Pierrefonds report and pictures
So, after the fun that was the BFI screening of the first two episodes of S3, on Monday afternoon jhava, londinensa and I got on the Eurostar to Lille where we picked up a rental car and drove to Pierrefonds (small detour via Parc Asterix...don't ask!).
Tuesday was a slow news day at first - when we got to the chateau it was clear that the crew had literally just started to set things up and there was no filming going on anywhere yet. We entertained ourselves watching the comings and goings of crew moving props around, and Jeremy Webb, Julian Murphy and a whole host of other people walking the lenght and width of the chateau and surrounding area, clearly plotting the activities of the next few days. Entertaining moment as one of the thrones that were moved to the grand hall by crane almost toppled off just as Jeremy et all were standing in the courtyard...and the props guy going "we're ok, no one's standing under it"! They did manage to get it up safely in the end to the applause of everyone watching.
Things got a lot more entertaining when we went into the village for lunch and almost stumbled over cast and crew who had seemingly been abandoned with all of their luggage on the main square! Our restaurant was across the street from them and I admit we picked a table that allowed us to do some ogling through the trees that were hiding us. We spotted Bradley (well he was easy to spot in that bright yellow t-shirt), Angel, Katie, Tony, Rupert, as well as some new faces that we would see more of in the following days. They were there for a good thirty minutes or so (which is exactly how long it took for our lunch to arrive as the restaurant staff were busy ogling as well!) before people carriers arrived to pick them up.
And this was all we saw of the cast on that day so we entertained ourselves sitting in the sun and enjoying the Pierrefonds atmosphere. And having a yummy dinner in the evening.
Wednesday morning the atmosphere had changed - there was a lot more buzz as we got to the chateau, and sure enough, soon we saw some arrivals:
And shortly after we were treated to sword practice!
Looks like they're dancing...I could happily watch Bradley doing this for hours on end.
Rupert gets some action, too:
Discussing the scene they are going to do with Jeremy and Andreas. Spot the guest star on the right - appearantly that's Gawain.
Surprise Gaius (sans wig)
And back to the fighting - Andreas is wondering if he should let big guy (Tom Hopper - not sure who he's playing though!) loose on Bradley. Or maybe the other way round as Tom was clearly a newbie to the sword fighting!
Bradley checking out Rupert's skills...
...and obviously amused by them...
...so Rupert gets a bit of a ribbing...
...and fun is had by all!
And this was pretty much all we saw for the day - Bradley and the knights vanished inside (presumably to shoot the scene he referred to in the One Show) and the rain started pouring down and pretty much didn't stop all day. We got a brief glimpse of Tony coming in but as the chateau staff were busy moving us around at the time (appearantly sitting on the stairs is a Health and Safety risk when it rains!) we didn't get any shots of him. What with the weather so miserable we decided to leave and buy wine and have a very merry fangirl evening in our hotel.
Thursday morning and the sun was out and as we got to the chateau it was clear that crew had been at work from early on - there was a whole tournament area with tents and stalls set up on the lawns in front of the building, and Pendragon banners were up on the gate. It was too early to enter the castle but we saw Bradley, Colin, and the knights arrive and go in, and shortly after spotted Colin in the tournament area, together with Richard and yet another yet-to-be-named guest.
Once we got inside, we weren't allowed to stop and watch this area as they were filming all over the place so we moved inside to the main courtyard where the knights were at practise yet again. We could see the whole group that was later going to be doing a fight scene inside. Spot another guest star who may or may not be Gwen's brother.
Meanwhile, in the tournament area...we still couldn't be in the actual area but very cunningly climbed the hill opposite the main gate and we had a great view from there, though part of what was filmed was hidden behind the gate.
Colin was rubbing his hands a lot - it was a bit chilly even though it was sunny.
And no he's not grown much taller than Richard all of a sudden - he was doing his jumping-up-and-down-just-before-shoot-starts thing :-)
As lunchtime approached, we watched Bradley striding out of the castle on his way to get to the One Show. Here he spots Colin still busy filming the same scene...
...arrives at the Merc that he thinks is going to drive him...
...and is told he's actually got to get into a less exciting people carrier...
...because the Merc is going to wait for the star of the show!
The afternoon was spent with extras and guests doing more scenes in the tournament area, and a bit later we saw Katie and surprise Emilia Fox leave the castle (pics are on my other camera so I'll post them later). And then it was time to leave!
All in all a great set visit - the atmosphere at the chateau was buzzing and excited, particularly once things got going for real on Thursday. The grandstand was set up as well so I guess some lucky visitors will get to see some fighting there today or next week.
And for anyone who's wondering: The actors were all accompanied by a handler when they were moving around the chateau, and Marie the lovely French extras wrangler (or whatever the technical term for her job is!) told us every morning that the actors were not going to have time for autographs or posing for pictures. Which should be obvious really but sadly isn't and some fans still seemed to think the rules didn't apply to them. My view is that as long as we leave the guys and girls to do their work (and have their breaks!) in peace, they and the crew will be happy for fans to be there.
Tuesday was a slow news day at first - when we got to the chateau it was clear that the crew had literally just started to set things up and there was no filming going on anywhere yet. We entertained ourselves watching the comings and goings of crew moving props around, and Jeremy Webb, Julian Murphy and a whole host of other people walking the lenght and width of the chateau and surrounding area, clearly plotting the activities of the next few days. Entertaining moment as one of the thrones that were moved to the grand hall by crane almost toppled off just as Jeremy et all were standing in the courtyard...and the props guy going "we're ok, no one's standing under it"! They did manage to get it up safely in the end to the applause of everyone watching.
Things got a lot more entertaining when we went into the village for lunch and almost stumbled over cast and crew who had seemingly been abandoned with all of their luggage on the main square! Our restaurant was across the street from them and I admit we picked a table that allowed us to do some ogling through the trees that were hiding us. We spotted Bradley (well he was easy to spot in that bright yellow t-shirt), Angel, Katie, Tony, Rupert, as well as some new faces that we would see more of in the following days. They were there for a good thirty minutes or so (which is exactly how long it took for our lunch to arrive as the restaurant staff were busy ogling as well!) before people carriers arrived to pick them up.
And this was all we saw of the cast on that day so we entertained ourselves sitting in the sun and enjoying the Pierrefonds atmosphere. And having a yummy dinner in the evening.
Wednesday morning the atmosphere had changed - there was a lot more buzz as we got to the chateau, and sure enough, soon we saw some arrivals:
And shortly after we were treated to sword practice!
Looks like they're dancing...I could happily watch Bradley doing this for hours on end.
Rupert gets some action, too:
Discussing the scene they are going to do with Jeremy and Andreas. Spot the guest star on the right - appearantly that's Gawain.
Surprise Gaius (sans wig)
And back to the fighting - Andreas is wondering if he should let big guy (Tom Hopper - not sure who he's playing though!) loose on Bradley. Or maybe the other way round as Tom was clearly a newbie to the sword fighting!
Bradley checking out Rupert's skills...
...and obviously amused by them...
...so Rupert gets a bit of a ribbing...
...and fun is had by all!
And this was pretty much all we saw for the day - Bradley and the knights vanished inside (presumably to shoot the scene he referred to in the One Show) and the rain started pouring down and pretty much didn't stop all day. We got a brief glimpse of Tony coming in but as the chateau staff were busy moving us around at the time (appearantly sitting on the stairs is a Health and Safety risk when it rains!) we didn't get any shots of him. What with the weather so miserable we decided to leave and buy wine and have a very merry fangirl evening in our hotel.
Thursday morning and the sun was out and as we got to the chateau it was clear that crew had been at work from early on - there was a whole tournament area with tents and stalls set up on the lawns in front of the building, and Pendragon banners were up on the gate. It was too early to enter the castle but we saw Bradley, Colin, and the knights arrive and go in, and shortly after spotted Colin in the tournament area, together with Richard and yet another yet-to-be-named guest.
Once we got inside, we weren't allowed to stop and watch this area as they were filming all over the place so we moved inside to the main courtyard where the knights were at practise yet again. We could see the whole group that was later going to be doing a fight scene inside. Spot another guest star who may or may not be Gwen's brother.
Meanwhile, in the tournament area...we still couldn't be in the actual area but very cunningly climbed the hill opposite the main gate and we had a great view from there, though part of what was filmed was hidden behind the gate.
Colin was rubbing his hands a lot - it was a bit chilly even though it was sunny.
And no he's not grown much taller than Richard all of a sudden - he was doing his jumping-up-and-down-just-before-shoot-starts thing :-)
As lunchtime approached, we watched Bradley striding out of the castle on his way to get to the One Show. Here he spots Colin still busy filming the same scene...
...arrives at the Merc that he thinks is going to drive him...
...and is told he's actually got to get into a less exciting people carrier...
...because the Merc is going to wait for the star of the show!
The afternoon was spent with extras and guests doing more scenes in the tournament area, and a bit later we saw Katie and surprise Emilia Fox leave the castle (pics are on my other camera so I'll post them later). And then it was time to leave!
All in all a great set visit - the atmosphere at the chateau was buzzing and excited, particularly once things got going for real on Thursday. The grandstand was set up as well so I guess some lucky visitors will get to see some fighting there today or next week.
And for anyone who's wondering: The actors were all accompanied by a handler when they were moving around the chateau, and Marie the lovely French extras wrangler (or whatever the technical term for her job is!) told us every morning that the actors were not going to have time for autographs or posing for pictures. Which should be obvious really but sadly isn't and some fans still seemed to think the rules didn't apply to them. My view is that as long as we leave the guys and girls to do their work (and have their breaks!) in peace, they and the crew will be happy for fans to be there.