Scots castle is transformed into ancient Greek palace for new blockbuster movie
It is being transformed to look like ancient Greek with some of the biggest stars on the planet linked to the project.
Work has begun on the Banffshire coast for the big screen epic The Odyssey - the latest and most expensive blockbuster by Oscar winning director Sir Christopher Nolan.
It is believed the Oppenheimer director will use locations around Buckie and Cullen, including Findlater Castle, for the Hollywood movie.
A-listers including Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson have all been linked to the project with hundreds of people expected to be involved on some days.
Yesterday (Mon), a diversion at the castle, overlooking the Moray Firth, was in place with a sign warning it will be in place until July 25.
A fake period building has been constructed from plywood in the fenced area overlooking the castle.
The shoot will also involve scenes at the sea with replicas of ancient Greek vessels.
Filming for the big screen production which is due to be released in cinemas on July 16 next year started in February in Morocco. It has also taken place in Greece and Sicily.
The Odyssey is predicted be the most expensive film of Sir Christopher's career.
It dramatises the journey of the ancient Greek king of Ithaca, Odysseus, back home to his wife following the Trojan War.
The 54-year-old filmmaker achieved major success with the release of Oppenheimer in 2023 which went on to won him the Academy Award for best director.
It is hoped that The Odyssey will have similar success with filming taking place around the world.
Visit Aberdeenshire has confirmed Findlater Castle is 'inaccessible' until July 25 'as a result of a private commercial activity' in the 'immediate vicinity of the site'.
The tourism body added: 'This also includes the closure of the Barnyards of Findlater car park during this period, which is regularly used for visiting the castle.'
While those in Cullen say the presence of film crews in the area is becoming 'common knowledge, a spokesman for Moray Council would only say: 'The support we provide through our film liaison service is confidential.'
However, one local said: 'We have been told that 500 people may be involved at its peak.'
The 2016 remake of Whisky Galore, starring Eddie Izzard and Gregor Fisher, was also filmed in the area.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's pal Kevin Smith reveals uncomfortable truth behind their rise to the top of Hollywood
Kevin Smith is looking back on how the convicted sex offender and disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein once played a crucial role in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon 's ascension to Hollywood royalty. While looking back on the 25th anniversary of his film Dogma with People — which Affleck and Damon both appear in — Smith, 54, recalled how his early connection to Good Will Hunting became a pivotal moment for the two rising stars. His influence brought Affleck, 52, and Damon, 54, into the orbit of Weinstein, who was later convicted of rape and sexual assault in separate trials in New York and Los Angeles in 2020 and 2022, respectively, though the New York Court of Appeals overturned his conviction in that state in 2024. A retrial commenced in April of this year. Affleck, 52, began his professional association with Smith after scoring a small role in his 1995 comedy Mallrats, which came after he had already sold the screenplay he wrote with Damon for Good Will Hunting to the production company Castle Rock Entertainment. The only problem was that the studio wasn't willing to also let Damon and Affleck star in the film because they were untested talent. Smith recalled how he helped get the film — whose script he called 'one of the best things I've ever read' — picked up by Weinstein's studio Miramax Films, which had made a name for itself for producing and distributing popular independent films, several of which went on to garner critical acclaim and Oscars. Smith told People he helped move Good Will Hunting to Miramax after its original production company, Castle Rock refused to let Damon and Affleck also star in the film; pictured Friday in NYC at the Tribeca Festival Smith said he was given a chance at helming the film from Affleck and Damon's screenplay after he had directed the hit indie film Clerks for Miramax. 'The first question that I was asked by Ben and Matt and the Miramax folks was, 'Do you wanna direct [Good Will Hunting]?'' he recalled. 'I think they all asked that with clenched a******s hoping that I would say no,' Smith joked, as the film would have been a significant departure from the low-budget black-and-white comedy he had already directed. 'Naturally, I was like, 'Oh my God, no. If I were to direct this, I would just turn around to Ben and Matt the whole time and say, 'Is this what you saw when you wrote it?'' Smith suggested that Affleck and Damon could direct Good Will Hunting themselves after writing the script, but even though Weinstein's team at Miramax would allow them to act in the movie, directing was too much leeway for the untested duo. 'I was told that the lunatics would not be running that particular asylum, so the search for a director began at Miramax,' Smith recalled. Good Will Hunting proved to be a highly coveted script, and Smith said 'twenty of the top directors on the planet were interested' in it, among them Heat filmmaker Michael Mann and actor-turned-director Mel Gibson. The film eventually went to the director Gus Van Sant, who had previously had critical and commercial success with Drugstore Cowboy (1989), the Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix–starring My Own Private Idaho(1991) and the black comedy To Die For (1995), which starred Nicole Kidman. But it was reportedly a desire to work again with Affleck's younger brother Casey that ultimately led Van Sant to sign on for the job after they had worked together on To Die For. Gus Van Sant won the right to direct over multiple major figures because of his desire to work with Affleck's younger brother Casey (top left) after he previously appeared in To Die For (1995); (L–R) Cole Hauser, Casey, Damon and Ben Affleck seen in Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting ended up being a massive success for everyone involved. Affleck and Damon's screenplay was honored with an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, while their costar Robin Williams also won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and the film was nominated in seven other categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. Good Will Hunting established Damon and Affleck as in-demand stars while also legitimizing their behind-the-camera work, and it helped Van Sant work on bigger-budget follow-ups. Weinstein's help in picking up the film, combined with the success of Smith's Affleck-starring rom-com Chasing Amy, gave the trio 'enough juice' to start filming Dogma for Miramax. Smith said he had shown the screenplays for Chasing Amy and Dogma to Affleck at the same time years earlier, though he warned the budding star that it would take major names in the cast to get Dogma off the ground because of the larger budget it would require. Smith later recalled how Affleck jokingly thanked him for his assistance getting Good Will Hunting off the ground. 'I'll never forget the first day we're on set shooting with Ben and Matt. Right before the first take, we're about to roll for the first time and the boys have been nominated for Academy Awards,' Smith shared. 'So we're about to shoot, and I look at Ben, and Ben looks me dead in the eyes, and he goes, 'Guess who became a movie star just to do your stupid movie.' And I was like, 'Well done, my friend. Well done.'' Back in 2020, it was reported that Affleck was one of the people listed on Weinstein's so-called 'red flag list,' which included the names of multiple people the producer feared could be speaking to the press about allegations of sexual assault and harassment that existed as behind-the-scenes whispers for years before they were widely circulated at the height of the #MeToo era. Other names on the list, which was revealed in court, included Annabella Sciorra, Rose McGowan, Zelda Perkins, Lysette Anthony and Rowena Chiu. In 2017, the actress Rose McGowan claimed that she had told Affleck that Weinstein had sexually assaulted her, to which he allegedly replied, 'Goddamn it, I told him to stop doing that.' But Affleck later denied that McGown had ever made the claim to him in an email he sent to Weinstein that was seen by In 2017, Gwyneth Paltrow, who dated Affleck from 1997 to 2000, accused Weinstein of sexually harassing her earlier in the 1990s.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Scots castle is transformed into ancient Greek palace for new blockbuster movie
It is being transformed to look like ancient Greek with some of the biggest stars on the planet linked to the project. Work has begun on the Banffshire coast for the big screen epic The Odyssey - the latest and most expensive blockbuster by Oscar winning director Sir Christopher Nolan. It is believed the Oppenheimer director will use locations around Buckie and Cullen, including Findlater Castle, for the Hollywood movie. A-listers including Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson have all been linked to the project with hundreds of people expected to be involved on some days. Yesterday (Mon), a diversion at the castle, overlooking the Moray Firth, was in place with a sign warning it will be in place until July 25. A fake period building has been constructed from plywood in the fenced area overlooking the castle. The shoot will also involve scenes at the sea with replicas of ancient Greek vessels. Filming for the big screen production which is due to be released in cinemas on July 16 next year started in February in Morocco. It has also taken place in Greece and Sicily. The Odyssey is predicted be the most expensive film of Sir Christopher's career. It dramatises the journey of the ancient Greek king of Ithaca, Odysseus, back home to his wife following the Trojan War. The 54-year-old filmmaker achieved major success with the release of Oppenheimer in 2023 which went on to won him the Academy Award for best director. It is hoped that The Odyssey will have similar success with filming taking place around the world. Visit Aberdeenshire has confirmed Findlater Castle is 'inaccessible' until July 25 'as a result of a private commercial activity' in the 'immediate vicinity of the site'. The tourism body added: 'This also includes the closure of the Barnyards of Findlater car park during this period, which is regularly used for visiting the castle.' While those in Cullen say the presence of film crews in the area is becoming 'common knowledge, a spokesman for Moray Council would only say: 'The support we provide through our film liaison service is confidential.' However, one local said: 'We have been told that 500 people may be involved at its peak.' The 2016 remake of Whisky Galore, starring Eddie Izzard and Gregor Fisher, was also filmed in the area.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The Castle of Maze! King unveils grand design for the Queen Mother's former home
It was a home beloved of his grandmother who would spend hours walking around her Highland estate. And now King Charles is to add to the beauty of the Castle of Mey, in Caithness, as he bids to attract tourists with a new maze. A garden maze is being created in the grounds of the castles which is owned by the King's Foundation. The royal residence became a favourite haunt of the late Queen Mother as she visited friends in the Highlands after the death of her husband, King George VI, in 1952. The monarch developed a love of mazes as a child. The one at Castle of Mey, which will have an ornamental tower in the middle, is aimed at attracting more visitors, particularly children and teenagers, to the site. A planning application for the development has been submitted to Highland Council and the local authority is due to make a decision by August. A design statement accompanying the application reads: 'The project proposes a new maze garden and folly located within a clearing in the woodland to the south east of the castle. 'The folly and maze will form part of the visitor attraction. The construction project itself will provide training in traditional skills with the opportunity for public demonstration and interaction. 'The hedges to the maze would be made from fuchsia like some of the hedges within the walled garden. The hedges would be grown to 1.2m height. This would be above the eye level of a child but would allow an adult to see over the hedges. 'The role of the new building is to be the central focal point of a new maze within the woodland. It is ornamental and provides seating for people at the completion of their visit to the maze. 'It should appeal to all visitors to the maze including children and teenagers and it should be accessible for people with various types of impairments, such as mobility, sight, hearing and autism.' As a child, King Charles spent hours hiding and playing in a maze on the Royal Family's Sandringham estate. In recent years he has had new mazes built at Sandringham and his other Scottish residences at Balmoral and Dumfries House. Speaking at the opening of the Dumfries House maze, he said: 'I'm afraid to say I'm rather indulging in my childhood fantasy of mazes. There's nothing more enjoyable than getting lost in a maze.' The Queen Mother first saw the 16th century Castle of Mey in 1952, when she was staying nearby with Commander Clare and Lady Doris Vyner. She was still mourning her husband, King George VI, but was immediately charmed by the building, then known as Barrogill Castle, despite half its roof having been torn off in storms. She purchased the castle, along with its walled garden and 24 acres of land.. The castle was opened to the public in 2002. Along with other local tourist businesses, it has benefitted from the success of the North Coast 500 driving route, around the north coast of Scotland.
