast and crew flew to Chile to use the ESO’s (European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere) Very large Telescope on the 2,600m Cerro Paranal mountain in the Atacama Desert.

And in one quite bizarre incident in Sierra Gorda in the Antofagasta region of Chile, the local mayor caused an on-set incident. Upset at his county being portrayed as Bolivia and claiming that the producers had not requested his permission to film there, he drove his car onto the set where Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko were filming a scene; he was immediately arrested for trespass, but released shortly after.

This antagonism toward the filmmakers for portraying their country as Bolivia stems from the territory being annexed by Chile the 1879-1883 war against Bolivia and appears to be held widely in the area, although it is of course perfectly normal for films to be shot in countries other than those portrayed.

Cast and Crew

Other news that has emerged is that Marc Forster has said that he won’t be involved in Bond 23, and would only get involved with such a big project he was the driving force behind the whole project. Meanwhile Daniel Craig joked that he’ll do 12 more Bond films, indicating that he seems to be committed to Bond for the foreseeable future. And Michael G Wilson has indicated that he wants a break from Bond, signalling that Bond 23 is likely to be a 3-year wait.