set. I shall always remember
Janice Polley's face as we
scouted the parlour with
Chor Chun Lau, the local
scout, and accidentally
intruded on a customer.
I have a map of Hong Kong
with almost all the streets
crossed out having walked
through them for six weeks.
In amongst the chaos of
Hong Kong and probably
because of it, I began
documenting my travels on
Instagram via the medium
of one-point perspectives
@kubrickperspectives. There
was something calming
about a long corridor, a
clean vertical or horizontal
space that allowed for
complete perfection within
the frame. More than 650
kubrickperspectives later, I'm
still seeking the perfect shot.
Then came Fast & Furious
on the streets of London,
during the Olympics with
semiautomatic weapons,
fast cars and Vin Diesel.
No problem for the location
team of Mark Somner, Lee
Robertson, Vinnie Jassal and
myself. Multiple locations
across London and the U.K.,
including a major gunfight
on the opening day of the
Olympics behind one of
the largest train stations in
London. All with no issues.
Quite an experience and a
lot of fun.
For Tim Burton's Miss
Peregrine's Home for
Peculiar Children, the actual
home is a critical character
in the film. I knew exactly
what Tim wasn't looking for
... I searched throughout
the U.K. but everything
was either too English, too
big, too small, too normal.
On following up a lead in
Belgium that Ranson Riggs,
the writer of the book,
had used in a promotional
video, I discovered a
rich seam of gorgeous,
slightly dilapidated grand
mansions. One afternoon,
ably assisted by local friend
Annabel Francois, I turned
the corner to find Torenhof
in the outskirts of Antwerp.
I knew instantly that I'd
found it (which didn't stop
us scouting for a few more
weeks!) and ultimately, that
Tim would respond. He took
one look at the photograph
and the rest is history.
Although nothing is ever
as simple as it seems—the
house was up for auction.
The company considered
buying the house at one
stage but the new owner
In the Maldives with the Rogue One crew.
