..the Bourne impression

‘Bourne Legacy’ location manager on Pinoy hospitality, top tourist draws

By JULIEN MERCED C. MATABUENA

Manila Bulletin

March 26, 2012

'The Bourne Legacy,' starring Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz, will be released on Aug. 3 in the US (Photo courtesy of screenrant.com)

“The real reason to go to the Philippines is to explore its more than 7,000 islands, from the heights of the rice terraces of Banaue to dives with the whale sharks in Donsol — and that’s just on one island, Luzon." - Dow Griffiths, location manager

In an interview with The New York Times published on March 22, Griffiths spoke of his and his crew’s stay in Manila for the movie shoot, thus: “The ‘Bourne’ movies are known as a more urban and gritty kind of product, and that was certainly true of Manila. It is congested, with the highest population density in the world. But the people are the best thing about it. Don’t be fooled by the signs everywhere that say ‘Check Your Firearms at the Door.’

“Many citizens are packing, but you couldn’t meet more hospitable people;” he related.


In a TV interview January, the film’s Philippine producer, Jun Juban, said that the producers picked Manila over Jakarta, Indonesia and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam for the shoot for the reason Griffiths cited.

According to his official website, Griffiths is a film industry veteran who has been working as a Supervising Motion Picture Location Manager since the mid-'70s, specializing in “remote, foreign locations.” His most recent projects were “Contagion,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender,”  “Merchant of Shanghai,” “Indiana Jones 4: The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull,” and “The Bourne Supremacy.”

Griffiths also raved about the service given to them while billeted at a hotel in Makati.

“Sometimes, when you are traveling, no matter how much you spend, you can’t buy good service,” he said, adding, “we enjoyed personalized service at very affordable prices.”

Asked if he’d go back to Manila for a vacation, Griffiths said, “For the casual traveler, it’s a good place to go to get somewhere else.”

“The real reason to go to the Philippines is to explore its more than 7,000 islands, from the heights of the rice terraces of Banaue to dives with the whale sharks in Donsol — and that’s just on one island, Luzon.

“El Nido, on Palawan Island, is paradise, and for a family trip, you are very well looked after at any of the resorts,” he was quoted as saying.

Griffiths, along with the cast and crew of “The Bourne Legacy,” were in the country from January to February this year. Their filming locations included parts of Manila, Navotas, Marikina and Palawan.