Studio with a legacy,Dietrich to Cruise

ADVANCE BOOKING

A reconstructed Berlin street,with pebbled pathways,peeling doorpaint and bombed houses,even a dead horse — all framed out of polyester and wood — has served as location for many a recent film in the studio. True to the power of Hollywood,Quentin Tarantino has earned himself a street name on the premises on the strength of The Inglourious Basterds,sharing space with the likes of Marlene Dietrich. A guide informs us that big Hollywood production houses have been known to book spaces here on constructed sets for up to three years,in the hope of making a sequel. Apparently that works out cheaper than taking it down and refabricating. Calculations can go wrong,though,like with the 2008 Wachowski brothers’ film Speed Racer,she says. It never made enough money to get into a sequel.

CROWD MANAGEMENT

Max Maldacker is the Head of the Multilateral Cultural and Media Relations,Cultural Programmes,division of the German Federal Foreign Office. He talks about the growing popularity of Berlianle and how they once decided that they couldn’t handle the numbers. One way was that people would have to queue up for tickets,rather than booking online or buying for more than one day in advance. That didn’t work; people now land up hours early with sleeping bags. Next they decided to hold the festival in winter. Maldacker explains why that didn’t work either: the ladies just won’t be deterred. “Last year,it was -15°C. Demi Moore,with a low-cut dress,stood posing for photographs,letting her fur wrap slip just a little off her shoulders,for 30 minutes in what is a 50-metre red carpet.” The record is held by George Clooney: 45 minutes.