`The World Is Not Enough` boat chase voted London`s best film scene

16-Oct-2004 • Bond News

London Underground has released a list of the 10 greatest scenes featuring the city, as voted for by 1,000 film buffs. The 1999 James Bond movie, "The World Is Not Enough", with its breathtaking boat chase along the Thames was top - reports The Guardian (UK).

At fifth was "28 Days Later", depicting a capital ravaged by a killer virus. According to Film London, the film awakened other directors to the possibilities of filming in the city.

"Shooting in east London is a fantastic experience. It is a vibrant place," said its director, Danny Boyle, who also made Trainspotting.

But often, the ingenuity of film-making means that the backdrop doesn't matter. For Alfie, some scenes set in New York were actually shot in Hackney. For De-Lovely, the Cole Porter biopic, Hornsey town hall doubled as Arizona and Hollywood in the 1920s.

Ms Hayes said the lower cost of filming was a factor and would become more so when directors benefited from Treasury tax credits. "Five years ago London was seen as a difficult place to work but things are much better," she added.

An executive film taskforce, led by Lord Puttnam, brings together Film London, the emergency services and officials from the London boroughs in an attempt to minimise bureaucracy.

While they are welcomed to landmark sites, not all filmmakers are given free rein, however. At the Imperial War Museum, the Holocaust exhibition is "out of bounds". And at Syon Park - where filming has just finished on a Sherlock Holmes drama starring Rupert Everett - film-makers are warned to be careful if the subject relates to royalty or the nobility, current or past.

Thanks to `JP` for the alert.