As far as filming goes, Hungary is always a potential location for making huge, blockbuster movies. One of the biggest names in the industry 20th Century Studios could already see that, and that’s why they have brought some of their better productions to our small country. But, let’s see who we are talking about.
The organization of American film production was, among other things, the merit of two immigrants from Hungary, Adolph Zukor (Adolf Zucker) born in Ricse, and William Fox (Vilmos Fuchs) who is from Tolcsva.
20th Century Studios, Inc. is an American film studio that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios. It was one of the “Big Six” major American film studios for over 83 years, and was formed from the merger of the Fox Film Corporation and the original 20th Century Pictures in 1935.
In 1985, the studio became known as 20th Century Fox after being acquired by News Corporation, which was split and succeeded by 21st Century Fox in 2013, after spinning off its publishing assets. In 2019, Disney purchased 20th Century Fox through its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The studio’s current name was adopted on January 17, 2020.
We’ve collected some of the more well-known movies that were made by 20th Century Studios in the spectacular country of Hungary.
The Red Sparrow – (2018)
Budapest served as the background for a blockbuster movie, this time, „acting” as itself. Francis Lawrence, with the help of several Hungarian actors, directed his film “Red Sparrow” in the capital city of Hungary.
According to the story, Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is a ballerina in the Bolshoi. A serious injury, which happened during one of her shows, ends her career. After the incident, she takes care of her mother, but the story changes when her uncle, Ivan (Matthias Schoenaerts) approaches her with a job opportunity. From there, she is sent to State School 4, a specialist school for „sexpionage”. This is where they develop „Sparrows”. Operatives, who are capable of seducing their target and then eliminate them.
The Spy – (2015)
Being a spy is being like a shadow. Quick, untraceable, unnoticeable. A true professional, who has charm, who is purposeful, and elegant. Not in the movie “Spy”, which is an American action-comedy spy film written and directed by Paul Feig. Starring Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper, the main character is the absolute opposite of what has been said above. The journey of Susan is truly a tale, and the best about it is that the majority of it happens in Hungary.
Principal photography and production of the movie started on March 31, 2014, in Budapest. Apart from tax breaks, shooting was primarily done there, since the architecture and buildings allow it to appear as other places where the story took place, including Paris and Rome. Let’s not forget that in most scenes Budapest acts as itself.
Terminator: Dark Fate – (2019)
The sixth instalment of The Terminator film franchise, “Terminator: Dark Fate” is an American science fiction action film directed by Tim Miller and written by David Goyer and Billy Ray from a story by James Cameron, Charles Eglee, and Josh Friedman. Starring Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T-800 Terminator, respectively, reuniting the actors after 28 years.
The movie takes place 27 years after the events of the second Terminator film. One of the key characters is Sarah Connor, and the half-human, half-cyborg Grace (Mackenzie Davis) who both have to defend a girl called Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) from dying. If anything happens to her, or if she dies, humanity will cease to exist. Skynet this time sends a REV-9 type terminator back to the past, and that is what they have to keep away from her. To their help, there will be everyone’s favorite, T-800. The filming crew arrived in Hungary on the 19th of July, 2018. Filming locations here included Origo Studios, at the old Nokia Factory in the city of Komárom, and at the Mercedes-Benz Factory in Kecskemét.
A Good Day to Die Hard – (2013)
“A Good Day to Die Hard” is the fifth instalment of the Die Hard series. The film was directed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods. The star of the movie is Bruce Willis as John McClane. The main plot of this movie is that McClane wants to get his CIA undercover agent son, Jack out of prison, who is held captive in Russia. Production for the movie started in April 2012, with the capital „acting” as Moscow. Willis arrived to set in May 2012. Budapest streets are the perfect „disguise” if someone wants to recreate Russia.
One of the scenes were held at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street, which is in the middle of the city, where many of the buildings are similar to the ones in the Russian capital. Also, for vehicular stunts, they used Hungaroring, which is the Formula 1 racing circuit for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“The Spy”, “A Good Day to Die Hard”, “Terminator: Dark Fate”, “Gemini Man” and “Hercules” all were made in the Origo Studios in Budapest.
