Brendan Fraser

Inkheart (2008)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Silvertongue reading to a young Meggie. Both on green armchairs with a table in between them. Bookshelves can be seen behind.

Silvertongue played by Brendan Fraser reading to a young Meggie © Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd 

Director: Iain Softly

Starring: Helen Mirren, Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Jim Broadbent, Paul Bettan

Production Company: New Line Cinema, Internationale Filmproduktion Blackbird Erste

Kent locations used: Hever Castle

Based on the best selling novel by Cornelia Funke, Inkheart is about Mo ‘Silvertongue’ Folchart (Brendan Fraser – The Mummy) who has a special gift when reading aloud: the characters come to life. One night, he unknowingly brings to life three characters from a novel entitled Inkheart who kidnap him. Now it is up to Mo’s daughter Meggie (Eliza Bennett – Nanny McPhee) and her great-aunt Eleanor (Helen Mirren – The Queen) to rescue him from the cruel dictator Capricorn (Andy Serkis, Lord of the Rings) and return the characters back to the pages of Inkheart. Alongside her real and fictional friends, Meggie learns the importance of family and having a place to call home.

Andy Serkis holding the Inkheart book staring at the camera

Andy Serkis in Inkheart © Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd. Photo: Close Murray

Helen Mirren wearing a red headscarf with her hands clasped together under her neck

Helen Mirren © Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd. Photo: Close Murray

Directed by Iain Softly (Hackers, The Skeleton Key) and featuring an all-star cast, Helen Mirren (Calendar Girls, The Queen) Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle, Journey to the Center of the Earth), Jim Broadbent (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Moulin Rouge!) Paul Bettany (A Knight’s Tale, Wimbledon) and Eliza Bennett (The Prince and Me, Nanny McPhee).

Hever Castle was used for three weeks for the filming of Inkheart, transforming the historical site into the Italian lakeside home of Great Aunt Elinor as the historical home of Anne Boleyn and the beautiful Italian gardens complete with a lake were ideal for this family-orientated fantasy film.

Hever Castle is a thirteenth century Tudor castle near Edenbridge, Hever which was originally the home of the Boleyn family. Hever Castle is a popular filming location with its stunning Italianate gardens, beautiful lake and a mock Tudor village.  Hever Castle has also be used for other productions such as  Walking through History (2013),  The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and Anne of a Thousand Days (1969).

Inkheart was released in cinemas in December 2008 and can now be bought on DVD.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

The Mummy (1999)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Mummy Movie Poster- montage of images from the film, the main characters stands with a gun against an ancient wooden box.The Mummy written in gold

The Mummy Movie Poster © Universal Pictures

Directed by: Stephen Sommers

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah.

Production Company: Universal Pictures, Alphaville Films

Kent Filming Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

The Mummy is an action-adventure film which is about a team serving in the French Foreign Legion on an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Hamunaptra who accidentally awakens a mummy. As it calls up the ten plagues in revenge for the desecration of his tomb, the team face a race against time to stop the and put an end to the centuries-long curse.

The film is directed by Stephen Sommers (Van Helsing,  The Jungle Book) and stars Brendan Fraser (Inkheart, The Affair), Rachel Weisz (The Bourne Legacy, About a Boy) and John Hannah (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Sliding Doors).

Viewers may be surprised to learn that our very own The Historic Dockyard Chatham made a cameo appearance in the film. Hollywood transformed the popular location into Giza Port using CGI and an impressive 600 ft long set. Complete with steam ship and hundreds of extras, it truly looks authentic as the 1920’s Egyptian port.

One of the most popular filming locations in Kent, The Historic Dockyard Chatham has been used in various productions Features to TV programmes. With its cobbled streets, Georgian and Victorian architecture and period features spread across 80 acres, it has been the perfect location for films such as Les Miserables (2013) Sherlock

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is set over 80 acres and contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings as well as cobbled streets and dock spaces. Projects that have previously filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham include  Downton Abbey (2013) and The Golden Compass (2007) among others.

The Mummy was released in cinemas in June 1999 and is now available on DVD.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.