Hollywood moves to a Hungarian town, Angelina Jolie comes to Budapest

There are many film productions taking place in Hungary at the moment. One of the locations is a small rural town, but there are shootings in Budapest as well. Locals are excited to spot Hollywood celebrities out and about in Hungary.

Hollywood in a small town

Blikk reported that Hollywood has moved to a sleepy little village. The tiny settlement of Lőrinci is located in Heves County. The shootings are taking place in Selyp, the northern part of the town. The centre of this neighbourhood is dominated by a mill, a popular hang out spot. Locals know each other well, but now life has turned upside down due to Hollywood filming. Some of the residents are particularly thrilled to see celebrities in the small town, hoping that they may bump into one another at the popular meeting spot of the town, Sasfészek pub.

In the previous days, some scenes of the series adaption of the film The Day of the Jackal were being shot there. The former sugar factory served as the main venue. The 20-hectare site is of course heavily guided. Movie stars such as Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch are filming behind the fences of the guarded area. Locals are delighted to be part of the experience. Moreover, some might even appear in some scenes shot in the local pub or by the mill. The owner of the local restaurant reported a double in turnover.

Angelina Jolie in Hungary

Angelina Jolie returns to Hungary in October as Blikk also wrote. The Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning actress plays opera singer Marian Callas. The film is directed by Chilean Pablo Larraín and captures the opera singer’s last years, which she spent in melancholic solitude in the French capital. It will be the director’s first film to be shot in the Hungarian capital. He picked Budapest because its architecture is similar to that of Paris. According to Blikk’s sources, Angelina Jolie had come up with her own ideas for the role and the director was fascinated by the opportunity to work with the actress. Jolie said:

I take very seriously the responsibility to portray Maria’s life in a way that honours her legacy. I will do my utmost to meet the challenge. Pablo Larrain is a director I have long admired. To be allowed to tell more of Maria’s story with him, and with a script by Steven King (who also penned Spencer), is a dream come true.

The shootings will expectedly start in October and end in December. The director also worked on films portraying the lives of other iconic women, such as Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana.