Prague’s metro doubles for Stalinist-era Russia in crime drama with Gary Oldman.
A Hollywood film produced by Ridley Scott is currently shooting in Prague and will be closing down part of the Metro B line on the evening of Friday, Aug. 23, and Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
The film, called Child 44, is set in Stalinist-era Russia and follows a trail of child murders that starts to lead to uncomfortably high places in the ruling elite. Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace head up the cast. Rapace is best-known for the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels. Action film helmer Daniel Espinosa, who made Safe House and Easy Money, is directing.
The filming times were chosen to provide the least inconvenience. The production will pay for all the costs of the alternate transportation and other related expenses. According to the State Cinematographic Fund, the filmmakers will spend 500 million Kč, or about $26 million, in the Czech Republic. The total budget is reportedly 940 million Kč. The film has already used other locations in Prague and across the Czech Republic.
“We are pleased that [producer] Ridley Scott chose to shoot in our metro and city, which have appeared in several Czech and foreign films. His production originally asked to film on the Metro C line. We did not agree, however, as it would burden too many passengers,” Milan Křístek, the general director of the Prague Transportation Authority (DPP), said in a press release.
“Therefore Metro B has been selected for the next-to-last summer vacation weekend, when few people will be in Prague. In addition, the film will only shoot in the morning and evening between Smíchovské nádraží and Florenc. As a matter of course, we will provide alternative transport for passengers,” he added. A historical train with the final destination Leninova on the front and back is being used in the scenes.
The filmmakers asked the public to be patient. “Filming is a challenging thing and often requires temporary closure of streets, squares, bridges and subways. We would like to thank the Prague Transport Authority and Prague City Hall for their hospitality, but also we’d like to to thank all passengers for understanding temporary subway closures,” David Minkowski of production company Stillking Films, said.
He added that film making brings prestige and other benefits to the cities involved, and that many large cities such as New York, London and Paris have special departments set up to handle requests for closing down streets and using the transportation system.
An upcoming film with Tom Cruise called Edge of Tomorrow recently shut down Trafalgar Square in London and landed an RAF helicopter there, Minkowski said. This is not the first time that the Prague metro has been used in films, but usually it done between midnight and 5 a.m. when the system is normally closed.