Written by on Feb 3, 2015. Posted in On Location

Ben-Hur remake starts filming on location at Cinecitta Studios in Rome

A remake of the historical epic Ben-Hur has started filming on location at Cinecitta Studios in Rome. Charlton Heston starred in the iconic 1959 version of the story, which also shot at Cinecitta Studios.

Timur Bekmambetov is directing the new version of the story, which will more closely follow the narrative of Lew Wallace's original 1880 novel.

“You could not have imagined a more perfect location to shoot this epic than Italy. We can’t wait to get started,” said Bekmambetov.

Italy has enjoyed a heightened international production profile since its filming incentive was boosted last year. The country offers a 25% filming tax credit and the per-production cap has now been doubled to EUR 10 million.

In the past year, Cinecitta Studios has hosted scenes for the upcoming mountaineering drama Everest, which also used the Italian Dolomites as a double for the Himalayas. Elsewhere in Italy, Marvel filmed scenes for The Avengers: Age of Ultron in the northern town of Aosta.

New Bond movie Spectre is scheduled to shoot on location in Rome in the next few weeks.

Ben-Hur is the latest in a new wave of big-budget films set in the ancient world. The past year has seen Pompeii, which recreated the doomed Roman city in Toronto, and Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings, which built ancient Egypt in the deserts of southern Spain.

You could not have imagined a more perfect location to shoot this epic than Italy. We can’t wait to get started.

Timur Bekmambetov, Director

Two separate movies were also released re-telling the story of Hercules, one of which shot in Bulgaria and another, a higher-profile version with former wrestler Dwayne Johnson, filmed in Budapest.

Historical dramas have found much larger audiences on television, with Game of Thrones finding global dominance from its base in Northern Ireland. Vikings has also proven a success filming on location near Dublin, as has Da Vinci’s Demons, which doubles Wales for 15th century Italy.

(Image: Warner HE)