ON THE SET OF MAMA MIA, IN SKIATHOS HARBOUR

with Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth

August 2007

 

 


Both actors would get out of their cab on the pier, trying to catch the little kaiki, which they would just miss.


After racing into the harbour so many times, one of the old Lada cabs had a flat tire.
Colin Firth has taken off his jacket and wanders around, waiting for things to be prepared for the next scene.

A heavily loaded traditional kaiki dominated the set of the main scene that was being filmed in Skiathos.
From 29 to 31 August, the harbour of Skiathos was buzzing with activity. The film crew for the movie Mama Mia was here to film a few scenes with Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth. Many of the islands inhabitants were cast as extras, to fill in the background of the harbour, that had undergone quite a make over. Hilarious scenes with old fashioned cabs racing through the harbour, a very overloaded kaiki that kept entering and leaving the set for every new take dominated the otherwise so peaceful harbour. The set attracted many tourists, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the movie stars. Whenever a new scene was to be filmed the set had to be emptied, and it cost quite some effort to make all the people move out of camera reach. The weather was good but very hot, and both actors must have suffered from the enormous heat. As true professionals though they didn't show any signs of fatigue. Pierce Brosnan is the man that really connects with his audience, he was always prepared to pose for a photo or shake hands.
Between the sets, the whole crew would refresh themselves at the Bourtzi, where the summer theatre was changed into an enormous cantina.

 
The boat leaves the harbour once again... (the specials rushed to refresh themselves after hours of "entrapment")

For filming the scene where the sailboat crosses the kaiki, many hours were spent because of the distance that had to be covered every time.		  
The film crew followed the kaiki in and out of the harbour all day, leaving the crew with sunburnt faces at the end of the day.

This is Gigi, supposedly dressed up like an island inhabitant, in a very colourful outfit.


The extras are waiting outside of the primary school where the dress party begun every day. Some were dressed like tourists, some like local inhabitants.
The sailing boat lies in the harbour, and the actors go to seek for comfort in the shade of the tents that were put up for the occasion.
The small camera would be driving through the harbour on a red quad, which was capable of manoeuvring smoothly between the tables and through the narrow corridors. The bigger one that would do aerial shots from above was being moved from the one side of the harbour to the other to film the racing cabs under all different angles. quite a mission.

 


 
The extras found comfort in the shade of the Bourtzi
whenever they were not needed.  		The old port was crowded with spectators that wanted to catch a glimpse of the actors.   The security staff was constantly busy keeping the area clean from invaders and people pretending to belong to the crew.