Penélope Cruz

The 355 (2022)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Four women dressed in evening wear stand in front of a white stone building framed by two large light-up Chinese dragons. On the far left is Graciela, played by Penélope Cruz. Next to her is Mace, played by Jessica Chastain, then Marie played by Diane Kruger. Finally, on the far right stands Khadijah played by Lupita Nyong’o. All four women look nervously off to the left-hand side of the frame.

The 355 (2022) © Universal Studios

Director: Simon Kinberg
Writers: Simon Kinberg, Theresa Rebeck
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, , Diane Kruger, Penélope Cruz, Bingbing Fan
Production Company: Freckle Films, CAA Media Finance, FilmNation Entertainment
Locations Used: Fairbourne Reservoir in Harrietsham

The 355 (2022) is an American spy thriller about a CIA operative who joins forces with three international agents on a mission to recover a top-secret weapon that has fallen into the wrong hands.

Directed and written by Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Dark Phoenix, The Twilight Zone) and co-written by Theresa Rebeck (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, NYPD Blue), The 355 cast is headlined by Jessica Chastain (X-Men: Dark Phoenix,  Interstellar), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave, Black Panther), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds, The Operative), Penélope Cruz (Murder on the Orient Express, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) and Bingbing Fan (Iron Man 3,  X-Men: Days of Future Past).

During filming, production visited Fairbourne Reservoir near Harrietsham in Maidstone. The property was dressed as Graciela’s (Penélope Cruz) Colombian home.

Fairbourne Reservoir is a modern mansion which has previously featured in two episodes of Netflix’s Black Mirror – Metalhead (2017) and Smithereens (2018). Harrietsham is a picturesque village in Maidstone and contains a number of listed buildings..

The 355 was released in UK cinemas on Friday 7th January 2022.

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

Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (2011)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Movie poster. Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow holding smoking guns in each hand with burning ships behind him.. Pirates of the Caribbean on stranger tides is written in a white panel in front,

Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides Poster © Disney

Directed by: Rob Marshall

Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin R. McNally, Geoffrey Rush

Production companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Kent Filming Locations: Knole

In the fourth instalment of the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean series, Johnny Depp returns as the lovable rogue Captain Jack Sparrow. On a quest to find the fabled Fountain of Youth, he is joined by veteran pirates Geoffrey Rush (returning as Captain Barbossa) and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s long time comrade, Joshamee Gibbs. Ian McShane makes his pirate debut as the murderous Blackbeard.

In this action packed tale, Jack is lured on board the ship of the notorious Blackbeard by the mysterious Penelope Cruz, a long lost love from his distant past. Racing against the Spanish and English Naval fleets to reach the Fountain of Youth; Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a whirlwind story of adventure, revenge and dangerous mermaids.

Directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into the Woods), the film stars a host of acting talent including Johnny Depp (Sleepy Hollow, Alice in Wonderland), Penélope Cruz (Volver, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Ian McShane (Lovejoy, Hercules), Kevin R. McNally (Legend, Dad) and Geoffrey Rush (Shakespeare in Love, The King’s Speech).

Knole Park near Sevenoaks was the Kent location used in the film. The large inner courtyard was filled with gallows intended for Gibbs.

Set in the heart of the only remaining medieval deer park in Kent, the beautiful 18th Century house has been shown off to visitors for the past 500 years. Family home to the Sackvilles’, the house was also the setting for Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando. Within its thirteen rooms, the stately home, it contains the world renowned Stuart furniture, paintings by Gainsborough and Many 17th Century Tapestries.

Pirates of the Caribbean is not the only Hollywood film to recognise the beauty of Knole as a filming location. Costume Drama The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) was filmed there in 2006; it was the setting for many of the London night scenes. The inner courtyard was used to replicate the famous Whitehall Palace where grand arrivals and departures were depicted. The courtyard was also transformed for 2010 film Burke and Hare (2010) into a crowded market square complete with extras and stars Simon Pegg and Isla Fisher.

The film was released in cinemas in May 2011 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

The Good Night (2008)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Good Night Film Poster- Four character faces in a grid, all with sleep masks over their eyes. The Good night is written in the middle

The Good Night Film Poster © Momentum Pictures

Director/Writer: Jake Paltrow

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Martin Freeman, Penélope Cruz,  Danny DeVito, Simon Pegg

Production Company: Good Night Productions, Inferno Distribution, Destination Films, Grosvenor Park Media, MHF Zweite Academy Film, Tempesta Films

Kent Filming Locations: Capel Manor House, Horsmonden

This romantic comedy, is the first movie written and directed by Jake Paltrow (Young Ones Boardwalk Empire) ,and is an adaptation of 2006 French film “La science des rêves”. The movie is set in London and New York, where a former pop star who now writes commercial jingles for a living, experiences a mid-life crisis.

The film stars the director’s sister Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man Series, Se7en) , as well as Penélope Cruz (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Vanilla Sky) Martin Freeman (Sherlock, The Hobbit), Danny DeVito (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, L.A. Confidential) and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz).

The dream sequences were filmed at Capel Manor House in Horsmonden, Kent. The house was built in 1970, on the site of the old Capel Manor, which had been well known as a residence of Jane Austen.

The Good Night was released in cinemas in January 2008 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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