ARTICLE
3 Films You Probably Didn’t Know were Filmed in Taiwan! (Plus, Stand to Win a Trip to Taiwan!)
By Flora / 13 Oct 2016 (Thursday)
Singapore has been a hot filming hub for Hollywood and international productions. But did you know that Taiwan played host to these big-budget, Hollywood movies as well?
Silence
Photo Credit: Entertainment Weekly
The upcoming drama directed by Martin Scorsese which stars Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Japanese actor Asano Tadanobu, is receiving quite a lot of buzz lately because of its theme and well, it’s after all a Scorsese-directed movie!
The film tells a story about two Jesuit priests played by Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield, who go looking for their mentor played by Liam Neeson in 17th Century Japan, a time when outsiders, and especially Christians, were treated with disdain and mistrust.
According to Variety, Scorsese was introduced to Taiwan by Ang Lee (who filmed Life of Pi in Taiwan) and was reported to have fallen in love with the country. It was entirely shot in the territory with various filming locations that include Yangmingshan and Beitou in Taipei, and areas in Taichung and Hualian as well.
No official release date in Singapore has been set, but rumours of it being Scorsese’s longest film (over 3 hours) seem to be a confirmed element of the film.
Life of Pi
It’s no wonder that Taiwanese-born American film director, screenwriter and producer Lee Ang would want his film to be shot in his birthplace, Taiwan. Life of Pi, in my opinion, remains one of the most beautifully-shot, visually attractive film to date. The film reaped 11 Academy Award nominations and four wins, most notably Best Director and Best Cinematography.
Photo Credit: Dailymail.co.uk
While most of the shots were filmed in a soundstage - especially the water scenes - outdoor filming locations included Taipei Main Zoo for scenes containing animals to places such as Pingtung Banyan Park, Kenting Baisha Bay, Kenting Chialoshui and Houbi Lake for its scenic greenery.
Lucy
Another well-known film director, French auteur Luc Besson had filmed his blockbuster movie in Taiwan together with Hollywood’s A-lister Scarlett Johansson in sci-fi thriller ‘Lucy’. "Some cities are very photogenic, some other are not at all. Paris is very photogenic and Taipei is very photogenic too," Besson said in a promotional tour in Taiwan in August.
Famous landmarks such as the Taipei 101 was used, and areas such as Xinyi district, the Regents Taipei, Club Myst and Taoyuan Airport can all be spotted in the movie.
See if you can spot these landmarks in the trailer, below!
*Bonus:
This is quite a no-brainer, because it’s essentially a Taiwanese film with a bunch of talented young Taiwanese cast. But we’re adding this to the list because if you are a fan of this coming-of-age movie, we want you to hunt down these filming locations during your next trip to Taiwan!
That’s right, it’s the 2014 film ‘Cafe.Waiting.Love’. (等一個人咖啡) Because of its strong influence of the cafe scenes in the movie, Taiwan was said to experience another wave of “coffee addiction” where locals and tourists have flocked to cafes, especially the actual, operating coffee shop located in Taipei.
If you’re including this cafe in your itinerary, it is located a small lane across from Taipei Jingmei Girls High School, at Wen Shan district. Don’t forget to order your favourite coffee from the barista who is said to look similar to Abusi (Megan Lai) in the movie!
WIN A TRIP TO TAIWAN!
Asia’s travel experience platform, KKday is holding a pretty epic contest where you and three other friends stand a chance to win a 7-day all expense paid trip to Taiwan! It’s the best time to go on an adventure to check out the beautiful hot springs, indulge in nature’s finest landscapes and shopping sprees at the night markets! Don’t forget to check out the filming locations that we’ve suggested!
(Participate here!)