Made in Hollywood

Although Morocco is a square inch of North Africa, it has a rich and diverse topography. It guards the Strait of Gibraltar, has waters on both sides of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, with the snow-capped Atlas Mountains in the center and the vast Sahara Desert in the southeast. 》

In the 20th century, the film industry was booming. People with cameras discovered this place and began to set up camps in Morocco to shoot movies. Some cities, mountain villages and even deserts in Morocco gradually became sceneries on the screen, and the location industry here also flourished.

Having said that, Morocco is indeed naturally equipped with all the conditions that the location has.

There is plenty of sunshine throughout the year,'the weather is desperately good', and the color contrasts are distinct, the red Marrakech, the red Ait Ben Haddou village, the red desert... and the Ate across Morocco. The Las Snow Mountain has created the complex terrain and diverse landforms here, and these are the most popular backgrounds for blockbuster directors like Duke.

Ouarzazate, a small city on the edge of the Sahara Desert, is the place where Berbers have lived for generations. Since Hollywood directors discovered this feng shui treasure, the scenery of this area has frequently appeared in the films of major Hollywood directors.

The locals set up a movie city in the filming location of the directors. It is called Atlas Studios. It is an ever-expanding movie city. Today it covers an area of ​​more than 150 hectares. Many movies are not only taken here, but also Take the interior here.

Just like Bollywood in India, it is jokingly called "Mollywood".

For a chase scene in "Inception", Duke chose to shoot in the small town of Ouarzazate.

Although in the script setting, the scene takes place in Mombasa, Kenya, Duke will not go to that country to shoot. In fact, all Hollywood crews are basically like this. Most of the African scenes in Hollywood movies are shot in Morocco.

The crew delineated the shooting range of an alley and half a street. And it was temporarily closed, the relevant staff arranged the venue tensely, and Duke found Leonardo DiCaprio, the key figure in the scene.

He stood on the edge of a very narrow wall, and constantly gestured with his hands to the width of the wall. When shooting, he needed to get through from the other side.

Duke walked behind Leonardo and reminded him. "I think it's best to use a double."

Leonardo turned his head, looked at Duke, and then at the narrow wall. He seemed to understand something, and his eyes widened. "Hey, Duke, do you think I can't get through?"

Looking at the crack in the wall, and then at Leonardo's body, which was much wider than himself, Duke didn't say anything. But a tacit attitude.

"You really thought I couldn't make it!" Leonardo confirmed this and went around Duke, "I tell you, I can do it!"

Duke shrugged and patted Leonardo's arm. "If you get stuck inside, I will find a special demolition company to rescue you."

Regardless of the reason, it is an indisputable fact that Leonardo DiCaprio is evolving into a middle-aged uncle.

Compared with Duke's slightly thin body. He can indeed be described as wide and fat.

After the crew was ready, on-site shooting soon began. Leonardo was pursued all the way, got into the crack in the wall from the alley opposite, trying to squeeze through the middle...

Leonardo had just entered the crack in the wall, and a camera assistant immediately set up the camera to the opposite side of him to capture the front shot.

In the crack in the wall, Leonardo squeezed forward desperately. Although Duke teased him that he couldn't squeeze in, in fact the crew chose this place as the filming location and had already conducted field tests. Even if Leonardo was a lot fatter than before, he squeezed in without any problems.

Moreover. No crew will let a superstar like Leonardo DiCaprio take unnecessary risks.

Hardly squeezing in, Leonardo ran forward a few steps before Duke announced the completion of the shot, and then Ken Watanabe and James Franco, who were already ready, went on stage one after another, and the crew started shooting again. busy.

The shooting time in Morocco is not as tight as in Japan, and Duke in the Kyoto area of ​​Japan has been to more than once before, but Morocco has not been very much. I specially spared the time and hired local vehicles and drivers to talk to Leonardo and James. ?Franco went out for a few laps together.

A tourist like Duke who knows about movies, traveling in the valley along the road from Ouarzazate to the Sahara Desert, seems to have entered a shot of a blockbuster film, vaguely remembering the scenery shots of many films, and it seems that many films are here. The scene was taken.

Driving along the road between the Atlas Valley, the driver clearly recognized Duke and his party and told them professionally from time to time that this movie was filmed here and that it was the location of that movie.

It's just people like Duke who focus on the scenery outside the car window.

As the car drove all the way, the scenery flashed through the window like a blockbuster one by one. The originally dazzling scenery, coupled with the legendary experience in the movie, became even more mysterious.

In Duke's eyes, the scenery in front of him is no longer a simple scenery, but is endowed with many story situations by the movie.

Has the protagonist walked out of the "Tongtian Pagoda" in the narrow valley in the Atlas Mountains? There, the ordinary village at the foot of the mountain, is it the Jerusalem in the ‘kingdom of heaven’? Among the majestic and magnificent peaks, are the Egyptian pharaohs, queen Petra, or even the "paradise" in the eyes of God?

The yellow and red soil, the rugged stones, and the gentle streams under the mountain streams here are indeed unique.

Because of the ‘Mollywood’ relationship, many locals make a living from movies, and labor is cheap, which is another important reason why the film crews in Europe and the United States are here.

During the lunch break, the driver took Duke and others to a Berber village to watch them weaving carpets. As a result, James Franco always thought that the owner of this family was very familiar and must have shown his face in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Finally, Duke and his party went to the visit area of ​​Atlas Film City, where the crew of Inception did not shoot.

Probably Duke’s bodyguard gave a full tip, or maybe it was Leonardo DiCaprio’s relationship with the superstar. The driver and tour guide Imade, who accompanied the three of Duke, was extremely enthusiastic and spoke special. There are many, constantly introducing the buildings or landscapes they encounter.

Walking in the Atlas Film City, even in the face of professionals like Duke, Leonardo and James Franco, Imade is still talking.

"We have plenty of sunshine, diversified scenes and much lower prices than those in Europe and the United States. We have more extras on demand, and are most suitable for Hollywood blockbusters." He said, "This wasteland has also supported three More than a thousand people."

Although the visiting area of ​​Atlas Film City is not large, the whole scene has a lot of origin in the introduction of Imad.

The fortified Romanesque temple is the trial hall in "The Last Temptation of Christ", and not far away is the ancient Egyptian temple in "The Return of the Mummy". The smoky statue has suffered a war; turned into a courtyard, The veterans of "Alexandria" held a meeting in it. A row of earthen houses next to it served as the slave market in "Gladiator". The opulently decorated palace on the opposite side belonged to the beauty in the French film "The Mission of Cleopatra". The glamorous Cleopatra, as for the mirage-like castle in the desert in the distance, is the holy city of Jerusalem in "The Kingdom of Heaven"...

In fact, every building you see, no matter how exquisite and heavy they look, is in the eyes of professionals like Duke, they are fakes made of wood mortar.

The sun gradually turned to the west. Duke and Leonardo stood on a high step and looked into the distance. Under the oblique sunset, three riders in Arabian robes sat firmly on their horses from a distance. From the "Jerusalem" section, passing by the "Karnak Temple", then bypassing the ruined walls of several ancient Greek temples, and heading straight to a Tibetan-style lama temple-that was shot by Martin Sikorses The place of "Little Living Buddha"-away.

This time-traveling scene seems to make people fall into the situation of a magical Hollywood movie.

Morocco has nothing to do with the words occlusion and chaos. It may be related to the special geographical location of France, or it may be too close to Europe. In short, it is colorful and contrasting, not just Hollywood directors, but also Those photographers and designers in the fashion industry.

In Atlas Film City, Duke and his team also met a fashion crew, and many female models were shooting fashion blockbusters under the direction of photographers.

Seeing those female models, Leonardo was the first to stop, and then Duke and James Franco also stopped.

The reason is simple. Among the female models, they saw an acquaintance, and the person headed was Candice Swanepoel, the signing angel of Victoria's Secret.

"Should I go over to say hello?" Duke said to Leonardo.

The other party's long blond legs fits Xiao Li's aesthetics.

Leonardo shook his head, "Let's go, I guess they won't finish it in a short time."

Seeing Candice Swanepoel nod to him during the filming, Duke also nodded slightly, and then left Atlas Film City with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Candice Swanepoel is obviously not shooting Victoria's Secret fashion blockbuster, but other brands.

In fact, since the reforms at the beginning of the century, Victoria's Secret Angels is no longer the exclusive model of the only brand. Models who signed an angel contract with Victoria's Secret only work for Victoria's Secret for dozens of days each year, and are free at other times.

And compared to the first batch of Victoria’s Secret’s exclusive angel Heidi Klum and others, the rewards that Victoria’s Secret Angels can now get from Victoria’s Secret are not high, more than hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and even less. Less than one hundred thousand dollars.

Compared to their income in other areas, this amount of money is a little insignificant, but many models still squeeze their heads to become Victoria's Secret signing angels, because signing with Victoria's Secret means more exposure opportunities and greater fame.

After shooting in Morocco for less than a week, Duke led the crew to Paris. (To be continued.)

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