Film producer has high praise for location Malta

Filming of part of the Canadian-UK co-production A Different Loyalty, starring Sharon Stone and Rupert Everett, ended with producer Richard Lalonde saying it went "very very well".

"Malta is a very attractive place to shoot, the crew is just amazing and the locations were very good for us because we were trying to replicate Lebanon. Its history and cultural mix makes it such an incredible place... It's a great country," said Mr Lalonde.

After six days of shooting, spread over almost two weeks, the last couple of scenes were shot in Valletta on Wednesday night, shedding a Middle Eastern light on the baroque city. The film now moves to Moscow for a two-day shoot of "the big end scene" in Red Square.

East Street was blocked off to traffic, water jets and wind machines set up and a telephone booth temporarily uprooted to accommodate the production.

A drenched Sharon Stone, wrapped in a beige coat, struggled along the wind- and rainswept side of the street, which doubled as a dimly lit alley in Lebanon. To an audience of locals, who gathered at the bridge across, the actress repeatedly withstood the simulated thunderstorm and lost her umbrella in the raging wind as the camera tightened in on her to get a close shot of the expression on her face.

The taste of the water that sprayed onto Ms Stone may not have appealed to her; the wind generated through strategically located machines may have been too harsh, calling for the strength of a stunt woman; and the cameras may have been too close for comfort. But after some cajoling, a make-up and wig touch-up, the scene was completed to everyone's satisfaction.

Ms Stone washed her mouth out in water, spat it out over the bridge, donned a white toweling robe, wrapped her hair in a towel and left the scene.

Up the road, down the stairs of St Ursula Street, actor Rupert Everett in the role of double agent Leo Cauffield, on whom A Different Loyalty is based, was rehearsing his scene, enveloped in an air of mystery. The lanky British actor looked the part as he walked down the stairs, lit a cigarette and exchanged a few words with a man in a suit.

Shop signs in Arabic were attached to some of the closer buildings in Ursula Street - just the touch required to seal the Lebanese scenario.

Mr Lalonde considered the locations to be a major asset. "We went all over the place to try and find the best location, but it was really here that we found what we were searching for... a mix of the old and the new, something with some kind of a deep oriental feeling to it, and we got all of that here."

He said Malta is at the crossroads of many cultures that can now be utilised by the thriving film industry, which, he believed had "huge potential, not only for its history, but also because of the studios".

Perched on the Valletta bastions, Mr Lalonde emphasised the importance of the tanks to maintain the industry. "They are renowned worldwide and are practically the only ones in the world," he said.

The Greek ships of the movie Troy, sailing into the harbour at sunset, prompted Mr Lalonde to draw comparisons between a "comfortable" $180 million-budget movie and the $15 million-budget of A Different Loyalty.

"Ours is a very tight budget, but everyone seems to be a partner on the production and understands what we are trying to achieve."

As a film servicing industry, Malta needed a wider crew base of qualified technicians to be able to accommodate two films at the same time... if not more, said Mr Lalonde.

"The only thing we lacked was a bit more support in terms of crew and facilities simply because the majority were on Troy. We had to bring in some people from outside, which we probably would have found here."

That did not, however, detract from the fact that "Malta is a great place to shoot".

Where else does the canteen on a film set offer such breathtaking views? Chairs and tables for the crew to "lunch" - as is the term in film jargon during a night shoot, even though it was 7 p.m. - were set up on St Barbara Bastions, overlooking Grand Harbour and surpassing any first-class dining outlet.

According to Mr Lalonde, as a couple, Rupert and Sharon "work very well", exuding the required chemistry - important since A Different Loyalty, based on the true 1960s espionage tale of the world-renowned British spy Kim Philby, who defected to Russia, is more of a character-driven drama, with the sweeping romance between the couple overriding the spy story.

"When you are married to someone for a long time, do you really know that person? Is the double agent loyal to his political beliefs, or to his family? The film questions all that, rather than putting the spy story up front, although it is still important," said Mr Lalonde.

"Rupert had been drawn by the plot for a while and has known director Marek Kanievska (Less Than Zero) since they worked together on the movie Another Country in 1984."

How was a star like Ms Stone roped in? "There aren't too many stories for 45-year-old women and the script really appealed to her. It portrays a strong woman whose world is turned upside down when she discovers the love of her life is a Russian spy, and Sharon got totally into it, giving a very nice rendition of the character (Sally Cauffield).

"It could not be played by a younger person. It needs maturity... and determination, because it is about a woman who is really searching for the truth, for honesty and loyalty within her marriage," Mr Lalonde explained.

Through her experience, Ms Stone has delved deeper into the research of the characters.

"A lot of casting was carried out before we got to Sharon, but we were very happy because it was the ultimate choice."

As regards Ms Stone calling the shots on the movie, Mr Lalonde said: "The director is very present and very respected".

A Different Loyalty is being produced by an independent Canadian production company, Forum Films, and has also been shot in Montreal and London.

Line producer Malcolm Scerri-Ferrante said the project was born from a "casual" conversation with one of the film's co-producers, who happened to mention the company's search for a setting that resembled Beirut, following which a successful recce was organised.