TOMB RAIDER PIC
BOOSTS LOCAL ECONOMY
Copyright 2004 www.tombraiderchronicles.com
[ July 28th 2004 ]
Stars
of film and TV are expected to attend the Welsh
premiere of King Arthur in Wales on Wednesday.
The big-budget movie, which features Welsh actor
Ioan Gruffudd as heroic Sir Lancelot, is expected
to net millions of pounds at the box office. But
the tiny village of Llandduesant in the Brecon
Beacons has been cashing in, too. Some scenes
were shot there, so more than 100 members of the
production crew moved in temporarily. They took
over the village hall and all available accommodation.
Film-makers
arrived in April, saying they would like to shoot
some parts on the mountain above the village.
Soon, all beds in the local pub were booked, and
an army of locals hired to provide services. Farmers
used their quad bikes to carry equipment up the
mountain, and children and their ponies were recruited
as extras. The Brecon Beacons were transformed
into the Russian Steppes and land around Hadrian's
Wall. Parts of the American-financed production
were also filmed at Painscastle, near Builth Wells,
but the majority of the footage was shot in Ireland.
It was estimated that more than £300,000 was spent
in the area as the crew went about its work.
Filming
is now big business in Wales, adding £8m to the
Welsh economy last year. King Arthur has a mainly
British cast, with Clive Owen in the title role
and Keira Knightley as Queen Guinevere. Big-name
movie stars are becoming a frequent sight in Wales
as the country gains popularity as a location
for film and TV productions.
Back
in March, Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny
Depp was in Crickhowell, near Abergavenny, to
shoot scenes for his latest film - and joined
pub regulars for a drink. Hundreds of people from
neighbouring towns and villages were drafted in
as extras for The Libertine, in which Depp plays
a 17th Century earl. Tretower Court - a restored
courtyard house with its origins in the 14th Century
- was used for much of the filming.
Tomb
Raider star Angelina Jolie has visited Snowdonia
in north Wales twice in recent years - firstly
when the area doubled as rural China in Tomb Raider
II, and again when she co-starred with Vanessa
Redgrave in The Fever. The latest Bond movie,
Die Another Day had a sequence shot on Penbryn
beach near Cardigan, and the producer later returned
to scout around the Millennium Stadium and the
Cardiff Bay barrage for potential locations.
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