The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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Near the end of the sequence, that neon-green Quadrifoglio speeds through the courtyard of the world-renowned Uffizi Gallery and Piazza Della Signoria, smashes through the entry doors of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi (the first palace of the famed Medici family, built in the 15th century and now Florence Police HQ) and is then driven through the interior of the Uffizi, where it nearly destroys the statue of David. Of course, the Renaissance masterpiece was never in danger: Beecroft commissioned a five- axis 3D-printed foam replica of David for the wide shots, and VFX created a digital composite of the statue for the characters' POV shots from the car. The vehicles tear into the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio (seat of the Florence Municipality) and the beautiful Salon Dei 500 where the Alfa does hit several (picture) statues before finally careening through the Pitti Palace Gardens (which date back to 1458). With so many different locations used for a single sequence, one might expect there to be glaring cuts but Bay is known for his skill in stitching several locations into one. "If you could shoot the whole sequence in three locations," laughed Hook, "Michael will be shooting it in 12." For the shoot inside the Uffizi itself, the actors were placed on apple boxes in a "buck" version of the Alfa—essentially, they sliced up an Alfa's cab and pulled the actors along on a dolly. A similar approach was planned for the interior of the Galleria dell'Accademia, and while the museum did grant permission in the end, the restrictions placed on the company made shooting there impossible. It is the only Italian location the filmmakers wanted that they didn't ultimately shoot. The chase finally comes to an end at the Città dello sport, an abandoned modern sports complex designed by famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, located about 25 miles outside of Rome. The expansive, intricate structure was built as a multi-purpose sports complex for the 2009 World Swimming Championship. A number of issues halted the site's completion, not least of which was the late discovery of historical archaeological artifacts. Latella and his team searched in vain for a unique location in which to bring the sequence to a close. That's when Latella remembered the complex. "I had always wanted to shoot there," he said. "The site is run by the University of Rome and had hosted productions before but never to the extent that we would eventually utilize it." The hilltop location essentially become their exterior backlot with some 22 additional sets shot there, including a massive five-story Hong Kong penthouse. Built by Beecroft and his team to exacting detail in just 13 weeks, the penthouse set required real-world engineering standards and building codes in order to withstand a scene in which several thousand gallons of water were dumped into the set! Ironically, just prior to shooting the sequence, Rome was hit by an unparalleled weather event with golf ball-sized hail and weeks of torrential rain pounding the set on a daily basis—meteorological conditions the city hadn't seen in decades. Other scenes shot at the Città dello Sport included the meticulously recreated interior of a 95-meter luxury yacht The Kismet, the exterior of which had been shot in Taranto, along with a number of other complicated sequences, including part of the exteriors for the fictional Turgistan. The Louvre Abu Dhabi. Photo courtesy of Simon Crook/LMGI