Image via Lionsgate' s YouTube Channel:
The Expendables 3, opening Friday, Aug. 15, features some breathtaking views of Bulgaria, but the filming was certainly a case of the good, the bad and the downright ugly.
The latest adventure in the series returns with a bevy of action stars from yesteryear, which has us thinking Sylvester Stallone is using some kind of marvelous Rolodex at production meetings.
This iteration features new faces, but did well to bring back the likes of Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren as well as the Bulgarian landscape, which we assume was shot all to hell for our amusement.
For proof, here is a behind the scenes look thanks to Lionsgate's YouTube channel:
Stallone touched upon what makes the country so inviting back in 2013 in the following video:
The 68-year-old star who also serves as one of the movie's writers, proclaimed, "I get stronger when I'm in Bulgaria. I like the people; I like the air, the wine. I spent the last 10 days in Europe, so I'm ready."
Hollywood recommendations of Bulgaria aside, the country does have more than ambiance and spirits for those wanting to shoot on location there.
Heading back to Bulgaria just made fiscal sense. The Los Angeles Times' Richard Verrier explains in an Aug. 2013 article: "The production will once again be based at Nu Boyana Studios in Sofia, taking advantage of Bulgaria's low-cost and non-union crews. The 75-acre former Communist-era film studio has become the go-to destination in Eastern Europe for Los Angeles-based filmmaker Avi Lerner since his company Nu Image acquired the complex in 2006."
Still, there is a great deal to love about shooting in such a diverse setting. Whether in studio or on location director Patrick Hughes aims for realism.
Here is what Hughes told ComingSoon.net's Spencer Perry back in April:
"I came here like four months before we started shooting and just scouted for locations and found some really amazing places, to bring that aesthetic quality to the film and also it brings that scale that you never get in the CG world. Also there's some really amazing, incredible action beats so it's like if you've got a helicopter attacking a train then cool, lets get a helicopter attacking a train for real. So that's where it starts to go to that crazy level, but I think it pays off in the end result, because you're going to end up with some amazing visuals and some pretty powerful action scenes."
For practical purposes, Bulgaria has a lot to offer travelers. Many of the street scenes were shot in Varna, which is described as such by Lonely Planet:
"Bulgaria's third city and maritime capital, Varna is by far the most interesting and cosmopolitan town on the Black Sea coast. A combination of port city, naval base and seaside resort, it's an appealing place to while away a few days, packed with history yet thoroughly modern, with an enormous park to amble round and a lengthy beach to lounge on. In the city centre you'll find Bulgaria's largest Roman baths complex and its finest archaeological museum, as well as a lively cultural and restaurant scene."
However, all explosively great things come with looming dangers, and The Expendables 3 was no exception. Things got ugly during the shoot: Stallone had to have metal placed into his back after a fall and Statham, by Stallone's own account, nearly died.
Mirror's Simon Cable quotes Stallone who spoke with reporters at the London Premiere:
"He (Statham) faced death. He was test-driving a three-ton truck and the brakes run out. It went down 60 feet into the Black Sea and became impaled. Luckily we had taken the doors off before.
"If anyone else had been in that truck we would have been dead because we were all wearing heavy boots and gun belts.
"We would have drowned. But because Jason is an Olympic-quality diver he got out of it."
Thankfully, the 47-year-old actor is well adept at maneuvering amid water, competing in the 1990 Commonwealth Games in diving.
As for the rest of us, the Bulgarian sights and promise of over-the-top explosions and audacious action will be enough to get butts firmly planted in seats this weekend. If that's your idea of a great time, you are in luck. Because it sounds like Stallone will keep making these things as long as there are elderly action stars meandering about Hollywood willing to sign on to do them.
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