Brigi

Einstein and Eddington is on this Saturday in the UK, and I hope I'll find a way to see it soon too. In the meantime, I found a Radio Times article in which there's a kind of diary of David's, and among others he writes about the Hungarian shooting. Yes, some parts of the film were shot in Hungary, and I didn't know about it at the time. (*winks at Via and Ádám*) I could have stalked him and everything. Anyhow, here are some excerpts from the diary:

To get from Croatia to Hungary we have to charter our own jet. (That's my carbon footprint over-gorged for a good while; I shall be holidaying in Bognor this summer.) It's a short hop to Budapest and we go straight to our first location, no time to stop off at the hotel, so it's straight into the stiff collar and Budapest's enormous, very grand Museum of Ethnicity.

a) I can't help it, it sounds so surreal to actually fly from Croatia to Hungary. It's almost faster by car, especially if you count all those safety checks at the airport.

b) Does he mean the Museum of Ethnography? I guess so. Anyway, I've been living in this city for more than 18 years now and I don't think I've ever been there. Strange.

It soon becomes clear that Hungarian extras are terribly keen and anxious to contribute to our film. This is an important scene, a big confrontation between Sir Oliver and Eddington. [...] Of course, our Hungarian colleagues have no idea what we're talking about, but they're hungry to prove their commitment to their characters, so safe in the knowledge that they're playing early 20th-century intellectuals they embark on a tattoo of muttering, scribbling, beard scratching (and believe me these beards need scratching) and passing each other irrelevant pieces of paper. It would all be fine if it didn't rather distract from the scene at hand.

Okay, I was almost angry with him for a moment when I read the "no idea what we're talking about" sentence but then I realized that most Hungarians are not like me. I mean they don't really speak English. Or any foreign language for that matter...

After work, I manage to hook up with some of the cast of Robin Hood who film out here seven month a year. Harry Lloyd filmed some episodes of Doctor Who late last year [2006] and he promised to take me for "the best steak in Europe" when I made it to Budapest. (Did you know that Buda and Pest are two different places, seperated by the Danube? Shouldn't it be called "Buda and Pest"? Nobody can tell me what happened to the "and".)

The best steak in Europe? In Budapest? Where? It must be an expensive place, but seriously, where?

(Dear David, haven't you ever been to any other cities divided by a river. Say, Paris? Or, what's the name of that city which is the capital of the United Kingdom? Right, London! :) You're right, Buda and Pest used to be two different places but it's been one city since 1873. People back then were not creative and just stuck together the two names. Yes, we still call the Western part Buda and the Eastern part Pest, sorry about that.

I'm actually thinking about telling you this via fanmail. Well, using a bit nicer tone. Not that you'd ever read, but it's worth a try.)

We're filming in a place called Fot, in an orphanage.

I seriously didn't realize for a moment that he was still writing about Hungary. Fót seems so lonely without its accent on the 'ó'.

Andy Serkins has arrived. [...] All of our lovely Hungarian crew, who have become good friends over the last two weeks, will love him. No doubt I'll be forgotten within the week in the shadow of the enigmatic German scientist – much like Eddington himself.

Yeah, right, like he can be forgotten just like that. ♥