The movie Digger was released in Australia on October 2, with Tom Cruise as an eccentric Texan oil tycoon.
It’s a satirical comedy, with a touch of disaster to it.
Cruise trades his usual action-hero persona to play a paunchy, greying 65-year-old oil baron with a heavy Southern accent.
Digger’s oil drilling operations in Greenland cause a massive environmental catastrophe, fracturing an ice shelf that threatens an apocalypse.
He must frantically try to clean up the mess while protecting his massive business empire.
It is directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and the world premier in the UK on September 22 was attended by William and Catherine the Prince and Princess of Wales, and soccer star David Beckham.
Inarritu is Mexican, and the premiere at Plaza Toreo Parque Central in Mexico City on September 25 was a big hit.
Digger was filmed mostly at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England, and at Dunsfold Aerodrome, at Dunsfold Park in Surrey.
Dunsfold is no stranger to filming, from Foyle’s War to Silent Witness, Spooks to Batman Begins, Top Gear to Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang — and, of course, Cruise’s previous work in Mission: Impossible.
While Pinewood Studios itself doesn’t offer tours, Brit Movie Tours does.
The pick of their tours, I think, is:
+ James Bond Locations Tour with Pinewood Studios Photo Stop. This nine-hour tour in a private taxi leaves from central London and takes guests to regional filming sites — with an exterior photo stop at the famous Pinewood Studios gates. Bond locations include some used in Goldfinger, Thunderball, The Living Daylights, The World Is Not Enough, SPECTRE, A View To A Kill, and No Time To Die. It is from £790 ($1507) for a single passenger to £940 ($1794) for a group of four.
+ There are several Harry Potter tours. They include a Warner Bros Studio Tour Bus tour, Harry Potter Locations Walking Tour of London, and Harry Potter Bus Tour of Filming Locations. But if I was going to spoil myself, my pick of these would be the Harry Potter Tour of London by Private Black Taxi (I love London’s black cabs more than I love Harry Potter). The three-hour tour is $701 for up to five people, and visits lots of Harry Potter film locations in London, including the Leaky Cauldron, the Ministry of Magic and the bridge destroyed by Death Eaters. I like the company’s note: “Harry Potter-themed costume worn by your guide (optional).” There’s also a Warner Bros Studio Add-On, which sees guests walking through the Great Hall where Harry and his friends dined while they were at Hogwarts.
+ In London, they also have a Bridget Jones London Walk (2½ hours, from $28.50), Call The Midwife Tour (1½ hours, from $152), Da Vinci Code London Tour (2 ½ hours, from $351) and Doctor Who London Walk (2½ hours, from $19).
+ Dunsfold Park. dunsfoldpark.com
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