Over the years, the international film industry has increasingly taken advantage of Cape Town’s beautiful scenery and beautiful climate. The Mother City and the surrounding countryside has been home to some of the biggest names in Hollywood as they pursue their own glory on the big screen.
Many may not know it, but some of the biggest blockbusters have been made here thanks to local studios and experienced crews. But the biggest star usually turns out to be the locations available in Cape Town and the rest of the Western Cape. In Safe House, for example, with Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington, 3 Arts Theater in Plumstead, one of the oldest theaters in Cape Town, was converted into a soundstage for 3 months during filming. Scenes were also shot at the Cape Town Stadium and Langa Township, giving this film a truly South African and Capetonic feel. The production also used some local talent and, with some crowd scenes involving as many as 4,000 extras, the film’s scenes shot in South Africa were as authentic as possible from the set to the people.
The Western Cape has a wide range of landscapes, from beaches and forests to arid landscapes and mountains and everything in between. This wide variety provides the perfect setup for doubling scenes for a variety of locations around the world. For example, Flashbacks of a Fool with Daniel Craig featured Malibu beach shots that were actually filmed on the Atlantic coast of Cape Town. The film also featured a scene at the upscale Salt restaurant at the ocean-view Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay. Then there was the shooting of Tiger House in Wynberg, which doubled for Surrey, England. In Young Ones, Namaqualand stood in for a barren, futuristic American wasteland. Doomsday had scenes filmed at Ratanga Junction and the rest of the scenes were again a stand-in, this time for the rolling landscapes of Scotland.
Cape Town is famous throughout the world for its perfect waves, so it is very likely that the adventure film The Perfect Wave was shot in and around Cape Town. Starring Scott Eastwood, this love story takes the audience on a journey in search of the perfect wave and with fantastic weather, the bluest water and white sand beaches, there is no better location to present some of the best spots. to surf the world. In Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, Kirra’s father runs a dilapidated amusement park in South Africa, where a baby orca is stranded. Muizenberg’s Beach Front Water Park became the star location for this family adventure film. Muizenberg is an idyllic family beach with white-sand beaches and beautiful scenery, and with its gentle waves and stunning beachfront setting, it’s the perfect place to film a beach-ocean-based family movie.
There are many more, Redemption is a TV movie shot mostly on the outskirts of the city, Chronicles had scenes filmed at the Artscape Theater and Cape Town Film Studios, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom featured the royal prison on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was jailed, The Giver was filmed in Cape Town, The Deal and even Blood Diamond had scenes filmed in the Mother City.
So why is Cape Town so popular? The answer is the diversity of landscapes that are available just a few hours’ drive from Cape Town. It has beautiful ocean views, unsurpassed mountain vistas, arid desert conditions, forests teeming with wildlife, game reserves with the Big 5, and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. All of this and much more is available within a short drive for anyone with a need to experience a bit of this fantastic natural beauty that has been featured in all these Hollywood movies.