James
Bond's next nemesis may be hiding out among astronomers.
Scenes for the
next Bond
movie, "Quantum of Solace," will be shot at one of the world's premier telescope
sites, the European Southern Observatory's Very
Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile.
The
mountaintop location's otherworldly landscape caught the attention of the
film's director. The VLT, which includes four giant 27-foot (8.2-meter)
telescopes, sits atop the 8,530-foot-high (2,600-meter) Cerro Paranal mountain
in the Atacama
Desert.
The high-altitude
site and extreme dryness make excellent conditions for astronomical
observations, because there is less air and less moisture in the air to refract
incoming light from faraway cosmic objects.
The setting
resembles Mars with its red sand and lack of vegetation.
"We needed
a unique site for a unique set of telescopes, and we found it at Paranal," said
Andreas Kaufer, ESO's Paranal Director. "We are very excited that the Bond
production team have also chosen this location."
The
excellent astronomical conditions at Paranal come at a price, however. In this
forbidding desert environment, thought to be the driest on Earth, virtually
nothing can grow outdoors. The humidity drops below 10 percent, there are
intense ultraviolet rays from the sun and the altitude leaves people short of
breath. Living in this extremely isolated place feels like visiting another
planet.
To make it
possible for people to live and work there, a hotel or "Residencia" was built at
a base camp, allowing an escape from the arid outside environment. Here,
returning from long shifts at the VLT and other installations on the mountain, visitors can breathe moist air and relax, sheltered from the harsh conditions outside. The Residencia includes an enclosed tropical garden and pool under a futuristic domed roof, giving its interior a feeling of open space within the protective walls.
This unique
building serves as the backdrop for the James Bond filming.
"Quantum of
Solace" producer Michael G. Wilson said: "The Residencia of Paranal
Observatory caught the attention of our director Marc Forster and production
designer Dennis Gassner, both for its exceptional design and its remote
location in the Atacama Desert. It is a true oasis and the perfect hide-out for
Dominic Greene, our villain, whom 007 is tracking in our new James Bond
film."
Further
action will take place at the Paranal airstrip.
The film
crew present on Paranal includes English actor Daniel Craig (reprising his role
as James Bond), French actor Mathieu Amalric, Ukrainian leading lady Olga
Kurylenko, as well as acclaimed Mexican actors Joaquin Cosio and Jesus Ochoa.
After
leaving Paranal, the film crew will shoot in other locations close to
Antofagasta. Other sequences have been filmed in Panama, and following the
Chilean locations, the unit will travel to Italy and Austria before returning
to Pinewood Studios near London in May.
"Quantum of
Solace" will be released in the United States and internationally Nov. 7.
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