Marco Giacalone in Berlin
Many of we location managers live our lives and work on the road. In January 2007 I moved to Berlin to prep the movie “Speed Racer”. I’ve lived most of my life in Europe but also studied, lived and worked in New York and Los Angeles.
Since completing “Speed Racer” I decided to stay in Berlin. Due to an advantageous tax incentive system created by the German Film Fund, American studios have spent their dollars developing projects such as “The International”, “Valkerie”, “Bourne Ultimatum”, “Ninja Assassin”, and the recently completed Tarantino film “Inglorious Bastards”.
Location managers and scouts know that films are not only just about working on stages. Yes, Berlin has the famous 1911 Babelsberg Studios, a space of approximately 270,000 square feet, where Marlene Dietrich’s “Blue Angel” and the 1936 Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” were filmed, but what I discovered is that it’s the exterior locations that make this city very unique and different from other cities in the world.
Berlin has so many different types of architecture from different periods; From 1200 to the Baroque Period, the Prussian Classicism Era (1790-1871), the early modern period (1920’s) before the rise and fall of the National Socialism Era (1933-1945), to the post-World War ll era (1945-1961), when the city was divided into two parts and separated by a wall. This division created two distinct societies which changed yet again with the collapse of the Iron Curtain.
This variety gives me and my colleagues who scout locations many different periods in history, all within one city. City looks of Paris, London, Moscow and Istanbul can all be found here, and existing architecture of the Third Reich is available for filming with the proper permission.
Studios and stages 20 minutes away from the city, competitive crews, a
functional tax rebate system, 2 major airports, a river available for filming, highway filming with private highway management companies instead of police and advantageous prices for hotels, all make it very attractive for the major domestic film studios to come here.
Every day it’s changing, and it’s definitely a place to discover.
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