How Jeff Daniels-Jared Harris Drama ’Reykjavik’ Used Authentic Locations to Tell the Story of a Cold War Summit in Iceland
When Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev sit down to discuss a potential nuclear arms treaty in the upcoming film “Reykjavik,” the actors portraying them, Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris, will be lowering themselves into the actual chairs in the actual building where the historic 1986 meeting took place.
Writer-director Michael Russell Gunn, who previously shot “Thai Cave Rescue,” says he loves the “authenticity” of shooting at the actual H?fei House in Iceland. Producer John Logan Pierson adds, “there’s an energy and spirit that comes from shooting in the real place.” (Indeed, the official photographer from the 1986 summit, Pete Souza, is charged with on set photography for the film.)
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This authenticity was only feasible because of Iceland’s rebates and professional crews. “We needed to make this for a competitive number and sometimes you want to film in a place that isn’t production friendly and lacks a robust infrastructure,” Pierson says.
“The people of Iceland have been so welcoming to our production,” says Mark O’Connor, exec VP of film production at producer SK Global, adding that he along with producing partner 2521 Entertainment, has been “incredibly impressed by the film community here.”
In the exclusive photo above, writer, director and Producer Michael Russell Gunn lines up a shot with cinematographer Magdalena G?rka looking over his shoulder at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.
Elli Cassata, who runs Pegasus Pictures in Iceland and is working with Gunn and Pierson in country, says the industry is “getting busier and bigger. The snowball keeps growing,” he says referring both to outside and local productions.
“The main draw for producers around the world is always going to be the scenery but our reimbursement program is No. 2,” Cassata says, noting that the rebate has grown over the years from 10% to 25% and now films can get 35% back if they shoot for 30 days or 10 days of shooting with 20 days in post, while spending at least $2.8 million and creating 50 local jobs. He adds that Iceland gets the money back in pocket quicker than many other European countries.
Gunn says the rebate is so good they may have shot there even if they couldn’t use the actual building (which is small and old and presents its own filming challenges).
He has also been impressed by the crews. “They have a much deeper base then I expected for a country of 300,000 people,” Gunn says, adding that much of the crew worked on Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” and “Interstellar” or on local series.
Pierson says that when they had to shoot some exteriors in 45 mile-an-hour winds, “the crews have the right gear and the right clothing and are just used to it all.”
“Elli and his team and all the department heads have given us comfort and confidence,” Pierson continues, saying they also met with representatives from both the local and national government, who have worked to provide necessary support. (The film paid to have a streetlamp that was not from the period temporarily removed from the road outside H?fei House.)
Cassata says the industry perhaps grew too quickly so that crews did get short-handed occasionally, but that available crews and equipment rental companies are constantly expanding. If anything, he says, the biggest challenge is finding housing in summer for major productions, given the number of shoots and tourists flocking there. “But you can’t fake this scenery anywhere else,” Cassata says.
The film’s cast includes Hope Davis as Nancy Reagan, Branka Katic as Raisa Gorbachev, J.K. Simmons, Aya Cash.
The other major challenge, Gunn says, is that this island country is quite expensive.
“There’s a line in the film where a character says, ‘best prep wins’ and that’s true in filmmaking,” Pierson says, “but even more so when you’re on island. As an independent film you can’t pay your way out of problems, so you have to look over the horizon. So filming in Iceland hasn’t been an impediment.”
And when something unexpected arises, Gunn says, they find a way to make it work. “Whenever friends or family come to visit they bring stuff we might need,” he says, explaining that the makeup designer’s boyfriend brought over from London the contact lenses needed for Branka Katic as Raisa Gorbachev. “It’s that indie spirit that helps make this work.”
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