Interstellar Production Update #2: Wait… How Long is Filming in LA Lasting?

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It’s been nearly two months since the start of production on Christopher Nolan’s ninth feature film: Interstellar. Our first Production Update – ya know, the one where we announced the risky business policy of not reporting on set photos – started a number of conversations. We received a lot of support from fans, readers, other sites, as well as Paramount. At that time, filming had just began in Alberta, Canada. And for the month or so that Interstellar was in Canada, set reports and photos did pop up here and there. They weren’t as prominent as they were for The Dark Knight Rises, but photos of cast and crew filming floated around the forums, the blogs, and the tumblrs of the world.

IMAX cameras were present throughout filming in Alberta – which shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone. Visual Effects Supervisor Paul Franklin was (and still is) an active tweeter, posting photos of camera rigs, helicopters used for filming aerials, and Alberta’s mountainous terrain. The visual landscape and setting for the film certainly are a curiosity for many. Night filming did take place from time to time. Large amounts of artificial lighting were in effect during a lot of the night shoots – which raised a lot of questions of the cautiously curious. And a good amount of Interstellar‘s wonderfully populated cast was spotted at hotels, restaurants, and on sets. After approximately a month of filming in the land of the maple leaf, production moved to the land of the midnight sun: Iceland.

We were the first to bring you translations of Icelandic reports that Christopher Nolan spent his Easter weekend this year in Iceland scouting locations – one of the first real bits of news we started to get about Interstellar. So right from the word go, we knew Iceland’s beautiful scenery would play a role in this film, even though filming in the Nordic island country was shorter than in western Canada. In Iceland, as in Canada, filming was primarily location based. Paul Franklin remained one of our favorite sources of spoiler free information. He tweeted photos of the countries almost alien-like landscapes, various setups, and even a massive windstorm that affected production. Again, cast and crew where spotted around town, including Matt Damon – whose stent in Iceland may be his only time spent filming for the movie.

And that just about bring us up-to-date with filming. Interstellar has finally come stateside. Filming in Los Angeles will be primarily stage based, and rumors are that some of the setups are as intricate as they are large. But the wildest thing we’ve heard so far is that filming in Los Angeles may last nearly half a year. We investigated a little further and decided to go to our favorite tweeter for an answer: Paul Franklin. When we asked him how long filming in Los Angeles would take place for, he responded that they’ll be there for 6.5 months in total. Franklin said that includes prep-time and production. So while part of that could be classified as pre-production to an extent, that shows the detail and complexity involved in what’s being filmed in LA.

Previously we estimated production on Interstellar would wrap just around December, allowing cast and crew to enjoy the winter holidays. It’s possible that’s still the case. What people have seen or heard from the production so far, whether in Canada or Iceland, might be the most insight into production we get outside of official sources. The sound stage work in LA will likely be pretty isolated from fans and those without access to any of the lots. And that’s ultimately the way we prefer it.

We’re in communication with Paramount about special ways to cover production and post-production. We also have some fun things planned with some other film blogs and fansites to help build excitement and anticipation. We’ll be updating as we hear more from Mr. Franklin and other official sources in the future.

by Teddy Blass
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