Sydney on Screen: Where Opera Meets Oprah

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Excerpt:

"Successful daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful (1987- ) chose Sydney for an on-location shoot in 2007 to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. Much of the filming took place on the city's waterfront. On arriving for the opening of the international Forrester fashion boutique, Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) makes a beeline for Circular Quay and Bennelong Point to take in the sights. Hit television series Dynasty (1981-1989) featured establishing shots of Sydney in a 1986 episode that saw Alexis Carrington Colby (Joan Collins) travel to the Australian Outback on a surprise visit to see Ben Carrington (Christopher Cazenove)."

"Just past the intersection of Hickson Road with Towns Place, you may recognise the overpass ahead of you featured in The Matrix (1999). In the classic scene shot in front of the overpass, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) rushes towards and into a phone booth seconds before it is crushed by a truck. When Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) inspects the wreckage, Trinity’s body is gone. The same overpass was used in Kangaroo Jack (2003) and Better Than Sex (2000) starring David Wenham and Susie Porter."

"Argyle Place underwent an incredible transformation during the filming of Mission Impossible 2 (2000) when it stood in for Spain. In one shot, a religious procession celebrating the “Fallas de Valencia” marches up a dusty and gravelled-looking Argyle Street, past the Garrison Church. In another, Tom Cruise runs up candlelit stairs that link Argyle Street to Watson Road. These steps as well as the church can be seen in Playing Beatie Bow (1986)."

For information on how to obtain your copy of "Sydney on Screen: Where Opera Meets Oprah", contact sydneyonscreen@hotmail.com

Sydney on Screen: Where Heritage Becomes Fantasy

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Excerpt:

“Science House is one of the few Sydney buildings built in the commercial Italian Palazzo style. Designed by Peddle Thorp and Walker in 1928 as the result of an architectural competition, construction was completed in January 1931 at a cost of 45,000 pounds. Located on the corner of Essex and Gloucester Streets, Science House plays a starring role in Mao’s Last Dancer (2009) as the Chinese Consulate in Houston where Li Cunxin (Chi Cao) is being held captive.”

“Governor Phillip Tower and Governor Macquarie Tower appeared in The Matrix Reloaded (2003) that filmed in the lift lobby area. In the scene, two hundred and fifty extras walk in one direction while Neo (Keanu Reeves), Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) head the other way toward a lift leading to Le Vrai Restaurant. The sandstone walls inside the foyer were made to look like black granite and were covered with lightweight painted and papered foam on which a giant fake clock was attached using sticky tape.”

“After rescuing Kitty Kowalski’s (Parker Posey) runaway car in Superman Returns (2006), Superman lowers the vehicle in front of the fountain at the corner of Martin Place and Pitt Street. The very same fountain appeared in the “lady in red” sequence in The Matrix (1999). In an iconic moment in the movie, Laurence Fishburne sets everything and everyone into freeze frame during an agent-training program while a stunned Keanu Reeves looks on. Other productions shot in the area include Son of the Mask (2005) and Thank God He Met Lizzie (1997) starring Richard Roxburgh, Cate Blanchett and Frances O’Connor.”

For information on how to obtain your copy of "Sydney on Screen: Where Heritage Becomes Fantasy", contact sydneyonscreen@hotmail.com

Sydney on Screen: Where Adventurers Roam

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Excerpt:

“St James Station, at the northern end of Hyde Park, gets its name from St James Church. The underground station began regular service on 20 December 1926 and was meant to serve four different directions. However, the plan fell through and two of the completed four platforms were never put to use. Construction was halted and the tunnels connected to the station were abandoned which resulted in one of the tunnels flooding and producing an underground lake. In the early 1990s, the tunnels were used by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a location for Police Rescue (1991-1996), the television series starring Gary Sweet. More recently, they were the inspiration for horror movie The Tunnel (2011).”

“Before Superman (Brandon Routh) is rushed to hospital in Superman Returns (2006), he is seen falling from the sky and crashing into Hyde Park - Metropolis Park in the movie. The scene depicting a crowd of people witnessing his fall was filmed in the courtyard in front of the cathedral. The producers of The Man Who Sued God (2001) approached St Mary’s to ask for permission to shoot both inside and outside the cathedral. They only got clearance for exterior shots and, consequently, had to relocate to St Andrew’s Cathedral on George Street to film interior scenes. Problem is, St Andrew’s is an Anglican cathedral and the story required a Catholic setting. St Andrew’s received a slight makeover and the scenes were put in the can in record time so that the team could return the establishment to its original faith.”

“The successful mini-series Underbelly: The Golden Mile (2010) starring Firass Dirani as John Ibrahim was shot on Kellett Street and in the Sugarmill Hotel at 37 Darlinghurst Road. The TV show about police corruption and the running of the golden mile in the 1980s and 90s also used Longueville Road in Lane Cove to recreate the infamous stretch of road that cuts through the Cross. Two Hands (1999) had Heath Ledger spruiking in front of a Darlinghurst Road doorway next to the ex-Westpac bank. Further filming took place near Fitzroy Gardens, at the landmark El Alamein Fountain, also a location for Candy (2006) and Blue Murder (1995).”

For information on how to obtain your copy of “Sydney on Screen: Where Adventurers Roam”, contact sydneyonscreen@hotmail.com

Sydney on Screen: Where Heroes & Monsters Play

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Excerpt:

“In Two Hands (1999), Heath Ledger and Rose Byrne try to outrun Bryan Brown and his gang as they bolt through the streets of Chinatown. They manage to lose the gangsters for a short while by jumping on the monorail in Haymarket. Alone at last, they share a kiss. Other productions that have used Haymarket as a backdrop include the Ryan Kwanten movie Griff the Invisible (2010), the AFI Award-winning television series East West 101 (2007-2011) with Don Hany, Little Fish (2005) starring Cate Blanchett, Sam Neill and Hugo Weaving, and The Potato Factory (2000), a mini-series based on Bryce Courtenay’s historical-novel.”

“Parker Street, off Hay Street, was a location for Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). In the scene, two men trying to escape Zilla run down the street in sheer terror towards the Capitol Theatre. One of them trips over and the other comes to the rescue as the creature looms down upon them. The Capitol Theatre in Haymarket has had many incarnations since its construction in 1892. It started off as the Belmore Markets and was then converted into a hippodrome to accommodate its new tenant, the Wirth Bros Circus. In 1927, the building was transformed into an “atmospheric” picture palace…”

“A kite with a blow-up doll attached to it lands in China at the very end of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) just after the credits have rolled. The brief scene in Stephan Elliott’s iconic movie starring Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp was shot at Darling Harbour’s Chinese Garden of Friendship, also a filming location for The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995). Inaugurated in 1988 as part of the Bicentennial celebrations, the gardens were a gift from Sydney’s Chinese sister city Guangzhou to mark the bond that unites the two countries.”

For information on how to obtain your copy of "Sydney on Screen: Where Heroes & Monsters Play", contact sydneyonscreen@hotmail.com