Greengrass Shot Bourne Ultimatum in Public
A tough shoot paid off for the Certified Fresh film.
The Bourne Ultimatum has more of the car chases and fight scenes that Bourne fans love, but one sequence that already has everyone talking is a simple pursuit sequence. In London's crowded Waterloo tube station, Bourne tries to guide a source out of the range of snipers. There was no way to fake that, so director Paul Greengrass used his own tactics to complete the scene.

"What you do is you design the sequence that is in many, many pieces so in fact you're planning to shoot in many different parts of the station," said Greengrass. "What you have to do is never be in the same place twice because what happens is that people get to know you're there and a crowd starts to build up. It's impossible to be like a true guerilla unit because it's a huge, it's a Bourne movie, but you've got to move from place to place and be unpredictable so people don't know where you are and then move on fast."
The sequence lasts several minutes and took many days to shoot, but Greengrass scheduled those days tactically. "You've got to schedule it so you're not there for too long a period of time in any one time. So you might go for two or three days and then disappear and go off and do something else and then come back for two or three days a week or two later. If people get to know you're going to be there, then the crowds are going to build up."
That meant Matt Damon has to be ready whenever there was a brief window to shoot a corner of Waterloo. "It puts prodigious demands on the actors because they never know from one hour to the next which bit of the sequence [they're shooting]. Even I didn't know. You've just got to seize your moment. It makes for opportunity."

"What you do is you design the sequence that is in many, many pieces so in fact you're planning to shoot in many different parts of the station," said Greengrass. "What you have to do is never be in the same place twice because what happens is that people get to know you're there and a crowd starts to build up. It's impossible to be like a true guerilla unit because it's a huge, it's a Bourne movie, but you've got to move from place to place and be unpredictable so people don't know where you are and then move on fast."
The sequence lasts several minutes and took many days to shoot, but Greengrass scheduled those days tactically. "You've got to schedule it so you're not there for too long a period of time in any one time. So you might go for two or three days and then disappear and go off and do something else and then come back for two or three days a week or two later. If people get to know you're going to be there, then the crowds are going to build up."
That meant Matt Damon has to be ready whenever there was a brief window to shoot a corner of Waterloo. "It puts prodigious demands on the actors because they never know from one hour to the next which bit of the sequence [they're shooting]. Even I didn't know. You've just got to seize your moment. It makes for opportunity."
Related Items
| Movie: | The Bourne Identity |
| The Bourne Supremacy | |
| Celeb: | Matt Damon |
| Paul Greengrass |
|
on Aug 02 2007 09:13 PM (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 02 2007 10:43 PM Wow, that's really cool. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 03 2007 03:56 AM Nice, The problem with that is its going to look way too real. Oh wait, thats a good thing. my balls itch (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 03 2007 07:02 AM saw this last night. holy **** was it awesome! (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 03 2007 08:17 AM sounds like a decent idea BUT...how many people stopped and said "bloody 'ell...its matt damon, eh look lad...its matt damon!!" i'm pretty surprised, with all the trouble recently in London...that nobody reported an "incident" to the police. some guy talking into an earpiece about gunmen...and anxiously sifting through a big crowd? doesn't sound sketchy to anybody around there? c'mon... (Reply to this) |
![]() on Aug 03 2007 01:16 PM Bloody 'ell and god save the queen it's that Matt Damon bloke... stop watching that football match and drinkin that pint and shufti that ole bloody yank Matt Damon over there. Well Blow me that's bugging brill. I can see the artful Dodger trying to pick his pockets and what not too. That would be hard to work in those conditions. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 03 2007 05:57 PM I heard in all the shuffle Greengrass forgot his steadycam. Pity. (Reply to this) |
Related Links
Related Articles
- Fourth Bourne Movie Around the Corner
26 - 2008 MTV Movie Award Nominations Announced 39
- Total Recall: The 20 Greatest Fights Scenes Ever 267
- Rush Hour 3 Takes '07 DVD Rental Crown 25
- Weekly Ketchup: Damon to Be Bourne Again, Statham to Make Another Trip as The Transporter 41
- Exclusive: Doug Liman Has Designs on Bond 36
- Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear Join Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon in the Green Zone 15
- Awards Mania: Spirits, SAGs Get Waivers, Announce Nominations; Uncertainty Surrounds Golden Globes 10
- Atonement, Control Lead London Film Critics Noms 8
- RT on DVD: Take Harry Potter, Jason Bourne Home for the Holidays 4
Most Discussed
- RT's Summer in Review: The Best, The Worst, and Our Favorite Films! 74
- Weekly Ketchup: Raimi and Maguire return for Spider-Man 4 and 5 57
- Exclusive: Zack and Miri Make a Porno Red Band Trailer! 48
- What The Hell Happened To ... Cuba Gooding Jr.? 46
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Tropic Thunder Triumphantly closes Summer 35
- RT on DVD: Transformers Hit Blu-ray; Watch Office DVD Blooper Reel 21
- Total Recall: RT's Schoolhouse Favorites 21
- Critics Consensus: Bangkok Dangerous Plays Too Safe 20
- RT Steps Up Its Game 15
- Exclusive Stills: Julianne Moore in Blindness 11
Latest News
- Weekly Ketchup: Raimi and Maguire return for Spider-Man 4 and 5 57
- What The Hell Happened To ... Cuba Gooding Jr.? 46
- UK Critics Consensus: Rocknrolla Rocks, Disaster Movie = Movie Disaster 0
- Video Exclusive: Gerard Butler talks RocknRolla and 300 sequel with RT 6
- Box Office Guru Preview: Cage Offers One Night in Bangkok 11
- Critics Consensus: Bangkok Dangerous Plays Too Safe 20
- RT Steps Up Its Game 15
- RT Exclusive: Ping Pong Playa featurette! 6
- Total Recall: RT's Schoolhouse Favorites 21
- Exclusive Stills: Julianne Moore in Blindness 11
Latest Interviews
- Video Exclusive: Gerard Butler talks RocknRolla and 300 sequel with RT 6
- Video Exclusive: Maria Bello, Brendan Fraser and the Mummy 3 Cast Talk to RT 14
- RT goes behind the scenes on Stargate: Continuum 4
- Starship Troopers' Casper Van Dien Shares His Five Favorite Films 48
- RT Interview: Philippe Petit on Crossing the Twin Towers on a Wire 2
- RT Interview: David Duchovny on The X-Files, Californication and Directing 11
- RT Interview: Ben Barnes on Taking on the Journey of Prince Caspian 1
- RT Interview: William Moseley on His Last Narnia Adventure in Prince Caspian 2
- RT Interview: Jack Black on Kung Fu Panda 6
- RT Interview: Skandar Keynes on the Action Challenge of Prince Caspian 2
Latest Features
- RT's Summer in Review: The Best, The Worst, and Our Favorite Films! 74
- What The Hell Happened To Shannon Elizabeth? 97
- RT Counts Down the Best-Reviewed Theater Movies of all Time! 0
- Exclusive: Sneak Peek at Coraline! (Video #5) 23
- What The Hell Happened To Wesley Snipes? 100
- 20 CGI Classics - From T2 to Batman Begins to WALL-E 163
- RT's Trailer Analysis: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 103
- Kim Newman's Guide to The X-Files 13
- Picture Show: The Best Costumes of Comic-Con 2008 33
- Watching the Watchmen Trailer: A Detailed Analysis 108

