Bond Girl comes to New Town
CITY BREAK: She played Bond Girl Camille in Quantum of Solace and starred with Tom Cruise in Oblivion, but this week actress Olga Kurylenko is in Edinburgh, soaking up its atmosphere with acclaimed director Giuseppe Tornatore.
THE elegant streets of Edinburgh are forming the backdrop to the new movie being made by the director of Cinema Paradiso, Giuseppe Tornatore.
Tornatore, whose Oscarwinning and often tearinducing 1988 drama is now considered a classic of its kind, is filming La Corrispondenza, or The Correspondence, in Edinburgh.
Filming of the romantic drama took place yesterday on Regent Terrace and will today continue in the New Town, with the shoot scheduled to last all week.
Filming, it is understood, will continue on William Street today.
The former ‘Bond Girl’ Olga Kurylenko stars in the movie with Jeremy Irons.
The film, which also features Anna Savva, is being shot in England and Italy.
The movie, with music by Ennio Morricone, follows the love affair between a professor and a younger woman who work in the same academic field.
The film has not received any funding from Creative Scotland but has had help from Edinburgh’s screen location agency, Film Edinburgh.
The movie is being produced by Paco Cinematografica of Italy.
Tornatore is both writing and directing the movie.
Kurylenko, who was shooting scenes in the street yesterday with several extras, is from the Ukraine.
She started her acting career in 2005 after several years as a model.
She portrayed Camille Montes opposite Daniel Craig in the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace in 2008.
More recently she starred in Terrence Malick’s To The Wonder, alongside Tom Cruise in Oblivion and Russell Crowe in The Water Diviner.
Rosie Ellison, film manager at Film Edinburgh, said: “We are delighted that such an exciting director has chosen to film in Edinburgh.
“We know that 40 per cent of visitors to the UK want to visit locations they’ve seen on the screen so Edinburgh goes out of its way to make sure filmmakers have a positive experience when they come here.”
A report this week has shown Film Edinburgh’s total economic impact for the city is estimated to be worth in excess of £65million.
Highlights over the years include: Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Mrs Brown, The Da Vinci Code, One Day, Cloud Atlas, Under The Skin, Case Histories and Sunshine on Leith.