“Dubrovnik is the perfect Nottingham” was the headline of our hotel magazine. It appears that in February, the fortress was used in the film Robin Hood: Origins. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed it; the release date is not until September 2018. The film stars Taron Edgerton, Jamie Foxx, Jamie Dornan, and Eve Hewson. You have seen Edgerton in Kingsman, Hewson in Bridge of Spies, and Dornan in Fifty Shades trilogy. The director said he spent three months looking for a location in England before checking out Dubrovnik. He knew immediately this was the spot for his movie. This is supposed to be a grittier, war version. It is interesting that there are four, count ’em, four Robin Hood movies currently in stages of production. Somebody must think we like medieval times!
For those of you who enjoy Game of Thrones, you might have been under the impression that King’s Landing was located somewhere in the old English Empire. That would be incorrect. It is also filmed in the Old Town of Dubrovnik. As our guide turned the corner, the Walk of Shame steps were instantly recognizable. Apparently the production used local folks to throw garbage at the unclad Cersei. These are actually the Jesuit Steps and the church originally said NO to the nudity. A slight change in location and the scene was allowed to proceed. The steps were designed to be similar to the Spanish Steps in Rome. Similar to Lord of the Rings and Hobbit tours in New Zealand, you can take Game of Thrones tours in Dubrovnik.
The new report is that Black Money Games is to be filmed in Hvar next spring and it will star Tom Hanks. Now methinks that actors and directors just want to have a nice vacation. And, as I have said, this is a gorgeous area. The Croatians are eager to please. What’s not to like?
A final word about Dubrovnik. The guide told me that the top five visitors to Croatia were the Germans, South Koreans, Chinese, Americans, and then the British. When I inquired why the Koreans traveled all the way to Croatia, it was because they had a reality TV show set in Croatia. While not film, this certainly shows the power of video in its many forms.
Warning: The Verge reports that mother! will likely be the most hated movie of the year. It is about a poet husband taking his wife for granted to please a fan. The director says it’s an allegory about humans failing to take care of Mother Earth. Taken together with some violence, it doesn’t sound like this is a “fun” movie. As they used to say at the beginning of Hill Street Blues, “Be careful out there!”