Tangier | Nolan Fans

Production Update #7: That’s a Wrap!

Well, it certainly has been an adventure! From that first image of Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ken Watanabe that surprised us with some early filming in Japan to the final leg of the film’s production at the Arctic Fortress, closely following the production of Inception has been one heck of a journey.

Starting out in Japan in mid-June, we found out that this was only one of six countries this film was scheduled to shoot in. We didn’t know what else to feel but excitement. Even though the June filming was a bit early, on July 24th, Warner Bros. announced that principal photography had begun and filming was already under way in London. On August 17th, the first real production images started to come in from Paris. This was getting so exciting way too quickly. On August 25th, one of our readers who lives in Morocco informed us that the Inception crew were in city of Tangier. According to a local shop owner, the filming location was being set up to look like Kenya.

After hitting Asia, Europe, and Africa, on September 3rd, the Inception crew made it to every film’s favorite city, Los Angeles, California to kick the film’s production into overdrive. For the first couple of weeks, they were filming inside of a closed shoe factory. Later in the month of September, they brought the action to the streets and with some supernatural rain, a train, and a few automobile accidents. Oh! And who could forget about those strange license plates? As images from the LA production continued to roll in, we were able to catch a glimpse of one single day of filming on the beaches of Malibu.

On November 26th, we got word that Inception’s production team had packed their bags and heading north to complete their production in the Canadian Rockies. They began shooting at a snow fortess in Kananaskis, Canada and later that week, moved on to the Fernie Alpine Resort to create some avalanches. What a fitting ending.

Overall, Inception’s production spanned four continents and six countries. Following this film’s production from start to finish, we’ve written a total of seven production update articles and have posted 397 production images. We hope you’ve enjoyed our articles and we’re looking forward for more to come. Thanks for reading.

Production Updates:
Production Update #1: Global Production Commences
Production Update #2: Inception Filming in Tangier
Production Update #3: Coming to America
Production Update #4: Rain, Trains and Automobiles
Production Update #5: Suits and Leather
Production Update #6: Storming the Beaches
Production Update #7: That’s a Wrap!

Also! Be sure to check out The Nolan Fans Podcast’s 10th Episode were Teddy and I discuss this production update.

UPDATE: The last day of shooting was November 22, 2009.

DiCaprio Ordered to Lose Weight for Inception Fight Scenes

It’s starting to seem that Christopher Nolans‘ Inception is going to be packed with fight scenes. We’ve seen bits and pieces of the hallway scene in the teaser and now these photos from Tangier show some more fist-throwing action. These fight scenes seems like they’re going to be very physically demanding on the cast, as you may have caught from the title of this story, Mr. DiCaprio here, needs to lose some weight. Here’s what we’ve heard from a set source:

“Leo needs to shed at least 30lbs. He’s gained weight recently and looks almost a bit flabby, which isn’t good, especially as the camera adds pounds. There’s an action scene coming up at the end of the year in which he needs to appear emaciated, so the pressure is on. Leo isn’t the kind of guy who can just lose a radical amount of weight though – he gets very nervous about it. He’s following a strict diet and is embarking on a rigorous workout regime. He hopes to lose the weight through the old fashioned way of cutting back on calories and upping his exercise. Leo’s a pretty determined kind of guy, when he sets his mind to things he always achieves them. Though this is going to be hard for him, you can guarantee he’ll succeed.”

[via RadarOnline.com]

Production Update #2: Inception Filming in Tangier

One of our readers who lives in Morocco recently informed us that Christoper Nolan (and his crew) are in city of Tangier filming Inception. According to a local shop owner, the filming location is being set up to look like Kenya. All the local shops adjacent to the set are selling more African looking fabrics, and the architecture of the set is supposedly not Moroccan. There are “Oliver’s Arrow” production trucks around town, and several dozen extras were spotted relaxing in a nearby building — all of which were wearing traditional African garb. Our source tells us that Leonardo DiCaprio is in town for the filming, but there is no word on which other cast members are present. We will bring you more details when we get them. Until then, feast your eyes on some of the pictures Aaron sent in of the area around the production in Tangier, Morocco.