»God is no Soprano«
"Making of"
The heavy ride up the serpentines in the middle of the italian dolomites was just the beginning of a little adventure the crew would have to face for the next days. The entire week before there were heavy winds and snow storms in the whole area.
Fortunately, first day wheather was fine and we began with the helicopter shots. One team startet work at first base in the valley while 2nd team prepared the next location on the summit.
Second base, "called Rifugio Lagazuoi"was located at 9000 feet altitude. A beautiful spot and logistically perfect, since we were able to use the cable car up there. That spot has been used before for few other films, e.g. "Cliffhanger"
The last 300 feet up to the summit had to be managed by foot. An exhausting task for all 25 people: We had fresh snow up to 3 feet on the top. Everyone carried as much as they could. Even our 70 year young "adventurer", the actor Mr. Panjatan, insisted on carring whatever he could grab.
A heated tent was mandatory as storage room for equipment, craft service and as the "green room " for the actors. Some little "luxury", though not to be compared with a trailer. But what a view!
Packed with the most important stuff, we moved from location to location on the peak. Every step felt like walking thru mud.
For security reasons we had to be down in the valley before sunset. So we used any possible minute. That meant early calls at 4.45h am, shooting from sunrise 6.30h am to 6.00h pm.
Heavy changes of temperature from -15°C in the morning to 8 °C at noon caused many technical problems and effected our scedule enormously. Flexability and improvisation was a must.
Safety first! Dangerous snowdrifts, cliffholes and the steep walls of the rocks had to be inspected every day. It happened that a chosen location was gone the next day.
Our italian mountain scouts Diego and Giorgio walked and cleared every morning the paths where we were alowed to move and work. Together with the director and DOP, they went through the plan for the day and confirmed or canceled possibilities.
Even though we had a very tight scedule, the "atmosphere" on set, proffessionally and socially, was excellent. Everyone felt kind of "high". Maybe the thin air, that caused some foolish behavior...
Sunset in the beautiful mountains! What a superior experience after a hard days work!

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