Very last days of work in the historic center for the filming of Peter Greenaway’s new film with Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and Helen Hunt, flanked by actors of the caliber of Sofia Boutella, Giacomo Ganniotti, Jonno Davies and Laura Morante.
After the stops at Palazzo Pfanner and in via Santa Giustina, the “grand finale” is scheduled for Saturday 4 May in Piazza San Frediano.
The shooting of the film, by the international production Facing East and the Italian production The Family, transformed for weeks the historic center in an open-air set which aroused great interest from the people of Lucca and tourists visiting the city. When going to the filming locations, she was unfailing for the entire duration of the work the presence of the crowd of onlookers with smartphones in handready to immortalize the actors in a moment of pause.
The film Tower Stories – set almost entirely in Lucca – will remain in the memory of the people of Lucca also for the bond that was created between the city, the crew and the actors themselves. Especially Dustin Hoffman, immortalized in many downtown restaurants at dinner, always ready to have a chat with owners and customers and have a souvenir photo taken.
More shy Helen Huntwho however did not deny herself “incursions” into some of the city’s restaurants to indulge in the tasting of some local delicacies.
The entire filming period saw the Municipality – in the figure in particular of the tourism councilor Remo Santini – play the role of intermediary between the needs of the production and those of the residents in the filming locations. Not an easy task – also considering the sometimes nocturnal filming -, but in the end the people of Lucca willingly accepted some small inconvenience, compensated by being the backdrop to a Hollywood film.
