Can Leo Woodall & Chiwetel Ejiofor Remember Film Locations?

[Leo Woodall] If you watch the show,

then you'll, you'll, you'll get it.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] I'm, I'm gonna watch the show.

I just, I'm sorry it's hers,

because I haven't seen the show yet,

but I do intend to watch the show.

I'm very sorry, Leo.

[Leo Woodall] No, it doesn't. [jazzy music]

[slide swipe]

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Where is this?

[Leo Woodall] Do you want to show them?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Is that okay?

[Leo Woodall] I think it, I think it's Sicily,

and I think it is Palermo.

That's where we filmed the scene

[slide swipe]

in the White Lotus

[bell ding]

where I'm sat on a bench with Portia

and I'm explaining to her that we live in the best time,

in the best place in the history of the world

and that we should be grateful

that we don't live in medieval times where we're,

as he says, 'acking each other to bits.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] 'acking each other to bits.

[Leo Woodall] 'acking each other to bits.

Somewhere in there,

I think that alleyway there

is where he sings

the West Ham chant

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles down the street

in his drunken state.

[Jack] I'm forever blowing bubbles,

pretty bubbles in the air. [indistinct chant]

[Leo Woodall] And it was really funny

'cause there were people living, you know,

people coming out of their, their apartments

on their balconies

and kind of going, what is that racket?

And we were all just kind of on vacation.

The best part about staying in the hotel

that we were filming in was that

it was a really nice hotel.

We took advantage of it and it was nice to kind of

just have it to ourselves for a few months.

A lot of the time they were shooting other scenes

that I wasn't in.

And so I'd, you know, go for a walk in the hotel, you know,

to the restaurant, or to the gym or wherever.

We were the only people in the hotel.

So it was kind of cool to be in an empty hotel.

It was a bit like The Shining

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Mm, mm, cool.

[Leo Woodall] In a fun way, like a fun Shining.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Was it big? Was it a big, big...?

[Leo Woodall] Yeah, it was big.

It was big. It was very nice. [slide swipe]

[Leo Woodall] Ah, that is a place that's very,

kind of brings back a lot of memories.

This is in Louisiana

where we were shooting

[slide swipe] 12 Years a Slave.

[bell ding]

This is the main, sort of, the plantation house.

It is where Solomon Northup spends a lot of his time,

you know, during the film,

a lot of the, the 12 years was spent here

on the Epps plantation,

Epps being played by Michael Fassbender.

So it was a kind of central location

for the, for the filming.

[Leo Woodall] Did this location itself have,

have its own history or was it, it was a plantation?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It was a plantation, yeah.

[Leo Woodall] It was, wow.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] A slave plantation.

I remember it being just incredibly hot,

is the first thing that hits you

is the incredible heat.

And so obviously in a place that that's hot

and understanding the nature of the physical labour

that was happening on a place like that,

I think that that was the first kind of understanding

of what the realities were of the day-to-day experiences

of people on those plantations.

I think it was 106 that first day, so...

[Leo Woodall] Oh my God.

Yeah. It was very, very warm.

And a couple of people just, like,

completely just passed out.

[Leo Woodall] Did they?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] On the first day.

[Leo Woodall] Oh my God. [slide swipe]

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Oh, I visited

a couple of the plantations

before we started shooting

and some of the locations

in New Orleans that were relevant.

And so there was a real sense beforehand

of just trying to get, you know,

just a kind of a historical context

of what was happening as well as a kind of feel

for Louisiana generally, actually.

Even, you know, a kind of contemporary sense of Louisiana.

I think all of that informed the process, you know,

because some of, obviously, you know, if you can see

that that's a plantation, it's not a set built,

you know, on land.

So all of this is a living history.

These places still exist, are still visited and,

and are still part of the kind of landscape.

So making films that are historical, you are sort of,

obviously you're going back in time

and you're understanding that the dynamics

that are played out within that moment have an impact on,

you know, the current circumstances.

And you realize then as well

that the choices that are made [slide swipe]

have, sort of, echo into the future,

and you realize that all of these choices

have resonance and deep impact.

[Leo Woodall] I don't wanna follow that.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Now.

[Leo Woodall] Is this gonna be like,

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Let's see.

[Leo Woodall] Probably my, my backside or something?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] This is... where?

[Leo Woodall] [laughs]

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] [laughs]

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] This is the big reveal.

[Leo Woodall] Big, big reveal, red car.

[slide swipe]

I have no idea.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] I mean...

Is it, is it Lotus again? No, no.

I've only got like four options,

so I, it can't be that again.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Well, shall we try and break it down?

This, this looks like a sign here, isn't it?

[Leo Woodall] It's a breakfast sign.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Yeah. Is that in English,

at the top, or is that, Is that Spanish?

[Leo Woodall] No, I think it's Greece.

Is it Greece?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Yeah, I think it's Greece.

[foreign syllables]

Like a, like a... [foreign syllables]

My Greek, my Greek is not quite

what it should be.

[Leo Woodall] No, it's pretty good, mate. [slide swipe]

Yeah, that is, that is Greece.

That is Paros, Greek Island.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Well now you're getting it right.

[Leo Woodall] I'm on a roll now.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Now you, now you seem to know

where you're going.

[Leo Woodall] Yeah. [laughs]

That is from a scene in,

well, an episode of One Day

[slide swipe]

where Emma and Dexter go to Greece for a holiday.

And they get off the boat and they, I don't...

I think behind the tree is...

Is us.

Potentially.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Is that your, is that your backpack?

[Leo Woodall] Yeah? I, Dexter wasn't wearing a backpack

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Oh, okay, well.

'cause he thought he was too cool to wear one.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] I mean I'm not accusing you

of wearing a backpack.

No, no, no. If you watch the show,

then you'll, you'll, you'll get it.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] I'm, I'm gonna watch the show,

I just, I'm sorry.

[laughter]

It's hers because I haven't seen the show yet,

but I am, I do intend to watch the show.

I'm very sorry, Leo.

[Leo Woodall] So she's wearing the backpack.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Is this a spoiler of any kind?

[Leo Woodall] It's not.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] No. Okay.

[slide swipe]

[Leo Woodall] They go to Greece.

They have a, a good holiday to an extent.

I've just realized that. I remember that.

And we were all kind of freaked out by the little squids

that were hanging on the trees.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Up here? [slide swipe]

[Leo Woodall] Yeah. There's a scene

where I run into the ocean

taking all my clothes off.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Oh, yeah, again.

[Leo Woodall] Yes.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] So yeah, there's a pattern.

[Leo Woodall] That's why they hire me.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] There's a pattern for me.

[Leo Woodall] And he, he runs into the ocean,

you know, taking his clothes off.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] You've said that.

[Leo Woodall] I just wanted to remind people

that I take my...

It was freezing cold,

so what you see on screen of him splashing around,

having a great time,

it was actually really, really cold.

[slide swipe] I didn't realize you were in this.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Come on. That's...

[Leo Woodall] I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

I don't even know what it is.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] That's not good.

[Leo Woodall] I don't even know what it is.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It's unfair.

It's below the belt, this kind of thing.

[Leo Woodall] Wait, I need to see what it is.

I have no idea what that is. Do you?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Can I see that? Can I just...

Oh, right. That's tricky.

That's very tricky.

[Leo Woodall] Do you know what it is?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Well, I kind of have a sense

of where this is, of what this is.

There's some technical terminology that I,

that I kind of have to recall,

but this was obviously a, a sort of scientific space.

[Leo Woodall] Oh, wait.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] And...

[Leo Woodall] It's written on the back.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] And you can see certain bits

of missiles or rockets or, you know.

So this is from the film,

The Martian. [slide swipe, bell ding]

I shot the film in Hungary,

but obviously these are, you know,

locations that are supposed to be in the, in the States.

And this is, this is Benny Wong right here.

[slide swipe] It's me and Benny walking through JPL.

And Benny, you know, I have to say, is incredible.

[Leo Woodall] Is he?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] He's just, I, I, I love Benny so much

and I've made, I've been lucky enough

to make a few films with Benny

and over, you know, the 20 something years now

We've had the opportunity

to play very different characters, you know, over the years

and, but who always have this kind

of friendship and great dynamic.

So anyway, there's, there's the story behind that picture.

[Leo Woodall] Nice.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] I think it was one of the early parts

of me and Benny being reunited on this set

to, to play these parts.

So it's so brilliant that film actually.

[Leo Woodall] It is.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] And I really think it's a lot of,

it's a lot of fun. So it's got a lot of...

[Leo Woodall] It was a lot funnier

than I thought it was gonna be.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Yeah, yeah.

[Leo Woodall] It's funny.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It is funny.

[Leo Woodall] Yeah.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It is funny, yeah.

[Leo Woodall] Is it in Budapest?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] In and around Budapest, yeah.

Can't remember if we were on the Buda side or the Pest side.

[Leo Woodall] Mm.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It was one of the two, definitely.

[Leo Woodall] [laughs]

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] I don't think I explored Budapest

that much actually,

but I did go to the Marzipan Museum,

which is a museum and everything in it

is made entirely of marzipan

and it is remarkable.

[Leo Woodall] Wow.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It is just as good as it sounds.

[Leo Woodall] Wow

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It is like an amazing place.

You're like, is that marzipan?

It's like you turn around

and there's like the, like a full, full size,

you know, Beatles.

[Leo Woodall] Wow.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] And you're like,

they're all marzipan? Like, yes, they're all, Marzipan!

[Leo Woodall] Is anyone trying to eat them?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It's like an incredible place.

No, they're protected. They're like

behind glass, you know?

[Leo Woodall] But did they not go off?

Does marzipan not go off?

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] I, I didn't ask these questions

and I didn't care.

[Leo Woodall] Should have a room

where you can go in and...

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] No, no, no, you could definitely,

[Leo Woodall] Take a chunk off the wall.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] You could definitely bite.

Yeah, oh, that would be great.

[Leo Woodall] That would be cool, wouldn't it?

[slide swipe]

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] What is this? Oh...

[Leo Woodall] Oh. [slide swipe]

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] A classic.

[Leo Woodall] We know that one.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Look at that shot. So beautiful.

[Leo Woodall] Show them.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Thank you. Thank you.

[Leo Woodall] That's from our movie,

Bridget Jones: [bell ding]

Mad About The Boy.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] That is from Bridget Jones.

[Leo Woodall] Very soon you'll see

a very handsome man [slide swipe]

jogging up to the tree.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Oh, did you jog?

[Leo Woodall] And then a more handsome man

driving up to the tree from the other angle.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Oh really? Did I drive?

[Bridget Jones] Oh my god.

I've climbed a magical man tree.

[Leo Woodall] That is on Hampstead Heath.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Yeah. [slide swipe]

[Leo Woodall] It was a gorgeous day,

as you can see, on Hampstead Heath.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] You know, when you hear

that you are gonna be doing,

shooting Bridget Jones in the summer,

you know, in and around London, you know,

it's very exciting.

[Leo Woodall] Yeah.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] And, but the thing is, you know,

you don't actually get in the English summers

that many sunny days, sadly.

But this was one of them.

[Leo Woodall] It was, we were very lucky.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] It was my first day,

and it was a beautiful day.

[Leo Woodall] You brought the sunshine.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] On the Heath.

[slide swipe]

[Leo Woodall] It was very cool to,

to shoot in London. It meant a lot to me.

It was my one day to work with this man,

which genuinely was a, you know,

a very big deal for me.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] That's very kind. Thank you.

[Leo Woodall] Yeah, yeah.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] That's very sweet of you.

[Leo Woodall] You can give me the fiver later.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Just a fiver?

I just literally jogged past, said a few words

and I was on my way,

and I was very glad that I wasn't having

to get stuck up the tree

because it looked fun, like, for the first hour.

[Leo Woodall] Yeah. I mean,

I wasn't supposed to get stuck up the tree.

I was supposed to just climb it and get them out,

but I did get stuck at one point.

I remember that branch there.

I just kind of, I improvised

and I found myself just hanging off it,

my feet dangling.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Did you have wires on you, or?

[Leo Woodall] No, Nah.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Oh, right, oh.

[Leo Woodall] Nah, I didn't have wires on me.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Tom Cruise.

[Leo Woodall] But then when you saw me

dangling from the tree, it's less Tom Cruisey.

I got scrapes all down my arm.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Oh no.

[Leo Woodall] Because of that, yeah.

Oh no, that's the extent of your, your empathy.

[slide swipe]

I was really disappointed that we didn't have a fight scene.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Hmm. Well you know what?

It's never too late, mate.

No, I thought it was great that there,

you know, I think of Mr. Wallaker

not as a pugilist but as you you...

[Leo Woodall] He's a what? He's a pugilist.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Yeah. As a man of intelligence,

and, you know, he wouldn't.

[Leo Woodall] He blows a whistle while on the movie.

[Chitwetel Ejiofor] Well, yeah, that's true.

The, the whistle, with great power

comes great responsibility as I learnt with the whistle.

[upbeat music]