Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second of the film trilogy, penned by JK Rowling, and it’s opening on November 16th (November 8th in Paris).
Set in Paris and the UK, some of the key location shoots were in London over a six month-period, facilitated by FilmFixer for our client boroughs, although the location and studio-shot footage is often interspersed, both with plenty of CGI thrown in. Here’s the trailer.
Already in the trailer Lambeth Bridge is recognisable, where Jude Law as Dumbledore tries to talk Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), into helping out, saying, “I can’t move against Grindelwald, it has to be you.”
Eddie Redmayne and Callum Turner, as his brother in the film Theseus Scamander, are seen performing magic in some high stakes action at Highgate Cemetery, on the borders of Camden, Haringey and Islington.
Newt Scamander’s home is set in St Mary’s Gardens in Lambeth – making it an important continuity location.
FilmFixer manages the film office service for 16 of London’s 33 boroughs including Islington, Lambeth, Camden and Haringey. FilmFixer CEO Karen Everett says, “This is one of the biggest films that shot in London opening this year, and the production made a point of ensuring its impact was as positive as possible.
“The production was extraordinarily generous with donations to local charities near its London locations and gave local young people a career boost with life-changing work experience opportunities.
“Despite the Hollywood scale of this production, the team went to incredible lengths to fit into the communities where it filmed and to minimise any disruption.
“Two trainees were taken on for work experience for four days during the filming in St Mary’s Gardens, Lambeth, from the local programme Creative Sparkworks.
“For local trainees Omar Dick and Robin Barrett, exposure to a production of this scale was a real shot in the arm for their careers, as employers are always looking for as many high-profile film credits as possible.
“It was hard work but Robin said afterwards the range of tasks had given him a good grounding in how the locations department operates, adding that the team at Triton Films was so friendly it was a pleasure working for them and he really felt like part of the team.
“The filming involved 150 cast and crew over two days in November with a couple of extra days for preparation beforehand and returning the square to its former self afterwards.
“The film is set in the 1920s, so road markings and modern signs had to be covered, and modern cars were moved. Locals’ cars were moved to the Imperial War Museum car park and a free 24 hour shuttle bus between there and St Mary’s Gardens was provided. Lighting rigs went up and a rain machine was brought in.
“Local residents and businesses were compensated directly for any disruption the shoot caused them. Some of the local organisations involved included: The Walcot Foundation, the Anonymous Resident Association that includes other non-Walcot Residents in local events such as picnics, The Ship Pub, which accommodated crew as a dining area, JOY, for accommodating the cast in green rooms, Roots & Shoots – which accommodated extras for costume, make-up and dining; Archbishop Sumner School, which allowed the use of their car park on Oakden Street; a donation to Bright Centres; a donation to Ethelred Nursery; and a donation to The Community Care Centre for letting the production store bins on their property.
“The production recognised they were guests in the neighbourhood and committed to minimise disruption as much as possible.
“St Mary’s Gardens is getting used to celebrity guests, after Daniel Day-Lewis filmed some Phantom Thread scenes there in April 2017.
“None of the stars were at the location filming on Lambeth Bridge or Albert Embankment. Cast doubles were used on the bridge. The locations were LIDAR scanned and added into the film in post-production, around the real stars who’d filmed the scenes in the studio. The Albert Embankment filming took place in July and Lambeth Bridge filming in October. A donation was made to the Lambeth High Street Residents Association.
“Across in north London, 200 cast and crew filmed at Highgate Cemetery from October 16th to October 21st last year. This filming involved, ‘four cast members, 60 extras and a magical creature’. Certainly, as we’ve said, Eddie Redmayne and Callum Turner are in those scenes.
“The West Cemetery at Highgate is an incredible location and looks marvellous even in the trailer, with its Victorian Gothic Terrace Catacombs, Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon easy to spot.
“The cemetery is a private location, we provided support in making Swain’s Lane available for tech parking and permitting a marquee in Waterlow Park for dining and somewhere the crew and actors could rest.
“Extremely generous donations were made to the Highgate Newtown Community Centre, Clean Break theatre company that supports women on stage, in prison and in the community, The Fresh Youth Academy and Friends of Waterlow Park.
“We really admire the production’s support for these charities that tackle some of the more complex social issues in the community.
“In Islington we facilitated parking for 300 cast and crew filming in the City around Lothbury. We believe these scenes included the Circus Arcanus, however, it has to be said, despite the size of this production, the huge numbers of cast and crew, it managed to keep a lid on almost all aspects of the plot during the location filming.
“As Londoners we are incredibly proud that the capital plays a key role in the film. We also have a great deal of respect for a production that was able to ensure Londoners felt so welcome to benefit directly from this huge production.”