Filming for the 22nd Bond film, Quantum of Solace, took place in Aldershot and Farnborough while I was a reporter for the News & Mail. I interviewed local people who took part in the production. It was published on the Get Hampshire website on October 30, 2008.
Cinema-goers from the News area will be able to see some familiar sights when they go to the latest James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.
Farnborough Airport and the Bruneval Barracks, in Montgomery Lines, Aldershot, were used in the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to Casino Royale, due out in cinemas Friday.
The star-studded cast from the film, including Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench, were all filmed in the area in January.
The barracks were portrayed as snow-covered buildings in Moscow.
In the scene, which features Mr Craig as Bond and Dame Judi as M, Bond has tracked down one of the baddies, Yusef, played by Simon Kassianides, and delivers him to MI6.
Sgt Major JJ Ferry, Garrison Sgt Major for Aldershot, worked with the crews to make sure filming ran smoothly.
He said: “It was the military’s job to do what they wanted us to do and to keep the females out because of Daniel Craig.
“With the signs we put up, no-one knew what they meant.
“Among the military females, though, the word got out.
“There weren’t too many problems but a few tried to get through the gates. We had security and the Bond film company provided extra security.
“Daniel Craig was there for about three days and Judi Dench was there only for the one day.
“All the main filming happened in the evening because they were filming a night scene.”
Sgt Maj Ferry knows the Montgomery Lines barracks well, having started his Army career there. He thinks the buildings are suited for a Russian scene. “I call it the Eastern bloc design,” he said.
The military managed to disguise the filming with a hidden message.
“It was dead easy because the signs we put up on the site didn’t mean anything to people,” Sgt Maj Ferry said. “We had signs that said 22 unit. That gave directions to the film crew but not to anyone else because it just so happened to be the 22nd Bond film.”
Farnborough Airport, meanwhile, was used in a scene where a meeting was staged between the CIA and Bond villain Dominic Greene, played by Mathieu Almaric.
The airport scene was one of the first to be shot for the film, being set up only a week after production started on January 2, 2008.
The airport was transformed into an Ocean Sky airport in Bregenz, Austria.
Within the terminal, Bond’s credit card is denied when M cuts him off and puts him on the “capture or kill” list at MI6.
Ocean Sky, a genuine London-based private jet company, had approached the film’s producers EON ahead of filming to offer its services.
The company lent the film crews eight jets worth a total of £100million on and off over the course of six months.
Kurosh Tehranchian, CEO of Ocean Sky, said: “It was a major investment for us financially and in terms of plane usage but it is something we feel will be very worthwhile in terms of the exposure.
“The James Bond brand is unique. It is known worldwide, yet it is completely non-controversial: everyone likes it. It was something we wanted to be associated with.”
Photos have been released of the film crew preparing the airport for the scenes.
The art department can be seen changing signs at the airport from TAG to Ocean Sky, and changing car registration plates to Austrian registry.
Toby Moore, spokesman for Ocean Sky, said: “Attention to detail was very astonishing. “They made sure that, as they were shooting over the course of three days, they changed the Austrian newspaper on the shelves every day.”
Production for Quantum of Solace was based at Pinewood Studios, in Buckinghamshire, with filming at locations around the UK.
Other scenes for the film were shot overseas, including in Italy, Panama, Chile and Austria.
A spokesman for TAG Farnborough Airport said: “Scenes from the forthcoming James Bond movie were shot at Farnborough Airport in January. This had no impact on our operation.”
Quantum of Solace continues the adventures of James Bond (Daniel Craig) from Casino Royale.
Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal.
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