Shot on location - Films and TV-series: 2023

10 March 2023

Paris, France

A visit to Sonia Rykiel's fashion show in 1984 gave director Robert Altman the idea of making a film about the fashion world. However, it would take another 10 years before READY TO WEAR (original title Prêt-à-Porter) could be seen in cinemas. Like several of his previous productions, it is an ensemble film: a large number of characters and different storylines that come together at the end.

Shooting took place from 6 March to 18 May 1994. The opening scene was filmed in Moscow's Red Square, including credits in Russian. The remainder of the film was shot on location in Paris, mainly during the Paris Fashion Week of March 1994.

Ready to Wear, 1:20:41

Fashion illustrator Gladys Perint Plamer was often present on set and produced more than 100 drawings, some of which can be viewed on her website. As a result I was able to find out on which day what scene was filmed.

Almost all roles are played by well-known actors, including legendary names such as Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Lauren Bacall and Anouk Aimée. In addition, fashion designers, models and other famous faces from the fashion world feature as themselves.

The film received a lot of criticism: the story was missing and as a satire it was not mean enough. Personally, I think this retelling of 'The Emperor's New Clothes' is a fun film where fiction and reality mix wonderfully.

On the Pont Alexandre III, a fashion shoot is photographed with top models Helena Christensen and Tatjana Patitz playing themselves. They are photographed from a distance by Fiona Ulrich (Lili Taylor), a photojournalist for The New York Times. The coat made of teddy bears that Helena wears is a creation of Moroccan-French fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. The scene was filmed on 13 March.

Ready to Wear, 0:16:48

Pont Alexandre III, Paris, 3 March 2022

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Pont Alexandre III, Paris, 3 March 2022

Cars on the bridge are stuck in a traffic jam. In one of the cars is Olivier de la Fontaine (Jean-Pierre Cassel), council head of the Paris Fashion Week, with the mysterious Sergei (actually Sergio, Marcello Mastroianni). When Olivier chokes on his sandwich, Sergio runs out and jumps off the bridge in a panic. The Pont Alexandre III has since been renovated.

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Pont Alexandre III, Paris, 3 March 2022

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Pont Alexandre III, Paris, 3 March 2022

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Pont Alexandre III, Paris, 3 March 2022

Louise Hamilton (Teri Garr) arrives at her hotel. Hôtel Splendid Etoile at 1 Avenue Carnot, near the Arc de Triomphe.

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Hôtel Splendid Etoile, Paris, 1 March 2022

Despite the death of Olivier de la Fontaine, fashion week goes ahead as planned. The first show will be held at the Louvre Museum. Kitty Porter (Kim Basinger), reporter for FAD-TV, interviews Elsa Klensch, then a fashion journalist for CNN. Her assistant Sophie (Chiara Mastroianni, daughter of Marcello) looks on. I did not recognize this location until I we had visited the Louvre. This underground corridor, now decorated with neon signs, connects the museum to the metro. The scene was filmed on 7 March

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Metro, Louvre Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

Meanwhile, Sergio arrives at the Louvre, where Kitty is filming a presentation in front of the pyramid. He walks past the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel at Place du Carrousel where road work was going on at the time of shooting. We did not manage to photograph the triumphal arch together with the Eiffel Tower.

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Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Paris, 2 March 2022

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Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Paris, 2 March 2022

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Louvre Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

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Louvre Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

It turns out that Sergio and Isabella de la Fontaine (Sophia Loren), widow of Olivier, were once lovers. This was the fourteenth (and last) time Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni starred in a film together, the first being in 1950's Cuori sul Mare. Sergio and Isabella meet at the sculpture 'Le Penseur' (The Thinker, 1903) in the garden of the Rodin Museum at 77 Rue de Varenne. This scene was filmed on 14 May. To see the garden, a ticket for the museum must be bought but it is worth it, especially for those who want to avoid the large crowds at the Louvre.

Ready to Wear, 1:39:06

The Thinker, Rodin Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

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The Thinker, Rodin Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

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The Thinker, Rodin Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

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The Thinker, Rodin Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

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Rodin Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

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Rodin Museum, Paris, 2 March 2022

Screenshots © Miramax Film Corporation

11 February 2023

Berlin, Germany

Following 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is the third instalment starring Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, better known as superhero Captain America. It is the 13th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series, based on characters from the Marvel comic books.

Captain America: Civil War, 1:35:12

Warning: the text may give away details of the plot. Besides Captain America, this film also features other members of the Avengers, including the first apperance of Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther and Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. On 27 April 2015, filming began at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayetteville, followed by shooting on various locations in Atlanta.

In early August, production moved to Germany where filming in Berlin and Leipzig lasted until 22 August. The film's end credits also lists Iceland as a location. Some sources mention Puerto Rico and Norway as filming locations. New York and Vienna are briefly seen, stock footage may have been used here.

In this movie, the Avengers come face to face after a mission in which innocent people were killed.

Potsdamer Platz,
Berlin, 29 June 2019

The United Nations ask the team to sign the Sokovia Accords stating that the Avengers will be overseen and controlled by a UN panel. Tony Stark/Iron Man and others support the accords; Captain America however is one of the opponents. During a United Nations session in Vienna, where the accords will be concluded, a bomb attack takes place. Among the victims is King T'Chaka of Wakanda. Although Vienna is briefly seen from above, the building is standing, unharmed, in Berlin at Potsdamer Platz. It is the Sony Center, seen from Bellevuestraße. Before World War II, Potsdamer Platz, located in central Berlin, was a busy square. During the war, the buildings were largely destroyed. In 1961, the Berlin Wall was built here across the square. After the fall of the German Democratic Republic in 1989, Potsdamer Platz was redeveloped with many entertainment venues, including the film museum Deutsche Kinemathek, in addition to several high-rise buildings.

Captain America: Civil War, 0:39:24

Sony Center, Bellevuestraße, Berlin, 29 June 2019

Black Panther, the son of King T'Chaka, tells Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow that he is determined to avenge him. This scene was filmed on the other side of Bellevuestraße near the Henriette-Herz-Park.

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Henriette-Herz-Park, Berlin, 29 June 2019

Captain America: Civil War, 0:40:16

Bellevuestraße, Berlin, 29 June 2019

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Henriette-Herz-Park, Berlin, 29 June 2019

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Bellevuestraße, Berlin, 29 June 2019

The initiator of the bombing appears to be James 'Bucky' Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), once a close friend of Captain America. He flees to the Romanian capital Bucharest. Perhaps this city was chosen because Sebastian Stan was born in Romania and speaks the language. However, this is Berlin all over again: the corner of Leipziger Straße and Jerusalemer Straße.

Captain America: Civil War, 0:40:37

Leipziger Straße, Berlin, 3 July 2019

Captain America and Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) manage to track down Bucky in his Bucharest flat, as does Blank Panther.

During a spectacular chase, the four superheroes end up at the Internationales Congress Centrum Berlin (ICC) on Messedamm. The congress centre, designed by Berlin architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte, was opened in 1979 after a four-year construction period. A stamp was issued to mark the completion of Berlin's most expensive building.

Due to asbestos contamination, the congress building had to be closed in April 2014 and remains abandoned to this day.