It's not every day that you have a semi-naked woman engulfed in flames running around your workplace, or stunt men plummeting from the roof. But for some hospitality staff, such scenes are all in a day's work.
The Addington Palace, a Grade II-listed building in Croydon, Surrey, caters for corporate and private events and is one of many locations favoured for filming. Fans of ITV's soap opera Footballers' Wives will recall the sensational scene in which the character Chardonnay's breasts caught fire, or more recently when the football captain jumped from a roof to his death. "That stunt took seven takes - we all watched that," says executive head chef Steven Gibson, who has become accustomed to pandering to the whims of celebrities and film crews.
In fact, the next time you see Rory Bremner impersonating Saddam Hussein or George W Bush, take a closer look at his surroundings, as those scenes are also filmed at the Addington Palace, where film crews play an important part in the venue's business mix.
Hospitality venues - be they restaurants, hotels or conference facilities - are great places for film crews because they offer a diverse range of buildings, whether the need is for something typically art deco or ultra-chic. Of course, they also offer the added bonus of being able to provide catering for the crew, rooms for make-up work and costuming, and sometimes accommodation.
So, are there any benefits to giving your workplace over to a film crew, other than the chance of a brush with a celebrity and a few minutes of fame for the venue? Gibbons admits that it can be "a big pain in the bottom" – the Addington Palace makes its bread and butter from conferences and, while it is exciting having a film crew on the premises, it can also complicate a normal working day.
"If the crew are using two or three rooms in the building, they cordon off the area and it can be quite a task for us to transport food," Gibbons says. "We have a marquee in the grounds that we sometimes use, but you can't go past windows or make any noise with the trolleys - it can be immensely disruptive."
The key, of course, is in the planning and, if staff and guests know what is going on, they are likely to be interested and co-operative.
The Hilton London Paddington is frequently used for filming, most recently for the ITV drama The Commander, starring Amanda Burton. "Running hotels is primary and our guests come first," says general manager Neil Mathieson. "But customers like to see it. It can be quite exciting - they just don't want any inconveniences."
One thing that might not be immediately apparent when a venue agrees to filming is the sheer number of people involved and the amount of equipment they bring with them. The Commander, for instance involved 50 crew and 70 extras, and that was just the start of it. Rooms were given over for make-up and wardrobe, while the crew brought catering wagons, lighting equipment and generators to produce extra power.
Forward planning
Mathieson's PA, Lesley Barton, co-ordinated the operation from the hotel's side. "It's all about getting as much information beforehand as possible," she explains. She worked closely with the filming location manager and obtained drawings of where in the public areas the equipment would be placed, so that the hotel staff could make sure guests could be diverted.
"We always make sure the guests are informed," she says. "If there is a big production, we put letters in their rooms and tell them what it's about. It's a good idea to put a notice in the reception beforehand as well."
Another area that can be overlooked is the number of vehicles that the crew will bring and where they will park.
Filming fees must be negotiated at an early stage, and assessing the likely amount of disruption plays an important part in this. "It also depends what we are going to get out of it," says Mathieson.
Hilton negotiates about £1,000 per day for a shoot, but the precise amount depends on a number of variables, such as agreeing the number of rooms that will be used, plus any extra rooms needed for make-up and wardrobe.
Another issue is whether the hotel's name will be seen in the production, which is particularly important to big branded groups.
"We find groups such as Marriott are savvy about having film crews in, because it's a huge advertisement for them," says Jenny Cooper, location adviser at the London Film Commission, which points film companies in the direction of hotels and other properties to be used for filming. "However, there are others, such as the Ritz, that won't have filming because they are very protective of their guests."
A more quantifiable fee, and one that hospitality managers will be more comfortable negotiating, is for feeding the crew and actors - but be prepared for some fussy diets and the "luvvie factor".
Says Gibbons: "Once, we laid on a great buffet, but one actress - I won't say who - just wanted lettuce. I had to go to Waitrose and get her lettuce. You get the odd tantrums, but overall it's exciting for the staff - and it gives me plenty of opportunities to name-drop at dinner parties."
How can we be famous?
Agents often approach hotels that they want to use for a film or TV production, particularly if it is a landmark building. Those wishing actively to promote themselves, however, can do so by adding their name to a location library held by the London Film Commission (LFC).
This is a non-profit-making organisation with a library of locations throughout the UK, and is a starting point for film and production companies wishing to source a property. It is used by a wide range of film-makers, from students to the likes of Warner Brothers.
Anyone with a property can register with the LFC, and will be asked to fill in a location form. This gives the film companies an idea of the size and style of property and any special features it may have.
There is no fee to be listed with the LFC, nor does it take a commission from the fee the film company will pay you.
There are many location agents around the country that may approach owners of properties. However, LFC location adviser Jenny Cooper warns that there are some "scams" of which you should be wary. "You shouldn't have to pay a registration fee to anyone," she says. "Most profit-making agents will make their money by taking a slice of the commission paid by the film company to the property owner."
For more information about getting your property on the books of the London Film Commission's library, call 020 7387 8787.
Hilton's top tips for filming in hotels
Hilton is an old hand at the film game and its hotels have proved a popular choice for James Bond films. The front of the Langham Hilton in London became the Russian Embassy in Goldeneye in 1995 while, back in 1971, the casino scenes in Diamonds Are Forever were shot in the Hilton in Las Vegas.
We asked Lesley Barton, the PR co-ordinator for filming at the Hilton London Paddington, for her top tips.
1. In advance, get as much information as possible from the location manager.
2. Find out what public areas need to be used so that you can pan the areas that will be cordoned off to guests.
3. Obtain technical plans and a drawing of where the equipment will be placed.
4. Find out who else needs to be involved, such as food and beverage or security staff.
5. Find out the number of vehicles arriving and where they intend to park.
6. Inform the guests via letters in the rooms, and give them as much detail as possible.
Never again
Brian Shanahan, area manager for the Warren Lodge Hotel and the Anchor Hotel in Shepperton, Middlesex, learnt the hard way that it's always best to let your guests know what's going on before filming starts.
"My first experience," he says, "was at the Queens Hotel in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, some years ago, where I was manager. The foyer and exterior were used as a backdrop in some scenes for the television blockbuster Jenny's War.
"We didn't think at the time that it would detract from business and, in our eagerness to promote the hotel, we said ‘yes' to the request without going into the details.
"The hotel underwent a startling transformation, becoming the Hotel Das Konigen, Leipzig, circa 1941. The change literally brought traffic in the town to a standstill and created chaos. The locals could hardly believe their eyes when they saw swastikas, Stormtroopers and Nazi vehicles around the hotel.
"More than 250 people and 33 vehicles were used over three days. The disruption was immense, business was affected and we vowed never to get involved in films again.
"The crowning glory, however, came on the last day of filming, when the exterior had returned to normal and they had just a few background scenes to shoot.
"Some retired colonels and their wives, who had moved to Cheltenham for its quintessentially British surroundings, arrived for their regular morning coffee. They noticed, in the front hall of the hotel, a picture of Hitler hanging where, previously, a picture of the Queen had proudly hung. They went ballistic. I thought they were going to have heart attacks, they became so angry.
"In my last position... while I was manager of the Berystede Hotel in Ascot, Berkshire, we agreed to filming for Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War, starring Pauline Collins, which was released in 2002.
"The location manger was great. He realised just what the disruption would be and he was very anxious that it should be minimised. We discussed every detail in depth, a generous fee for the use of the hotel was agreed, and contracts were drawn up. However, the dates had to be changed at the last minute and the filming coincided with a conference attended by surgeons.
"The plot in the film was about a lonely rich lady who had been dumped in a hotel by her conniving family, who wished to sell her magnificent house. She decided instead to use her money to buy the hotel and invite all her elderly friends to stay. So our hotel became more like an old people's home.
"One of the scenes involved all of these friends assembling in the front hall for a protest against her family, dressed in night attire.
"Surgeons began arriving at the hotel, not knowing what was going on, puzzled as to why all these elderly people, who reminded them of some of their own patients, were wandering around dressed in night attire, protesting loudly.
"By the time the conference ended, I felt I was personally going to need some assistance from a heart specialist.
"Will I let a film company use any future hotel I may manage? The answer is definitely… no. Well, maybe…"
This article was originally published 19/03/2003
