Can New 007 Film Make Mexico's Capital Cool Enough to Be a 'Bond City'? Carlos Loret de Mola - Fusion
go to original March 30, 2015

Walking to and around James Bond film set in Mexico City (mssx99)

Daniel Craig and the cast and crew of the upcoming 007 film “Spectre” transformed Mexico City’s main square into an action-packed thrill ride filled with explosions, chases and a massive Day of the Dead parade that included more than a thousand extras.

A few weeks ago, the production stumbled amidst a growing scandal that allegedly involved Mexico City officials granting Sony Pictures and MGM Studio executives millions of dollars in tax incentives in exchange for altering the movie’s plot and portraying Mexico in a favorable light. That wasn’t accurate.

At the beginning of his term in 2012, President Enrique Peña Nieto tasked several powerful businessmen from the tourism and advertising sectors with developing a plan to improve Mexico’s image abroad.

He got a bunch of suggestions, but there was one he particularly liked: bring James Bond to Mexico.

The idea, a proposal from businessmen Miguel Aleman Magnani and Daniel Chavez Moran, was based on a simple wager: 007 films bring tourism, because “Bond cities” are exotic and sexy places where the British secret agent can relish in his refined tastes and lifestyle.

President Peña Nieto loved the proposal and commissioned his tourism minister, Claudia Ruiz Massieu, to make it happen.

It wasn’t an easy task. Mexico City found out that many other global capitals were also lobbying to become the next Bond city.

Read the rest at Fusion

Photo: Encarni Pindado

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!