20 Things You Didn’t Know About For Your Eyes Only (1981)
14. Let’s Not Make A Court Case Out Of It
The monks who lived and worshipped in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity atop Meteora in central Greece were not James Bond fans, disliking what they perceived to be the violence associated with the franchise. They, therefore, hung plastic sheets and laundry outside the monastery to disrupt filming, even though an agreement had been reached between the producers and the Greek Orthodox Church for the 12th Bond film to be shot there.
It was also suggested that the payment that the church had received from the producers for its services might not have reached the monastery, potentially adding to the feeling of discontentment.
Whatever the reason, it became such a problem that a special hearing of the Greek Supreme Court was convened. It was held that the exteriors of the monastery belonged to the Greek people and that the monks could only lay claim to the interiors of the buildings.
Filming continued, albeit with mock-ups of the monastery buildings being shot on a neighbouring mountaintop, whilst the interiors of Kristatos’s mountaintop eyrie, St. Cyril's Monastery were filmed on soundstage sets created by production designer, Peter Lamont at Pinewood Studios.