Rains thwart filming of Bond flick at Inca site
LIMA (Reuters) - Producers for the upcoming James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace" said on Friday they have scratched plans to film near the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu -- Peru's top tourist site -- due to bad weather.
Filming for the 22nd Bond movie, starring Daniel Craig as the British super spy, had been set to start early this month in Cuzco, a city in southeastern Peru near the ancient Incan citadel.
"They decided not to come because of climatic conditions. They couldn't be sure it wouldn't rain and they have very tight time," said Margarita Morales, director of Iguana Productions, a Peruvian company hired to assist with filming.
Last month, protesters upset by changes to laws that make it easier to build near historic sites marched through Cuzco, snarling traffic on highways and forcing railroads and the airport to close.
Some government officials have complained that such protests threaten tourism and long-term investment. Cuzco was replaced as the site for a summit meeting later this year of leaders from 21 countries.
Morales said the decision to cancel production in Cuzco had nothing to do with the protests.
"They told me the reasons were strictly because of the weather," she said.
"Quantum of Solace" stars Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko and follows the spy in a cross-continent quest to take revenge on a beautiful woman who betrayed him.
The film is due to hit theaters worldwide in November, and it will be released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
Reuters/Nielsen
