Norwich on film.

Alright?

I was on Elm Hill the other day, doing what I always do on Elm Hill: Channeling what little agility I have into not breaking my ankles on the cobblestones.

As I carefully navigated the bend outside the Teddy Bear shop, I overheard someone who I can only assume was a tourist say, “It’s like something from a film”. Perhaps they weren’t tourists, but just local residents who rarely venture away from the comforts of their NR2 enclave, but in any case, it got me thinking.

You see, as most of you probably already know, Elm Hill is something from a film. Several films, in fact. Where else in Hollywood’s many landscapes, I wondered, has Norwich reared its mustard-filled head? Only one way to find out.

I’ll present these in order of what I deem to be the most well-known to the least well-known. You might disagree, and that’s fine. Unlike in most areas of the internet, it’s okay to disagree here.

By the way, if you fancy taking on Elm Hill’s cobbles after a few pints, there’s only one thing for it: The Norwich Pub Tour. May’s tour is happening a week from today, from 2pm onwards. Get your tickets by clicking the button below:

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.

I don’t think I need to say much about this. Not only was it filmed in Norwich, but Steve Coogan agreed to a Premiere in Anglia Square following a Twitter campaign from fans.

Travelling by helicopter, he left immediately after the screening and flew to Leicester Square for a second screening.

Stardust.

A few scenes in Stardust, the 2007 hit with Robert De Niro, were filmed on Elm Hill.

Unfortunately for De Niro, he wasn’t invited to film in the fine city, which must’ve been devastating for him. In fact, only the lead actor, Charlie Cox (who, incidentally, stars in another franchise we’ll look at shortly), actually did any filming in Norwich.

The production involved 300 extras and the temporary rebranding of the 14th-century Britons Arms to “The Slaughtered Prince”.

The Avengers (multiple films).

I’m grouping the Avengers films into one category for the sake of brevity. Sue me. Actually, please don’t.

This time, it’s the Sainsbury’s Centre, which has been the HQ for the Avengers since 2015. It’s featured particularly prominently in Age of Ultron.

It was a highly secretive three-day shoot, but that didn’t stop the word from getting out. The Head of Security at the Sainsbury’s Centre, Lee Heath, had this to say:

“They built screens around the place, but people soon got a message out that something strange was happening at the Sainsbury Centre, and we had to deny it.

“Closing the museum for three days was quite a challenge, to find a storyline as to why, which people would believe. But word gets out, and there must have been 700 people there on the filming days.

“One of the best moments [during filming] was where the hydraulic door opens in the film, I had to lay on the floor, hiding, as the actors approached, so it looked like it automatically opened.”

The Sainsbury’s Centre published a 10-year retrospective recently, which you can read here.

Jingle Jangle.

Norwich residents might be the only people who actually remember Netflix’s 2020 Christmas musical, Jingle Jangle.

Filmed on Elm Hill in June 2019, the street was covered in fake snow for the shoot.

Elm Hill is a far more important part of Jingle Jangle than it was in Stardust. Actor Forest Whitaker and the producer, John Legend, were both on the set. Presumably, they were regulars in the adjacent Wetherspoons too.

If you can’t be bothered to watch the whole thing (to be honest, I wouldn’t blame you), this behind-the-scenes video features Elm Hill throughout.

Fighting With My Family.

Stephen Merchant’s 2019 comedy drama, based on the life of Norwich-born WWE wrestler Paige, had to be filmed in Norwich, and it was. Pictures of the cast and crew at the viewpoint in Mousehold Heath, and just outside the market, did the rounds back when filming began in 2017.

Incidentally, Paige returned to WWE wrestling in April of this year after retiring in 2018, which is cool.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.

I have to admit, I’d never heard of this 2022 film until I sat down to do this newsletter. It calls itself a “sex comedy-drama”, whatever that means, and stars Emma Thompson in the main role. Apparently, it’s very good if you’re into sex comedy-dramas.

This was largely filmed during COVID, with cast members and crew housed in hotels across the city.

Fair warning: The trailer is very adult. But if you watch it, you’ll spot glimpses of Norwich in the background, including Gentleman’s Walk and Opie Street:

Jack the Giant Slayer.

Right, before I go any further, I have to share this with you: I was actually invited onto the set of this film for a day, purely by chance. It’s probably the best anecdote I have.

Filmed at Norwich Cathedral in 2011, I spent the whole time eating free food and watching Nicholas Hoult try to pick up a polystyrene axe, an act he repeatedly failed to do because he kept forgetting it was supposed to be heavy. He’d swing it around like it was made of…well, polystyrene, the Director (Bryan Singer) would get angry, and the scene would have to start again.

Anyway, the film itself was one of those high-budget, CGI-filled action movies, where the hero wins and everything feels quite hollow. You’ll forget it as soon as you’ve seen it.

Tulip Fever.

Last but not least, who could forget the 2017 classic, Tulip Fever? Well, me, apparently.

Despite my mocking (gentle though it is), Tulip Fever probably has the best cast of any of the films listed here, including Dame Judi Dench, Christoph Waltz, Jack O’Connell and Tom Hollander.

Norwich Cathedral was a primary shooting location, as is the Norfolk Coast. Ever wanted to see Judi Dench sitting in the Cathedral Cloisters? You need only to watch the trailer.

The whole cloisters area was transformed for this, as evidenced by screengrabs like this one I stole from Google images:

They even had cows hanging out there:

So there we have it. Hopefully, I’ve given you some extra material to add to the makeshift tour of Norwich you bestow upon new visitors. If you found this interesting, do consider forwarding it to someone else who might find it interesting as well.

See you next time,

Secret Norwich