Blog 41 - Robin Hood and Gladiator

If this is the first of my Blogs that you have watched, I should quickly bring you up to speed - over a year ago I set out to make a feature film entirely on my own and I am blogging every step of the way with the help of my girlfriend, Gabi (helping on the blogs not the film itself) This has seen us uproot our lives, has had highs and lows and saw us struggle through Blizzards high in the Swiss Alps etc.

About twenty minutes walk from my childhood home in Farnham lies the Bourne Woods, a place that I used to walk regularly and would hang out with my friends after dark and drink Hooch - a cheap and nasty alcopop that we seemed to like for no apparent reason when we were less than legally allowed to drink. Then one day, Universal Pictures rolled in and filmed a third of an entire feature film over a period of months. The film was Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, Richard Harris, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed and Connie Nielson. Every single shot (apart from the memory scenes of Maximus' home) was filmed here until Maxmus staggers through the desert. 20:20 casting turned up and held mass casting sessions in the Farnham maltings for the thousand or so extras they needed, and I became a Roman Soldier in Maximus' army.

Since then on this site they have filmed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, The Wolf Man, The Golden Compass, Children of Men, The Man Who Cried, many adverts and music videos (inc. Coldplay) and now, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe have returned to film Robin Hood (previously known as Nottingham) starring Cate Blanchett and William Hurt.

So in these woods I am returning to my roots to film some scenes for my film and I show Gabi around the location explaining where and how various parts of Gladiator were shot.

Thanks to Harry at www.fordoing.co.uk

for the use of his photos of the Nottingham film set (as I have been too busy to take a look around!)

Music licensed by audionetwork.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• vlog
• series
• documentary
• gladiator
• russell
• crowe
• cate
• blanchett
• ridley
• scott
• nottingham
• robin
• hood
• bourne
• woods
• universal

[aussiebluemax]

which country is this pine forest ?

[thelonefilmmaker]

Farnham, England

[MilindaM25]

what kind of camera do you use to shot your movie and is it heavy?

[thelonefilmmaker]

I"m using a Sony V1, it's not heavy - it's about the same size and weight as an old PD170 - so a bit lighter than a Z1.

[harpdevil]

My dad has just come back from being an extra in Robin Hood in those woods, he had a good time.

[thelonefilmmaker]

Your dad must have had a great time! When we were doing Gladiator it was very cold and wet and started snowing, It's a lot warmer now!

[dabrix18]

awesome stuff! typical girl boredom lies within her head as he explains award winning moments in the geeks book of history. i just introduced "Risk" to my gf and she was yawning the whole time as i explained the game... though eventually she hooked on.

[HeLpLOstGOdAny1]

@giuseppe3010 you realise I'm going to have to try speaking with mash potato & listen back to find out!

[giuseppe3010]

@aussiebluemax I saw the movie. The visuals, special effects are superb... however, I don't really care much for the FAKE accent they practiced for this movie. No one really cares, and the British accent is already hard to understand some words, anyway! Hard to understand Sidow's words for he talks as if eating mashed potatoes. And could do without Crowe's fake accent!! LOL

[giuseppe3010]

I saw the movie. The visuals, special effects are superb... however, I don't really care much for the FAKE accent they practiced for this movie. No one really cares, and the British accent is already hard to understand some words, anyway! Hard to understand Sidow's words for he talks as if eating mashed potatoes. And could do without Crowe's fake accent!! LOL

[Marianne9999999]

like it!

[Zockerfreak93]

W T F

[wielblade]

this is forest in Nowa Deba I was there

[estaa11]

i agree with tinu83, dont you sometimes think this is a bit too nerdy/blokey to be doing with your girlfriend?

[beauwoodro]

you really need to get back to the movie... thats what is gonna get you famous... we know you are good on the camera but you are straying away from what you started... my pop always said finish what you start and you will be sucessfull.. So get on it ...we are waiting...peace and chow