Tutankhamun TV drama films in South Africa
Filming for a TV drama telling the story of the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb has reached its halfway point, doubling South Africa for Egypt.
By Nick Goundry 16 Nov 2015
Filming for a TV drama telling the story of the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb has reached its halfway point, doubling South Africa for Egypt.
The four-part series was commissioned by ITV in the UK. Max Irons stars as the famous Egyptologist Howard Carter, while Sam Neill appears as Lord Carnarvon, the wealthy peer who financed the search for the pharaoh’s final resting place.
“There are not many jobs in this world where you get to build an exact-to-scale, minutely detailed, life-size replica of Tutankhamun’s tomb,” director Peter Webber tweeted as shooting began.
South Africa offers Cape Town Film Studios as a TV and movie facility, but the Tutankhamun production team have instead leased Cape Town’s Good Hope Centre conference space and adapted it into a studio.
Cape Town is a hugely popular international shooting location, with experienced crews and a generous filming incentive.
Tutankhamun is the latest in a wave of films and TV series set in ancient Egypt, but shooting around the world. Morocco is South Africa’s main continental competitor and hosted scenes for the recent miniseries Tut (pictured), which tells a story of political intrigue in the court of Tutankhamun.
Ridley Scott built immense sets in Spain for his biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, while Alex Proyas’ Gods of Egypt – scheduled for release next year – filmed in Australia.
For more on filming in South Africa, see our production guide.
“There are not many jobs in this world where you get to build an exact-to-scale, minutely detailed, life-size replica of Tutankhamun’s tomb,” director Peter Webber tweeted as shooting began.
South Africa offers Cape Town Film Studios as a TV and movie facility, but the Tutankhamun production team have instead leased Cape Town’s Good Hope Centre conference space and adapted it into a studio.
Cape Town is a hugely popular international shooting location, with experienced crews and a generous filming incentive.
Tutankhamun is the latest in a wave of films and TV series set in ancient Egypt, but shooting around the world. Morocco is South Africa’s main continental competitor and hosted scenes for the recent miniseries Tut (pictured), which tells a story of political intrigue in the court of Tutankhamun.
Ridley Scott built immense sets in Spain for his biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, while Alex Proyas’ Gods of Egypt – scheduled for release next year – filmed in Australia.
For more on filming in South Africa, see our production guide.
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