SPECTRE: First Behind-The-Scenes Footage From Mexico Opening Scene
Yahoo Movies UK was given a sneak peek at of the pre-credits scene for the new Bond film ‘SPECTRE’, which was described by long time Bond producer Michael G Wilson as “the biggest sequence we’ve ever done”.
Check out footage of the scene, which takes place during the Day Of The Dead festival in Mexico City, above.
Warning: There are some small spoilers in the video and the text below.
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We spoke to Alex Witt (2nd Unit Director) and actress Stephanie Sigman (who plays Estrella in ‘SPECTRE’), who explained what happens.
The sequence occurs during the Day Of The Dead festival (a huge event in Mexico which celebrates the spiritual journey of late friends and family).
James Bond (Daniel Craig, obviously) is on a mission in Mexico City and meets up with Estrella (played by Mexican actress Stephanie Sigman, below).
Estrella assumes that she is seducing Bond, but he’s more interested in the villains outside her bedroom window.
Bond kills one of them and chases the other, called Marco Sciarra (played by Italian actor Alessandro Cremona) over the rooftops.
An explosion causes the pair to fall back into the crowds of the Day Of The Dead festival and resume the chase.
Sciarra calls in support in the form of a helicopter, but doesn’t get away in time as Bond catches up and they take the fight into the sky.
The production team specifically hired helicopter pilot Chuck Aaron (below) to film the scenes as he is the only person licensed by the FAA to perform 360 degree flips.
The crew wouldn’t give us any more details, but we assume that Sciarra is related to Monica Bellucci’s character Lucia Sciarra (the surname’s a bit of a giveaway!). Is the funeral we see Lucia at in the trailer that of her dispatched relative Marco?
The ‘SPECTRE’ team filmed in Mexico for 10 days, four of which were at Zocalo Square (the equivalent to London’s Bond Street).
They spent another four days in the streets nearby and the final two days were used to film the helicopter aerobatics just outside the city where the altitude is lower.
The scene features 1500 extras dressed as ghoulish costumes. The make-up for them was so elaborate that it took two and a half hours per person.
You can see the epic scene in full when ‘SPECTRE’ is released in the UK on 23rd October 2015.