Titans vs. Bats
June 2, 2011
A Hollywood blockbuster being shot in Trefil has come under threat from a colony of bats.
Film producers won permission to spend two months shooting the sequel to Clash of the Titans in a deep quarry, which is so far north that it actually falls within boundaries of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
But the star-studded fantasy movie will have to stop filming if they disturb a colony of rare protected bats.The quarry is home to hundreds of tiny lesser horseshoe bats.
Wildlife experts have warned film bosses not to disturb the colony during the filming.And the National Park Authority will order filming to be halted on the advice of the Countryside Council for Wales if necessary to protect the bats.
The barren rocky landscape was chosen as the perfect location for the action movie to be staged, and national park planners gave filmmakers the go-ahead to turn the area into a film set including marquees, equipment stores and set locations.
Planning officer Ryan Greaney said: “The site provides a unique barren landscape for the film crews. But lesser horseshoe bats are known to inhabit the region and under the advice of the Countryside Council filming should be halted if they are at risk of being disturbed.”
Liam Neeson – who starred in the blockbuster Batman Begins – joins Ralph Fiennes and Sam Worthington in an all-star cast for the film, titled Clash Of The Titans 2: Wrath Of The Titans.Filming is scheduled to last for two months in the quarry, which is near the village of Trefil, north of Tredegar.
A film spokesman said: “We will be very careful, but it would come to something if the gods and titans were brought down by some of the smallest creatures on the planet.”
Source - walesonline.co.uk
A Hollywood blockbuster being shot in Trefil has come under threat from a colony of bats.
Film producers won permission to spend two months shooting the sequel to Clash of the Titans in a deep quarry, which is so far north that it actually falls within boundaries of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
But the star-studded fantasy movie will have to stop filming if they disturb a colony of rare protected bats.The quarry is home to hundreds of tiny lesser horseshoe bats.
Wildlife experts have warned film bosses not to disturb the colony during the filming.And the National Park Authority will order filming to be halted on the advice of the Countryside Council for Wales if necessary to protect the bats.
The barren rocky landscape was chosen as the perfect location for the action movie to be staged, and national park planners gave filmmakers the go-ahead to turn the area into a film set including marquees, equipment stores and set locations.
Planning officer Ryan Greaney said: “The site provides a unique barren landscape for the film crews. But lesser horseshoe bats are known to inhabit the region and under the advice of the Countryside Council filming should be halted if they are at risk of being disturbed.”
Liam Neeson – who starred in the blockbuster Batman Begins – joins Ralph Fiennes and Sam Worthington in an all-star cast for the film, titled Clash Of The Titans 2: Wrath Of The Titans.Filming is scheduled to last for two months in the quarry, which is near the village of Trefil, north of Tredegar.
A film spokesman said: “We will be very careful, but it would come to something if the gods and titans were brought down by some of the smallest creatures on the planet.”
Source - walesonline.co.uk
The release also officially announces the involvement of Bill Nighy, who was said to be the top choice for the role of Hephaestus, the deformed blacksmith God, which is at least good news—more Nighy is generally a good thing. Notable in particular is one absence; that of Gemma Arterton, who played the ostensible female lead in the original. The character died in early cuts of the first film, but was revived via reshoots, and it was widely expected that Arterton would be returning. However, considering how redundant the character was in the first film, and the fact that even Arterton was expecting a much smaller role, it’s not entirely surprising that the actress seems to be absent this time around, particularly with filming on “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,” with Jeremy Renner, already underway, in a direct clash with the ‘Clash’ sequel. 
LIAM NEESON says the Clash Of The Titans sequel will be a major revamp for the franchise.
Jonathan Liebesman (2006′s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Battle: Los Angeles) is set to direct Clash of the Titans 2, after French director Louis Leterrier decided not to return for the sequel. 
