Ridley Scott films in Malaga.
When the press recently announced that Ridley Scott had been scouting locations in Málaga for his latest film ‘The Cartel’, it created a buzz of excitement—he is after all one of the world’s most famous movie directors. His decision to film here is also a well-deserved tribute to the special attributes of Andalucía. Of course, Mr Scott is quite familiar with southern Spain, as he filmed ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ in Almería in 2013. As we know, Almería is famed for its Spaghetti Western style desert landscape, which makes it an ideal location for many cinematographers. Ridley Scott tends to do his scouting by helicopter and this time he was spotted heading towards Cádiz, a city that often plays stand-in for Havana in Cuba. However, this time the director is looking for places with “a Mexican vibe” and apparently he has found it in Málaga at the former provincial prison of Cruz de Humilladero. The building has been deserted for a long time, but now it will be turned into a Mexican jail that plays a pivotal part in this thriller about the ‘narco wars’ between Mexico and the USA. Those of you who have watched the TV series ‘Narcos’ about the life and exploits of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, will have a feel for what the plot is about and indeed, there are similarities. Scott is basing his plotline on the true story of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, who like Escobar, lived in luxury and continued running his Mexican cartel whilst making sure he escaped US law officers, and of course Scott will focus El Chapo’s spectacular escape from prison in 2001. Rumour has it that Leonardo di Caprio is being considered for the role of DEA agent Art Keller, which is another piece of interesting news: Di Caprio has worked with Scott before in ‘Body of Lies’. We hope Leo takes the part! Meanwhile Ridley Scott is currently in Madrid at Spain’s military base Coronel Maté de Colmenar Viejo, where much of the action scenes involving helicopters and military vehicles will take place. Filming won’t start until the summer and will be supervised by the Málaga Film Office. It seems pretty certain that visits to the city will increase at that time, especially if stars like Di Caprio are coming to our regional capital.
