bourne producer says manila scene is the best

Universal Pictures, Mary Cybulski - This film image released by Universal Pictures shows Rachel Weisz as Dr. Marta Shearing, left, and Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross in a scene from "The Bourne Legacy." (AP Photo/Universal …more  Pictures, Mary Cybulski)

“Bourne Legacy” producer Patrick Crowley said the Philippines will be joining “Moscow, Paris, Prague, London, New York City, Madrid, Tangier and Berlin as the new thrill ride on the billion-dollar “Bourne” roller coaster.

“Millions and millions of fans worldwide will be rocketed through San Andres, raced through the Pasay Metro Rail Station, careened down Magsaysay Boulevard, and stopped very quickly at the end of the ride in Navotas Fish Port,” he shared at the red carpet screening of the film last August 5 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila.
 
Best of the franchise

Crowley, who produced all four “Bourne” movies, is proud of its latest installment, particularly the chase sequence filmed in the streets of Manila.

“The movie you’re about to see is being talked about as better than the first three, and the Manila chase as one of the best chases ever.”

He explained that the Philippine shoot required  production people to bring an international team of action specialists, 30 containers of gear from Los Angeles, over 100 people from New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Paris and London; and hundreds of local technicians, drivers and assistants with some “with resumes that stretch back to “Apocalypse Now.”

Crowley also mentioned that for the film’s rooftop chase, they replaced 50 roofs in San Andres, Manila and spent a lot of time working with MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) and other local officials in planning traffic diversions for the motorcycle chase.
 
Asian premiere

The August 5 screening is three days ahead of the film’s release in Manila on August 8 and five days in advance of the US premiere.  Crowley explained that the special screening is the production’s way of paying Manila back.

“We felt an obligation to pay back to the people who let us have control of the city for two months. We created huge traffic jams and all of the problems that come from making a good movie,” he said.

Crowley added that this is the only special screening in one of the countries the latest “Bourne” installment was shot in. It is also the film’s Asian premiere.

Will they make more movies in the Philippines after “Bourne”?

“If there is a script that happens to be set in the Philippines or a script that is set somewhere else and would be easier, better to do in the Philippines then we would suggest it, because we really did have a successful experience here,” Crowley replied.