The 24th Bond film, and the fourth starring Daniel Craig, Spectre, is to be filmed in Tirol during January and February.
Suitably top secret negotiations led to the agreement which will see the internationally famous resort of Sölden in the Ӧtztal and less well known Obertilliach in the East Tirol region become venues for the film, which is already scheduled for release on 25th November 2015.
It is not known whether there will actually be ski or snowboarding content in the film, and it will all be on a closed set, so that may remain a mystery until release day, but the chances of anyone accidentally sharing a chairlift with Daniel Craig see sadly limited.
The British production company "B24" will be filming in the region from mid-January to mid-February. As well as lead actor, Daniel Craig, other stars of the 24th Bond film include Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux. Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes ("American Beauty," "Revolutionary Road" and the last James Bond movie "Skyfall") will again be directing.
B24 had reputedly been searching the world for suitable locations for the past year but finally decided on Tirol after a package of logistical and financial support, convinced the director and production team to choose the locations of Oetztal and East Tirol.
A total of 22 filming days is planned in the Tirol, and at its peak the film crew will consist of 500 people, including 150 local filmmakers covering various positions. Tirol has calculated that the economic benefit to the region is huge and that 6 million euros will be spent there by the film company alone. It has not revealed how much it has spent bringing them there. The region's tourism body is already talking about Bond themed tours of the area once the film has been released.
Solden is one of the world' most high profile resorts. With twin glaciers meaning it offers a 9 month ski season, it is the host of the first World Cup events of the season in the northern hemisphere each autumn, and is also a sponsor of various indoor snow centres around Europe, including The Snow Centre at Hemel Hempstead. The resort actually owns a large indoor ski centre in Germany outright.
There are long standing connections between Bond and the ski industry. Fleming himself studied in Kitzbuhel in the 1920s, whilst Murren has the production company for the 1969 Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service to thank for financing the completion of their famous revolving mountain restaurant. 45 years on the Swiss resort still offers Bond exhibitions and tours. A later Bond movie starring Roger Moore in credited as the first time snowboarding was seen on screen and the scene where Bond skis off a cliff then opens a union jack parachute is seen as one of the best known in cinema. On yet another Bond movie shoot the crew then based in Chamonix were able to help with rescue after a major avalanche hit the valley, they had had rare permission to use helicopters in the area.