Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/537300
maltatoday, Sunday, 5 July 2015 News Michael Bay Libya film funnels $50 million into Malta's coffers Teodor reLjic During a set visit for the press, Holly wood producer Erwin Stoff praised Malta as a film location, claiming that no other film loca- tion has ever made for such an efficient and smooth running operation. Stoff is the producer of the Michael Bay-directed action thriller 13 Hours: The Secret Sol- diers of Benghazi (aka 'The Tem- pest'), which wraps production tomorrow after a three-month shoot which encompassed vari- ous locations in Malta. Based on the non-fiction book by Mitchell Zuckoff, '13 Hours' will dramatise a 2012 terrorist attack on an American Embassy in Benghazi. "no film i've worked on before was ever done this quickly - eve- ryone moved really fast, and there was a real urgency to just get this going," Stoff, whose credits in- clude The Matrix, unbroken and Edge of Tomorrow, said. Stoff said that the film was originally slated to be shot in new Mexico. "But we made a decision not to shoot in the uS, because we wanted the film to be as true to life as possible. Sadly, northern Africa itself was not a real possibility for obvious rea- sons, so Malta came in as the perfect alternative," Stoff said, adding that the production found no problem in assembling a crew since "everybody wanted to come to film in Malta". Speaking on behalf of direc- tor Michael Bay (Transformers, Pearl Harbour) - who couldn't be present at the press confer- ence due to his shooting sched- ule, Stoff said that the produc- tion was very satisfied with the outcome of the film, which will resume shooting in Morocco. "To have a world-class direc- tor like Michael Bay satisfied with a production means a lot. We wouldn't hesitate to return to Malta for a second, and this reputation will travel to LA once we return home," Stoff said. Malta Film Commissioner Engelbert grech in fact said that film professionals like Stoff can serve as "the best possible am- bassadors," for Malta as a film location, and that Malta is living up to its reputation as a "mini- Holly wood" among film produc- tion circles. Tourism Minister Edward Zam- mit Lewis, under whose auspices the Malta Film Commission falls, revealed that the production has funnelled a total of $50 million into the Maltese economy, while reiterating the importance of "building a real film industry in Malta, and bolstering our repu- tation as an important place for film production". "We want to send a direct po- litical message: film is a very im- portant industry," Zammit Lewis said, adding that plans are un- derway to ensure film servicing is an "all-year-round operation" in Malta, and that the rinella Film Studios will be developed further in the near future. The set visit included a trip to Albert Town in Marsa, where the surroundings doubled-up for downtown Benghazi during the fateful '13 hours' of the film's title… and included a hi-octane car chase. Director Michael Bay: Satisfied with Malta. The scene is Marsa, which stood in for Benghazi