Written by on Sep 12, 2014. Posted in On Location

Filming for Mission Impossible 5 and Woman in Gold boosts Vienna production

Austrian capital Vienna has enjoyed a production boost in recent months hosting very different feature films. Tom Cruise brought Mission: Impossible 5 to the city for a short stunt-filled shoot in August and drama Woman in Gold recreated the German invasion of World War II.

Nearly a year of preparation was involved in bringing Mission: Impossible 5 to the capital and the shoot focussed on Vienna State Opera.

“We did a lot of research in searching special locations that were requested as the script developed and we prepared everything in getting in touch with the owner of the main location,” explains Marijana Stoisits, head of the Vienna Film Commission.

“We had to close down the Opernring for traffic and – even more important – public transport, as well as some streets next to the State Opera for four nights from sunset till sunrise. The Opernring is the absolute city center of Vienna. That was quite a challenge, but we had huge support by city authorities. We started the process of negotiating with the city right after the first scouting.”

Nearly a year of preparation was involved in bringing Mission: Impossible 5 to Vienna.

The production was supported by Film Location Austria – or FISA – which offers formal filming incentives of up to 25% for shoots that spend at least five days on location in Austria.

Woman in Gold tells the story of Austrian art stolen by the Nazis during World War II and the efforts of Jewish survivor Maria Altmann to reclaim it that were only concluded in 2004. Wartime Austria was recreated in Vienna for flashback scenes.

“There were not too many changes required for shooting Vienna in past times, but everything that was necessary we could negotiate, like the removal of road signs or handling of public lightning,” Stoisits adds.

“The biggest issue was a whole day of shooting in the City Hall of Vienna, where scenes from the Nazi era were shot. The administration as well as the citizens had to be informed in detail and very properly as for the City Hall this was a very sensitive issue.”

Both Mission: Impossible 5 and Woman in Gold will be released in 2015.

(Images: Vienna Film Commission)