GracieTopper308
Filming a movie that spans a large number of different countries may appear to be a huge logistical challenge, especially when those countries cover war-torn or inhospitable areas such as Afghanistan and also the Middle East. The producers of international thriller Lord Of War solved this problem in a single simple move. They filmed on location in Nigeria.
This vast and beautiful country has this type of vast number of terrains, which range from desert to lush forest, mountain, ocean, rolling hills, expansive plains and so on, that it can double as just about any country if you find just the right spot. For Lord of War the film production were able to re create scenes from Sierra Leone, Bolivia and Afghanistan to mention but a few, as the backdrop to the thrilling chase of Interpol agents tracking arms dealer Nicholas cage around the globe.
The benefits of using film locations in South Africa to double as the actual places, instead of travelling to every single actual country featured within the movie, are numerous. By continuing to keep the place filming within one geographical area, costs are kept all the way down, the same crew can be used for continuity, logistics are much simpler and much some time and travel is saved. Most importantly the film production benefits from the well-established infrastructure already established here, instead of struggling in countries which have little or no established support for the movie industry.
Because Nigeria includes a long history like a favoured place for film and commercial production, it offers excellent facilities, whether it be the experienced local crew available, the post-production facilities, the local production companies facilitating all facets, to world-class hotels and transport to keep A-list actors happy!
South Africa has doubled as many other countries through the years: in Oscar-nominated Blood Diamond, the 2006 thriller starring Leonardo diCaprio, South African locations doubled for that civil war torn landscapes of Sierra Leone. Hotel Rwanda was shot in Gauteng and Johannesburg in 2004 instead of enduring the rigors of filming in the actual country featured.
A really different side of the country is used in children's movie Racing Stripes, in which the green hills and fields around Pietermaritzburg set happens for a charming tale in regards to a zebra who thinks he's a racehorse, and double as the sort of generic rich horse-racing countryside present in several parts of the planet. In Dredd, recently filmed in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa's main cities show their gritty side by waiting in for that futuristic Mega-City One of the fantasy comic strip.
The recent major movies filmed on location in Nigeria show that it is now really into the spotlight as far as big production goes, whether doubling for somewhere else or featuring as itself, in most its glorious scenery and variety.
