Cork cinema goers will be keeping their eyes peeled throughout Star Wars: The Last Jedi, for dramatic shots of The Rebel County’s Brow Head and Mizen Head, as the highly anticipated movie hits Irish cinema screens tomorrow.
Up to 350 of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars crew and cast spent 10 weeks in late spring/ early summer last year prepping to create a spectacular stunt at Brow Head, which was shot over a three-day period; with a 2nd unit shoot taking place at nearby Mizen Head.
The filming of the Lucasfilm franchise provided significant economic and tourism boosts for the West Cork region, and while cast members dropped by for just a few days, the influence of the filming was felt throughout the community and it is estimated that the local spend was in the region of €1 million. For example, O’Sullivan’s Bar in Crookhaven became a “regular haunt” of crew and cast members, with proprietor Dermot Sullivan even selling Star Wars t-shirts in the bar!
A number of Cork crew were employed on shoot days for traffic management; with Cork County Council’s local engineer and planning department, as well as the Gardai, assisting in facilitating the entire production. Film In Cork, acted as primary point of contact for this logistical support and advised supervising and on-site locations managers throughout. Film In Cork, which is supported by Cork County Council and Cork City Council, provides production, location and training services to those working in film, television, and animation.
There’s no doubt about it, the impact of Star Wars: The Last Jedi is, and will be, immense. It was such a coup for the region to secure filming and Film In Cork was delighted to be able to offer on the ground support, making the filming process as efficient and easy as possible for the international crew visiting the region.
Rossa Mullin, Manager – Film In Cork
The film franchise used a number of locations along the Wild Atlantic Way, including on Malin Head in Donegal, Loop Head in Clare, and on UNESCO World Heritage site Skellig Michael, which doubles for the planet Ahch-To. On December 18th, Tourism Ireland, working with Disney and Lucasfilm, will release a digital campaign to promote the filming locations along the now world-famous tourism route.
Cork crew, together with locals, will attend a special screening of the Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Bantry tomorrow. The film goes on general release nationwide from midnight tonight.