JAMAICA CAN be an African jungle... a Brazilian forest, or the Himalaya Mountains. For overseas movie producers who choose the island as the ideal spot for filming movies, Jamaica can be... anywhere they want it to be.In 1998, producers of the big screen movie Instinct drew on the lush, tropical appeal of Drax Hall, Roaring River and Sussex Estate, in St. Ann, to portray a jungle in Rwanda, Africa. The northcoast stretch from Ocho Rios to Montego Bay was used to represent the Bahamas in Murder in Paradise, filmed in 1988.
According to Natalie Thompson, who has worked as production manager on several international movies shot locally, the diverse settings of the island, makes it easy to represent several places in the world.
"You can get the plains and other parts of Northern Africa in sections of Westmoreland. Fort Clarence can pass for just about any beach in the world on a good day and Good Hope, in Trelawny, has been used to represent people's houses and estates in several films.
"There are places all over Jamaica that can give a good representation of Africa. You can get jungles from Ocho Rios, forests from Portland, St. Elizabeth and St. Ann," she told Showtime.
Del Crooks, JAMPRO's film commissioner, said Hellshire, in St. Catherine, could serve as a typical desert.
Jamaica, with its diverse, picture-perfect appeal, usually scores high for its cinematographic qualities with foreign-based movie producers.
Since 1953 (All The Brothers Were Valiant) and present (The Semeling Affair) close to 100 feature films have been shot in Jamaica, some from acclaimed production houses and others from independents. What they all have in common is how beautifully they capture both Jamaica's tropical appeal (Instinct) and the rugged, enchanting culture (Cool Runnings).
In addition to Jamaica being used to represent other countries on screen, in Dr. No (1962), Treasure Island (1989), Marked For Death, (1990), Legends of the Fall (1993), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Belly (1998) and others, the island played a cameo role.
Commenting on the outstanding movies shot locally, Mrs. Crooks said: "Instinct was done in Jamaica, but a lot of people did not know that. They thought it was Africa. Normally Jamaica is used for its beautiful beaches and landscape; here the forests of Portland were utilised. Up to this day honeymooners still call from overseas asking where in Jamaica How Stella Got Her Groove Back was shot."
While other locations in Jamaica have attracted overseas producers, Portland with its virgin beauty, is a favourite. Most movies filmed here have drawn on its beaches, landscapes and mountains, among other settings.
"It is that unspoilt, lush charm of Portland that makes it a favourite.
"One of the advantages of shooting in Jamaica is that the island is compact most places are close to each other. That saves on production time and cost," Mrs. Crooks said.
The JAMPRO executive said when "selling Jamaica", the technical skills of locals were presented as part of the package.
"When overseas companies try to bring in their own technical crew they have to get work permits. If we have the personnel here we do not grant them such permits. That way we create employment for locals," she said.
Tony Lowrie, senior media relations manager for the Jamaica Tourist Board, told Showtime that the benefit Jamaica gets from local filming was "priceless".
"Like the James Bond series, the showcasing of Jamaica helps to attract tourists. Filming international movies in Jamaica adds to the mystique and the exotic appeal. People wonder what is so special about Jamaica that movies are shot here and come here to see for themselves," he said.
Mr. Lowrie said in addition, the island also serves as an inspiration for writers like Noel Coward and Ian Flemming, the latter of whom wrote books here, which became the James Bond movie series.
"Perhaps the movie that shows the loveliest scenery is How Stella Got Her Groove Back. The Harder They Come gives a good glimpse of Jamaica's rural life," Mr. Lowrie said.
Melanie Graham, marketing manager for local motion picture distributor, Palace Amusement, told Showtime that her company sometimes requests distributors of movies shot here to release them in Jamaica simultaneously with the overseas market.
She described the 1985 Club Paradise as one of her most memorable big screen movies shot locally.
"Club Paradise showed a number of beaches and how pretty Jamaica really is. It helped a lot with our tourism product," Mrs. Graham said.
High Wind in Jamaica which was filmed in 1965, stands out for Charles Hyatt, actor/movie critic.
"The colouration was stupendous. It was beautiful," he said.
He related that over the years cameramen have discovered an astonishing peculiarity with the local atmosphere, where a "blue" is captured in the film.
"That 'blue' was in High Wind In Jamaica and the movie was able to successfully capture the mixture of scenery and races. The Harder They Come was good because it had a naturalness about it," he said.
Richard Johnson, an advertising account executive said his favourite locally filmed screen movie was How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
"Whoopi Goldberg and Angela Bassett are top actresses and they helped to showcase the beauty of Jamaica. In any case, it was partially shot in Hanover, where I am from," he told Showtime.
Several leading actors have been filmed in Jamaica. Among them are: Sir Anthony Hopkins, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Angela Bassett, Brad Pitt, Elisabeth Shue, Steven Seagal, Meg Ryan, Denzel Washington, Ursula Andress, Sean Connery and Tom Cruise.
The Semeling Affair a German movie, which wrapped up production in March, 2001 was the flick most recently filmed in Jamaica. Shottas is currently being filmed and One Love, featuring Kymani Marley will be shot in May.
