Elk Bay, Vancouver Island
Jul. 24th, 2007 09:31 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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13thwarriorWARNING: this post is HEAVY with pics. If that is a problem for dial-up users, email me and I will repost with links instead, and you can enjoy my gallery at your own pace. (emily.mlyn at gmail.com) If you wish to just browse the gallery, and see pics I didn't post (at least, I don't think so...), the gallery is here.
Elk Bay was the location for Hrothgar's great hall and village, as well as the watchtower, the hill that the men ride up to find the wendol camp ("Bear skulls…they don't like company"), the beach where they land the boats, and the hill and fields where the wendol attack. The glen where the slaughtered family's homestead was built is a few kilometers away, in a ravine that has since been logged (yeah, all that beautiful old growth is gone!).
The commissioner of the North Island Film Commission, Joan, told me on the drive in to Elk Bay that the reason she agreed to take me on this trip was to use me as an example: businesses and travel bureaus are finally starting to realize what film-based tourism can do, and I happily agreed to write a letter or article about why I was there. My family and I spent over $500 on our trip to Vancouver Island, and a good chunk of that in Campbell River, all because I wanted to see where a film was made.
Joan got permission from the timber company for us to be on-site that day, and we drove in. Along the way she pointed out things of interest or talking about the filming in abstract. One point to note was a section of road that had been paved; that was done by the film company during the production, both for their use and to leave something helpful for the timber company. As I mentioned re the Elk Falls park, that's the kind of trade-off Joan likes to orchestrate between the film company and the private landowners.
The timber was being dry-sorted that day, meaning that they were arranging it on the ground rather than in the bay in log booms. We paused at the bay shore to negotiate the calf-deep mud, tons of timber, and heavy machinery at work, then continued up a separate hill.
(we drove up that road)
The place where we stopped is called the Blow Down, so called because the wind whips over it and blows trees down in every storm. (Joan told as much to the film company, but naturally they erected $450,000 worth of makeup, costuming, and prop tents, then wailed when a storm blew trees down on them.) This is also the location where they built the great hall and village. Further down the hill was a watchtower location (which we could not reach, due to the road being nasty).
On the plateau where the great hall once stood, there remain three totems. A famous First Nations artist carved them; I've since forgotten his name but I'm sure he's in the credits. They, and a concrete foundation block, are the only things remaining from the set.
It was difficult to get screencaptures of them in the film, but their proximity to each other, and the silhouette shapes, confirms which of the many poles are the ones remaining.
Here is Herger running past them. Note also the runestone (no longer on site).
Left side of the screen:
Circled:
Detail of one of the screencaps above:
From this angle the poles are almost lined up, but you can see the taller eagle in the background (note the three shadows of the talons) and the grimacing demon in the foreground (the undercut of knuckles casting a shadow).
The area was seeded when the film was made, ten years ago, so there now stands a thick blanket of 10-year-old trees all over the area. Where Antonio Banderas rode a horse among stumps and fireweed, now there are fledgling evergreens. Still, there is something of a view left:
(stitched together two pics)
Compare with the movie:
And I have taken the above photos and traced the island ridgelines for comparison:
The rough meadow where the great hall and village once stood:
A series of shots showing the mountain and valley; the fireworm came down this mountain. Joan is standing on the foundation block in the last shot.
or better shots (from the foundation block):
Compare these with a shot from the film:
Further down toward the watchtower; I believe they also filmed the "bear skulls...they don't like company" ride along here.
This pole was placed in the ground for the movie, not naturally standing:
Elk Bay, with logs being sorted, perhaps a mile from the set location. You'd never know it! I asked about how things like the road were disguised, and Joan said mulch was thrown down to hide the gravel and tracks.
This is the area where they wrangled the horses, too (all the horses were bought for the film and later sold).
Compare the last shot to this, of the bay, in the film:
A dewd we met on the road:
Looking back toward the Blow Down from the fireworm mountain, on the drive back out.
Joan also shared with me a great deal of interesting tidbits about the filming process, the crew, and the cast. I jotted down notes only when I got home, so I can't put them into a very good narrative format without remembering the course of our conversation. There are as follows, anyway.
The 13th Warrior was Joan's second film as a location scout/advisor; the first was The Scarlet Letter. Judging from her descriptions of her involvement in The 13th Warrior, I believe she had a much greater assisting hand in that film than she does now in current projects (based on experience, and knowing where to draw a line with the film company). For example, everyone had her home phone number and knew where she lived, and it was not uncommon for them to use it. One tidbit that speaks to the strained relations among the crew: Wolf Kroeger, the production designer, got so fed up during filming that he hopped a plane to Vancouver, leaving his wife and child at Joan's house! They eventually got him to fly back from Vancouver.
Joan didn't host everyone, however. She did help find hotels and house rentals for the cast and crew. There were 2200 people in Campbell River working on the movie during principle filming in 1997. Big-name cast members got private houses, including Antonio Banderas (who brought Melanie with him; more on this later). The people who normally lived in those homes simply went elsewhere; Joan said that a lot of people have boats to vacation with. However, filming went on for six months, so this was quite an undertaking for the film company and for the homeowners. Disney (the main purse-string-holders) was unhappy at how much the movie was costing them, so corners were cut in some ways.
One of the ways was the cave scene: it wasn't working out on-site, so they disassembled the cave they had built in Elk Bay, moved it to Vancouver, and finished filming in Vancouver. I'm not sure which location was where Dennis Storhøi had his near-death experience; Joan didn't really know who Dennis is, so I didn't ask.
Another expensive aspect of filming was catering to the demands of certain people. Joan didn't want to say very much (although she did say enough about Courtney Love—who is in another film Joan had just been working on—to give me a very clear impression of that woman). She did say that Melanie Griffith was more demanding than her husband. Apparently Antonio had a bad back during filming (from having just finished Zorro), and Melanie demanded that he get a different bed every night. EVERY NIGHT. Every day a furniture company brought in a new bed, and the next day they'd bring in another. Joan joked that countless beds that Antonio Banderas had slept in for one night were being sold on eBay.
It's obviously good for the city and area economy, though: Joan mentioned that a small country store near Roberts Lake, the closest bit of civilization in proximity to the set, made a fortune that year because of such a huge production company being so close. Imagine 2200 people wanting to buy sodas and chips every day for six months.
They also spent thousands on the set; I think Joan said something like $37,000 for the great hall alone. Just the timber. They did use styrofoam for some stuff, particularly pillars, and threw an oatmeal mixture onto the 'foam for color and texture. It's been fun to look at the set since then and get a sense of that.
I will also have to look through the movie for other stuff in the background. Joan talked about keeping people off set, but they couldn't control the waterways down in the bay, and apparently you can sometimes see boats with people in orange lifejackets down in the background. (I will post pictures if I find them.) They also enjoyed playing with people, like someone who would try to sneak in on the road. For instance, say some enterprising photographer wanted to get on-set. He might get permission from one person, but that person would radio everyone else and tell them who was snooping around. They would let him hike up to whatever vantage point he wanted to get to, until he was all sweaty and hot and proud of himself, then zip up in their 4-wheel-drive vehicles and escort him off the set. Never, ever think you can sneak onto a set, people. Radio conversations move faster than you do.
Last couple of things: I asked about an anniversary DVD release with extras and such, and Joan said she sincerely doubted it. It'd be awfully hard to create extras from present time (involving getting McTiernan, Crichton, Banderas, and the other stars to all do it, not to mention the production people), and you can't go back in time to create extras from the time of filming. As for the deleted scenes? Joan said that she saw the cutting room during the two years of editing that happened after principle filming ended, and that the floor was covered in filmstrip. The likelihood of us getting deleted scenes seems pretty small.
And finally, a joke. Joan recently saw Ned Dowd, executive producer of The 13th Warrior and King Arthur, both. Clive Russell, who played Helfdane the Fat in The 13th Warrior, had a small role in King Arthur. Apparently KA used a lot of the same costumes as 13W as well, and I think props and whatnot. Joan teased him, "How many times are you going to make the same movie, Ned?" He replied, "Go with what you know." I certainly hope he will.
This concludes my Canadian trip posts. I emailed with Joan this morning and she is interested in keeping in touch, so if anything more comes my way, I will definitely share it.
Elk Bay was the location for Hrothgar's great hall and village, as well as the watchtower, the hill that the men ride up to find the wendol camp ("Bear skulls…they don't like company"), the beach where they land the boats, and the hill and fields where the wendol attack. The glen where the slaughtered family's homestead was built is a few kilometers away, in a ravine that has since been logged (yeah, all that beautiful old growth is gone!).
The commissioner of the North Island Film Commission, Joan, told me on the drive in to Elk Bay that the reason she agreed to take me on this trip was to use me as an example: businesses and travel bureaus are finally starting to realize what film-based tourism can do, and I happily agreed to write a letter or article about why I was there. My family and I spent over $500 on our trip to Vancouver Island, and a good chunk of that in Campbell River, all because I wanted to see where a film was made.
Joan got permission from the timber company for us to be on-site that day, and we drove in. Along the way she pointed out things of interest or talking about the filming in abstract. One point to note was a section of road that had been paved; that was done by the film company during the production, both for their use and to leave something helpful for the timber company. As I mentioned re the Elk Falls park, that's the kind of trade-off Joan likes to orchestrate between the film company and the private landowners.
The timber was being dry-sorted that day, meaning that they were arranging it on the ground rather than in the bay in log booms. We paused at the bay shore to negotiate the calf-deep mud, tons of timber, and heavy machinery at work, then continued up a separate hill.
(we drove up that road)The place where we stopped is called the Blow Down, so called because the wind whips over it and blows trees down in every storm. (Joan told as much to the film company, but naturally they erected $450,000 worth of makeup, costuming, and prop tents, then wailed when a storm blew trees down on them.) This is also the location where they built the great hall and village. Further down the hill was a watchtower location (which we could not reach, due to the road being nasty).
On the plateau where the great hall once stood, there remain three totems. A famous First Nations artist carved them; I've since forgotten his name but I'm sure he's in the credits. They, and a concrete foundation block, are the only things remaining from the set.
It was difficult to get screencaptures of them in the film, but their proximity to each other, and the silhouette shapes, confirms which of the many poles are the ones remaining.
Here is Herger running past them. Note also the runestone (no longer on site).
Left side of the screen:
Circled:
Detail of one of the screencaps above:
From this angle the poles are almost lined up, but you can see the taller eagle in the background (note the three shadows of the talons) and the grimacing demon in the foreground (the undercut of knuckles casting a shadow).
The area was seeded when the film was made, ten years ago, so there now stands a thick blanket of 10-year-old trees all over the area. Where Antonio Banderas rode a horse among stumps and fireweed, now there are fledgling evergreens. Still, there is something of a view left:
(stitched together two pics)
Compare with the movie:
And I have taken the above photos and traced the island ridgelines for comparison:
The rough meadow where the great hall and village once stood:
A series of shots showing the mountain and valley; the fireworm came down this mountain. Joan is standing on the foundation block in the last shot.
or better shots (from the foundation block):
Compare these with a shot from the film:
Further down toward the watchtower; I believe they also filmed the "bear skulls...they don't like company" ride along here.
This pole was placed in the ground for the movie, not naturally standing:
Elk Bay, with logs being sorted, perhaps a mile from the set location. You'd never know it! I asked about how things like the road were disguised, and Joan said mulch was thrown down to hide the gravel and tracks.
This is the area where they wrangled the horses, too (all the horses were bought for the film and later sold).
Compare the last shot to this, of the bay, in the film:
A dewd we met on the road:
Looking back toward the Blow Down from the fireworm mountain, on the drive back out.
Joan also shared with me a great deal of interesting tidbits about the filming process, the crew, and the cast. I jotted down notes only when I got home, so I can't put them into a very good narrative format without remembering the course of our conversation. There are as follows, anyway.
The 13th Warrior was Joan's second film as a location scout/advisor; the first was The Scarlet Letter. Judging from her descriptions of her involvement in The 13th Warrior, I believe she had a much greater assisting hand in that film than she does now in current projects (based on experience, and knowing where to draw a line with the film company). For example, everyone had her home phone number and knew where she lived, and it was not uncommon for them to use it. One tidbit that speaks to the strained relations among the crew: Wolf Kroeger, the production designer, got so fed up during filming that he hopped a plane to Vancouver, leaving his wife and child at Joan's house! They eventually got him to fly back from Vancouver.
Joan didn't host everyone, however. She did help find hotels and house rentals for the cast and crew. There were 2200 people in Campbell River working on the movie during principle filming in 1997. Big-name cast members got private houses, including Antonio Banderas (who brought Melanie with him; more on this later). The people who normally lived in those homes simply went elsewhere; Joan said that a lot of people have boats to vacation with. However, filming went on for six months, so this was quite an undertaking for the film company and for the homeowners. Disney (the main purse-string-holders) was unhappy at how much the movie was costing them, so corners were cut in some ways.
One of the ways was the cave scene: it wasn't working out on-site, so they disassembled the cave they had built in Elk Bay, moved it to Vancouver, and finished filming in Vancouver. I'm not sure which location was where Dennis Storhøi had his near-death experience; Joan didn't really know who Dennis is, so I didn't ask.
Another expensive aspect of filming was catering to the demands of certain people. Joan didn't want to say very much (although she did say enough about Courtney Love—who is in another film Joan had just been working on—to give me a very clear impression of that woman). She did say that Melanie Griffith was more demanding than her husband. Apparently Antonio had a bad back during filming (from having just finished Zorro), and Melanie demanded that he get a different bed every night. EVERY NIGHT. Every day a furniture company brought in a new bed, and the next day they'd bring in another. Joan joked that countless beds that Antonio Banderas had slept in for one night were being sold on eBay.
It's obviously good for the city and area economy, though: Joan mentioned that a small country store near Roberts Lake, the closest bit of civilization in proximity to the set, made a fortune that year because of such a huge production company being so close. Imagine 2200 people wanting to buy sodas and chips every day for six months.
They also spent thousands on the set; I think Joan said something like $37,000 for the great hall alone. Just the timber. They did use styrofoam for some stuff, particularly pillars, and threw an oatmeal mixture onto the 'foam for color and texture. It's been fun to look at the set since then and get a sense of that.
I will also have to look through the movie for other stuff in the background. Joan talked about keeping people off set, but they couldn't control the waterways down in the bay, and apparently you can sometimes see boats with people in orange lifejackets down in the background. (I will post pictures if I find them.) They also enjoyed playing with people, like someone who would try to sneak in on the road. For instance, say some enterprising photographer wanted to get on-set. He might get permission from one person, but that person would radio everyone else and tell them who was snooping around. They would let him hike up to whatever vantage point he wanted to get to, until he was all sweaty and hot and proud of himself, then zip up in their 4-wheel-drive vehicles and escort him off the set. Never, ever think you can sneak onto a set, people. Radio conversations move faster than you do.
Last couple of things: I asked about an anniversary DVD release with extras and such, and Joan said she sincerely doubted it. It'd be awfully hard to create extras from present time (involving getting McTiernan, Crichton, Banderas, and the other stars to all do it, not to mention the production people), and you can't go back in time to create extras from the time of filming. As for the deleted scenes? Joan said that she saw the cutting room during the two years of editing that happened after principle filming ended, and that the floor was covered in filmstrip. The likelihood of us getting deleted scenes seems pretty small.
And finally, a joke. Joan recently saw Ned Dowd, executive producer of The 13th Warrior and King Arthur, both. Clive Russell, who played Helfdane the Fat in The 13th Warrior, had a small role in King Arthur. Apparently KA used a lot of the same costumes as 13W as well, and I think props and whatnot. Joan teased him, "How many times are you going to make the same movie, Ned?" He replied, "Go with what you know." I certainly hope he will.
This concludes my Canadian trip posts. I emailed with Joan this morning and she is interested in keeping in touch, so if anything more comes my way, I will definitely share it.
