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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BLIGH STREET, SYDNEY For the Location Department to have helped pull off this stunt in that building meant having control of the street, sidewalk and the entire interior of 1 Bligh Street, which also happens to be where the Prime Minister's office is located. "The hardest part of going to that building and telling them what we wanted to do was that no one had any idea what we wanted to do when we first went there," laughs Roope. "We must have been in there scouting as a group at least half a dozen times just to kind of figure out how to get that shot," recalls Barry, "and then David and his director of photography, Jonathan Sela, would go back and they eventually came up with that really amazing way to introduce the audience to the movie." "We would have to have almost complete control of the building," says Scope, "and to pull out a workstation and this kind of pod in the reception of a law firm on the 15th floor which was where they'd need to install the winch used to drop Ryan." Roope and his team realized the scale of the ask, like the stunt riggers wanting three days just to handle the installation. "There were certain things we couldn't do because of the government being in the building, like telling people they couldn't come in at all during the day," says Scope, "so there had to be access. Eventually, everyone in the building completely came on board." In the end, production was granted four nights of prep during the week, a Saturday to film, and Sunday to strike everything out. "If I'm being honest," admits Roope, "I think one big advantage we had was the name 'Ryan Gosling'! Even though by this time, we had really sold the idea of shooting Sydney for Sydney to the government, and that filtered down to the owners of various properties as well. "And number 1 Bligh Street, I mean, everyone knew it was going to be really difficult, but they went along with it. And it was well managed. When I saw the film, I was so impressed with that opening sequence, and that is totally Lisa's work. I thought, 'I knew there was a lot of work, but bloody hell!'" THE THRILL OF THE CHASE For a large chunk of what is probably the film's most thrilling action sequence in a movie littered with jaw-dropping moments, Colt surfs on a shovel attached to the back of what in Australia is called a skip bin truck (a trash truck with a large, open-topped container) as it races through the city and across the famed Sydney Harbour Bridge with the iconic Sydney Opera House in the background. Roope credits the relationship between the stunt team and the Location Department for the mayhem they managed to unleash in the heart of Sydney. "We really enjoyed working with the amazing stunt team led by Chris O'Hara," says Roope. "Chris willingly shared information about how the stunts were developing and how this might impact our locations. He spoke with an American accent and looked the part, so we took him along to at least three big meetings with city representatives. His expertise and charm were invaluable in securing permissions for the Harbour Bridge, city streets and freeways." "We had a Zoom meeting early on with the Transport for NSW Pier 19, Photo by David Watts/LMGI