Bath became 18th century Paris on Sunday night, as the Council helped Working Title Productions to shoot the final climactic scene for a new feature film adaptation of Les Miserables.
The filming involved large lighting and camera cranes placed on Grand Parade and a complex stunt in the water at the weir.
Jenni Wagstaffe, of the Bath & North East Somerset Council-run Film Office, said: “We got a call from the location manager last Monday, so we had less than a week to turn this complex filming request around, but thanks to fantastic support from the Council’s Highways, Parking, Property Services and Open Spaces teams it all went ahead.”
A lot of work was done by the stunt team on Saturday to assess river water flow and rehearse the action to ensure safety and the end results were spectacular.
Pat Karam, location manager for Les Miserables, said: “Having discovered the fantastically cinematic weir at Pulteney Bridge we approached Bath Film Office at what would be considered extremely short notice to shoot this very logistically complicated scene. We are immensely grateful that they responded so positively and that so many other Council departments put permissions together at very short notice. As a result everything went incredibly smoothly. Bath is a fantastic city to film in.”
Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib-Dem, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council is pleased to have helped ensure that Bath was once again chosen as a key location for the film industry. This has been a remarkably productive year so far for drama filming in the region, and this latest film should help further boost the local tourism sector by enticing even more visitors to the site of its spectacular closing scene.”
The film, which is directed by Tom Hooper (director of The King’s Speech) stars Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham-Carter amongst others. It is due to be released in the UK on 11th January 2013
