The "ABCs of BBM": Round 965! (Rules in first post)

[southendmd]

Site Name: Diving Cliff
 

Travel Directions:
From Hwy 1 (Trans-Canada Hwy) take the Seebe exit, pass Bow Valley campground and turn right at the “Seebe” sign, cross the one-lane bridge, pass the convenience store on the right, and go through Seebe. Park at locked Gate 1, walk approximately 1.1 km to Gate 2, another 0.2 km to Gate 3, and finally, behind a set of railway ties, 0.2km to the crest. The site is approximately 100 yards to the left (south) of the memorial cross, near the river.

Remarks:
You did not expect a place where Jake Gyllenhaal (a double) and Heath Ledger (the real thing) frolic in the nude to be readily accessible did you? Be certain to obtain appropriate permission before visiting this site. Do not, under any circumstances, dive from the cliff.


If you crave the diving/whitewater experience, one established local rafting and cliff diving guide is Chinook River Sports, (866) 330-7238.

[Fran]

To visit actual movie sites, saddle up and mosey up the Rockies to Canada.  Along with Heath and Jake, the other major star of the soul-stirring cowboy romance is the province of Alberta.  Wyoming's picture-perfect stand-in captures the longing that suffuses Lee's cinematic wonder.

-- Aefa Mulholland, PlanetOut.com

[Toast]

GPS:   50d 20m 40.32s    -114d 12m 10.2s
Site Name: Hills and Mountains

Remarks:
This intricate montage of peaks and hills opens the film. The shot is taken from near Hwy 22, south of Longview, facing westward. It was taken from an elevated site.
....
This spot is best photographed at dusk or dawn. The Brokeback photography crew filmed a test sunset with an alarm clock in the foreground to select the optimal time for the actual shooting of the scene the following day. Hwy 22 is a busy highway, and tractor-trailer trucks can be seen on it quite often. If you are patient, you may be able to see one pass this scene as we did. The white spot in the middle of the "saddle" landform is caused by sunlight reflecting off water in a stream.

[southendmd]

To visit actual movie sites, saddle up and mosey up the Rockies to Canada.  Along with Heath and Jake, the other major star of the soul-stirring cowboy romance is the province of Alberta.  Wyoming's picture-perfect stand-in captures the longing that suffuses Lee's cinematic wonder.

-- Aefa Mulholland, PlanetOut.com

=aside= Fran
 

[Fran]

Site Name: Stores and Bar

 

Travel Directions:
110 Railway Avenue (Railway Avenue between Main Street and Strangmuir Street), Carseland

Remarks:
Welcome to Carseland's Blue Bar.  Originally a brilliant blue (some would say much too brilliant), the film's producers painted the structure's south façade in tasteful earth tones.  When shooting was completed, the owners insisted upon a full restoration.

Friendly barmaids Judy and Val are glad to share Brokeback Mountain shooting stories with customers and visitors.  "One of the actors was very nice, the other was so busy working into his role that he was a bit of a [pain]," says Val, who got to sit next to Ang Lee during the shoot.  (No, you will have to ask Val.)

[FindingBrokeback.com]

[Toast]

Location: Railway Street at Nanton Avenue, Crossfield, AB
Site Name: Grocery Storefront
 

Travel Directions:
Hwy 2 north from Calgary, take the Crossfield exit, which leads to Highway 2A. Turn left onto Laut Avenue at the Crossfield Country Inn and then right onto Railway Street. The site is at the corner of Nanton and Railway Streets.

Remarks:
Empty now, Monroe’s Riverton Grocery Store still bears its authentic “Choice Meats/Fresh Produce” signage. Crossfield is an otherwise unremarkable setting for the contrasting images of masculinity offered by Ennis and Monroe.

[FindingBrokeaback.Com]

[memento]

Site Name: "Maybe Texas" Riverside
Location: Elbow Creek Day Use Area

Travel Directions:
Bragg Creek Provincial Park. Follow Hwy 66 west to Elbow Falls Day Use Area. As you enter, the site is to the immediate right at the most upstream portion of the area.

Remarks:
Some of the shots in this scene were taken from the opposite side of the Elbow River in the McLean Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Zone. This area was so mired in deep, viscous mud that we dared not attempt it, even in our 4WD vehicle, but those who know off-road vehicles and do not mind getting very, very dirty might enjoy this vantage point.

FindingBrokeback.com

[Fran]

Site Name: Twist Home Office

Travel Directions:
From downtown Calgary, south on Macleod Trail right (west) on Elbow to Glenmore.

Remarks:
Jack showed parental concern and hunted for his parka while Lureen continued her own hunt for extra zeros at this abandoned house south of downtown Calgary.  After looking at several possibilities, the filmmakers chose the house that suggested wealth.

If you are able to pry your eyes from Lureen's ever-expanding hairdo, note the wall decorations which incorporate mounted rodeo buckles.  Undoubtedly, these are intended to memorialize a simpler and happier time in Jack's life.  They seem to be to be very much out of place on the wall of mirrored foil wallpaper, just as Jack must have felt himself a stranger in that town, that job, that family, and that bed.

Quotation:
"I don't understand why you are always going up there...."

[FindingBrokeback.com]

[Toast]

To be able to adjust to whatever the gods have in store for us when we begin shooting, and allow all two hundred of us to react effectively, a good director has a clear plan at the outset. Ang Lee's vision of Brokeback Mountain was very clear.

The script, of course, is the blueprint for the film. The clearer the blueprint the better foundation you have for making a good film. Since we had the best script most of us had ever read we had a great advantage from the beginning. However, it would be almost impossible to visualize an entire film in advance without making adjustments. In fact, keeping too rigidly to a plan can keep a director from xploiting opportunities that inevitably arise, as well.

Ang Lee had worked very hard to communicate his vision of each scene to us as far as he could. We were given his breakdown of what he needed for each scene and we provided the elements. How closely the finished film resembles what he imagined in pre-production, again, can only be answered by Mr. Lee.

As I said, we were given a breakdown of what Mr. Lee needed for each scene. For example, he may have requested wind and dust, which I then passed on to the special effects team. Or he may (in a perfect world) want a cloudy sky, which might require sky replacement if it's sunny on the day we were to shoot that scene, which means I have to pass this along to the visual effects team and ensure that our second unit shoots plate shots of cloudy skies.

Cloudy skies over Signal (Cowley, AB.)

FindingBrokeback.Com:  Pierre Tremblay Interview

[Toast]

Round Five Twenty Five
Alberta
Brought the Story
Alive!