Tom Harper talks about the difficulties of having to shoot the opening sequence of the Netflix film in high-altitude mountain areas.
Heart of Stone, the new release on Netflix starring Gal Gadot, is an action spy-thriller on which the producers – including Studio SkyDance (also the home of Mission Impossible) has high hopes for a possible cinematic saga.
The director of the film, Tom Harper (Peaky Blinders; The Aeronauts), in a recent interview spoke about the challenges and difficulties of shooting the opening sequence of the film, set in the Italian Alps.
Heart of Stone: Tom Harper explains the challenge of shooting high in the mountains
Harper, in a recent interview with TheWrap magazine, explained the difficulties of shooting in mountain locations, especially after a blizzard. For the opening scene, where various characters are descending the mountainsides, the director explained that the most significant issues were related to the altitude and low temperatures.
Here are his words about these difficult shoots:
When we did location scouting in the area, when we went up there with the whole crew before shooting, there was a massive blizzard. It was terrifying indeed. It was like the apocalypse. The snow was coming hard and fast… I remember thinking, “I don’t know how we’re going to get by” … There are three chases at the same time [talking about the opening sequence of the film]. There’s the car and then there’s Rachel [Gal Gadot] coming down the mountain… The producers had looked at each other and then at me, and they must have thought “We’re out of our minds. What the heck are we doing here?” There are many things to consider. It’s perilous up there for obvious reasons. Altitude sickness [due to the altitude] was a problem and low temperatures too. We had a whole team of mountain and safety experts around us.
We remind you that Heart of Stone is currently available on Netflix worldwide. The spy movie was directed by Tom Harper (Peaky Blinders) and starred Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. Scripted by cartoonist Greg Rucka (The Old Guard) and Allison Schroeder (Little Numbers). The film stars Alia Bhatt, Matthias Schweighofer, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Ready, Jing Lusi, Angela Esposito, Jon Korta Jarena and Matteo Cicconi.