20 Things You Didn’t Know About Moonraker (1979)
5. “An Entire City In Space.”
Ken Adam built over 50 sets for Moonraker, but was initially dismayed by the film’s French crews.
The unions prevented the same crew from working across the three largest Parisian film studios where Moonraker was shot: Studios d’Epinay, Studios de Boulogne, and Studios de Billancourt.
Adam had to bring plasterers over from Pinewood Studios and asked the French crews to supervise them, including over the weekend, for which they claimed both overtime and two days off! Production costs subsequently spiralled, defeating the tax advantages of filming in Paris and creating tension between Cubby Broccoli and the-then President of United Artists, Andy Albeck.
The situation improved when the French crews saw Ken Adam’s incredible designs taking shape, whereupon they agreed to work over the weekends, bringing their families with them!
The interior of Drax's space station cost $250,000. It took 220 men eight weeks to build, using 100 tons of metals, two tons of nails, 10,000 feet of wood, and enough electronics to power four Boeing 747 aircraft! Adam used forced perspective in its command centre to create an off-centre sphere, placing the audience's focus on Drax and his orbital telescope.