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| Lots of snow at Lake Louise Ski Resort Nov 2 - should be a great Opening Day on Friday! |
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| Lake Louise Ski Resort Nov 2, 2015 |
I will be blogging approximately once a week throughout the ski season, relating my ski travel tales, snippets of ski news, links to my articles published in newspapers and magazines and excerpts from my new book, Winter Sport Tourism - a must-read for anyone who loves skiing or works in the ski industry.
To whet your appetite for Spectre which debuts in North America tomorrow, here's my article on '007 on Skis':
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| Oetztaler Alps, Tyrol, Austria by Homberger - courtesy of Austrian Tourist Office |
Since
1962 James Bond movies have been introducing viewers to seductive locations all
over the world, inspiring travel. The latest of these is Sölden, Austria, which was well placed to become the
most famous ski resort in the world when the crew and cast from the 24th James
Bond
movie, Spectre, arrived during the
2014/15 ski season to shoot action scenes.
In
a Pinewood Studios press conference in December 2014, the 007 director, Sam
Mendes announced the filming locations which included London, Rome, Mexico
City, Tangier and Sölden. “We are bringing Bond
back to the Alps, back to the snow – to Sölden in Austria,” Mendes said. Since
it was way back in 1977 that an Austrian ski chase was featured in the iconic Spy Who Loved Me movie, there was considerable
media attention focused on Sölden.
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| Sölden, Austria by Mallaun - courtesy of Austrian Tourist Office |
This
is the largest film production ever to be made in the Tirol, bringing immediate
economic gains, long-term media impacts and film-tourism opportunities. Hosting
the film meant a production office had to be set up in the quaint town with a
team of 500 people involved, including 150 local filmmakers in various
capacities and 22 filming days. Scouts had pinpointed Sölden because of its dramatic scenery and also the
deluxe restaurant ice Q. Filming was scheduled from December 2014 to February
2015.
In
an article for Cine Tirol, it was estimated that the economic impact for the
area would be huge: “Taking
into account production costs, with accommodation and meals, as well as
transportation, accommodation and salaries of the local Tirolean filmmakers it
is estimated that 6 million euros will be spent in Tirol. The impact alone on
tourism is incredible: about 26,000 overnight stays will be generated by the
film crew in Tirol. Furthermore, the filming of this movie will generate major
media attention at an international level and also create future film-tourism
opportunities for the Ötztal and lesser-known East Tirol region.”
The
Grünwald Resort in Sölden jumped on the Bond-wagon for
promotional purposes, advertising holidays during the filming period with a
strong emphasis on potential Daniel Craig sightings. The website spiel read: “book
your ski holiday now and with any luck you might see the secret agent. The team
at Grünwald Resort will be happy to send you a non-binding quote for your stay
directly on the ski piste” with a link to the Bond press release and estimated filming
times and locations.
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| ice Q Restaurant, Gaislachkogl, Sölden - courtesy of www.skiresort.info |
One
of the reasons Sölden
was so perfect for the movie was ice Q restaurant, launched in December 2013 by
the Bergbahnen Sölden Lift Company on the Gaislachkogl, the area’s premier ski
mountain. Linked to the peak by a suspension bridge (ideal for death-defying
drama), it features ultra modern glass architecture, constructed from local
materials – and, of course, gourmet food. The Sölden website calls ice Q a culinary
summit and “a multi-functional and absolute barrier-free gourmet temple at 3048
meters above sea level”. It has a panoramic rooftop terrace as well as glass
facades. The website reads: “The entire building seems to be transparent and
fits perfectly into its natural surroundings. Together with the top station of
the 3-rope mountain gondola it ranks among Tirol's undisputed highlights when
it comes to architectural masterpieces in ski areas.”
Other factors that made the Spectre scouts
choose Sölden
included its unique glacier location and accessibility. “The easy logistics - transport of the material - was
crucial for the choice of the location,” says
Christina Ruhfass,
Tourism Marketing Executive for Tirol Werbung GmbH. “Direct
access via the glacier road to the glacier ski resort, helicopter landing spot
at the glacier ski resort, and big gondolas to the ice Q restaurant.”
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| Gaislachkoglbahn - courtesy of www.skiresort.info |
The
Sölden website included an
announcement about the film, with an apology for any restricted usages during
filming which might have disturbed typical skiing and snowboarding activities.
They also posted behind-the-scenes footage of Spectre - showing Daniel Craig firing a shot and running towards a
burning vehicle in the snow - with links to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This
teaser – the very first footage released from filming - was also aired on the 007
website
along with interviews with Sam Mendes, news about each filming location and a Spectre poster available for purchase.
When
the ‘featurette’ was unveiled in February 2015, it sparked a media frenzy with
newspapers such as the U.K.’s Telegraph
raving about the “tantalizing glimpse” of a cable car sequence. The Telegraph quotes associate producer,
Gregg Wilson as saying: "This is going to be
one of the major action sequences of the movie, a jewel in the crown so to
speak. It’s going to be spectacular and Austria seemed to offer everything that
we needed to pull it off." The article also included photos of iconic ice Q
restaurant and the cable car.
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| Courtesy of Austrian Tourist Office |
While
information was kept to a minimum during actual filming, the Oetztal Tourism
Board planned to position itself as a “James Bond Location” from the following
season onwards as well as before, during and after the release of the movie.
“They would like to use it for marketing and press activities,”
says Ruhfass. “It’s the aim of the Oetztal Tourism Board, besides an increase
of overnights with added value, to use the reputation of the James Bond movie
to gain more film projects to the Oetztal valleys in Tirol.” Cine Tirol offers free
location services to filmmakers.
Spectre opens in North America on
November 6, a great pre-season advertisement for Sölden with all the ongoing advantages of being
featured so prominently in such a high profile film.
