Air America beta radio has mentioned last friday an unauthorized documentary about Leonardo DiCaprio’s life.You’re probably wondering, “What is this, the 90s?” In a way, yes. All of the footage featured in “Hangin’ With Leo” looks like it’s from the late 1990s, when DiCaprio was riding the wave of “Titanic” ending up on “The Beach.”
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Nakiska plays ski instructor to stars of movie, ‘Inception’
Posted By Marcie on November 27th, 2009
Where do movie stars learn how to ski? When they’re in Kananaskis Country filming a movie that requires shredding some turns–while wearing backpacks and carrying machine guns on their shoulders, no less–the resort bestowed with the privilege of teaching them their pizzas and french fries is Nakiska.
Canadian actor Ellen Page, along with co-stars Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Ken Watanabe, received private on-hill instruction at the resort last week to ski in scenes for the movie Inception, which wraps filming at a spectacular set at Fortress Mountain this week.
The high-profile thriller stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is being directed by Christopher Nolan, who has a reputation for authenticity in his films–he was determined that all the actors would make real turns, instead of relying on stunt people for the snow scenes.
“He wanted all of the actors that were involved here, (Nolan) wanted them to learn to ski,” says Matt Mosteller, a professional ski coach and vice-president of marketing and sales for Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, which owns Nakiska, as well as B.C. resorts Fernie and Kimberley.
“He’s super detail-oriented . . . (Nolan) wants everything right. If you’re portraying it, you’ve got to be able to do it.”
Mosteller and his wife Maureen, also a professional ski coach, were asked by the production company’s location manager to instruct Page, Murphy, Hardy and Watanabe in the sport’s basics so they could perform their scenes with confidence.
“We would ski Homesteader down, depending on their ability,” said Mosteller, of the beginner-to intermediate-level run which meanders down the mountain from the top of the Silver Chair.
Page, 22, had skied a couple times as a kid, but hadn’t been on skis in years.
“She’s a tremendous athlete, and an amazing person to hang with,” says Mosteller.
Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who had a role in The Dark Knight, another Christopher Nolan film, had never been on skis before. He was enthusiastic about the sport, but needed enticement to keep at it, often requesting beer breaks from Mosteller.
Actor Tom Hardy, the next Mad Max, was ripped up and ready to hit the slopes.
“He was the most determined on the fitness side,” says Mosteller. “He wanted to practise all the time.”
And where was Leonardo Di-Caprio during his co-stars’ private lessons? DiCaprio later joined Watanabe, who starred in Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima and Nolan’s Batman Begins, to carve turns on their own.
“They ripped up the slopes and needed very little coaching,” says Mosteller.
Exactly how much of the movie involves high-speed ski chase scenes with automatic weapons will likely remain a mystery until its release next year–Inception is being filmed under a high level of security, and little is known about the sci-fiaction film’s plot. Nolan fans awaiting Inception’s release can look forward to at least one avalanche, as the film crew headed to Fernie Alpine Resort in B.C.’s Kootenays to shoot a snow slide triggered there.
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