The LA Times just put out a fascinating article on production costs for the (very boring) movie Sahara, which was filmed in Morocco, of course. The funniest part?
• “Courtesy payments,” “gratuities” and “local bribes” totaling $237,386 were passed out on locations in Morocco to expedite filming. A $40,688 payment to stop a river improvement project and $23,250 for “Political/Mayoral support” may have run afoul of U.S. law, experts say.
The most pathetic part?
Although portions of the movie were shot in Britain and Spain, most of the filming was done in Morocco, a country in North Africa that has become a popular site for U.S. filmmakers. “Babel,” “Syriana,” “Black Hawk Down” and “Kingdom of Heaven” all have benefited from Morocco’s welcoming environment, favorable exchange rate and cheap labor.
An “assistant propman” on “Sahara,” for example, earned a weekly salary of $233, the equivalent of one day‘s pay for a U.S. prop worker.