We all wonder about the spectacle of film and fame. Could you have been standing where famous filmmakers and actors once stood? Amazingly, the answer is potentially ‘yes’ as there are several examples of feature length films that have used a Portsmouth (or close by Hampshire area) as a key part of their blockbuster movie.
In this second instalment of Making Waves’ Famous Portsmouth, I dive into two more household names.
Les Miserables, Tom Hooper (2012)
Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables is one of many adaptations of the drama that follows the life of convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who fights to build a new life in the midst of revolution beginning to brew.
Portsmouth’s own Historic Dockyard is used in the gritty opening of the film where Jean Valjean is among the convicts pulling a ship into the dockyard. This behind the scenes video goes into more detail on The Dockyard’s famous moment.
Transformers: The Last Knight, Michael Bay (2017)
Humans are at war with the Transformers, and Optimus Prime is gone. Transformers: The Last Knight brings together inventor Cade Yeager, Bumblebee, an English lord and an Oxford professor to save the world.
Going slightly further afield, The Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport was used as a location for the film, welcoming A-Listers Sir Anthony Hopkins and Mark Wahlberg. HMS Alliance was also used as a location for the film with scenes filmed on board the boat over three days. Again, this behind the scenes video goes into more detail.
You can find more in this series by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!
