20 Things You Didn’t Know About Quantum Of Solace (2008)
4. “Well, He Wanted You, But I Left Him The Car As Collateral.”
Marc Forster deliberately chose a Douglas DC-3 for the aerial dogfight against an SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 to recall such classic thrillers as Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest (1959).
The action sequence was shot in Baja California, Mexico, but capturing the DC-3's take-off was much more difficult as the aircraft used in northern Mexico developed mechanical problems and could not be flown to Antofagasta, Chile. The filmmakers scoured South America for a suitable replacement, including an antique DC-3 incapable of flight from a museum in Santiago, Chile, in favour of having no aircraft whatsoever.
At the eleventh hour, a replacement DC-3 was located in Miami, Florida and aerial coordinator, Mike Woodley arranged for it to be flown to Chile without having to stop over in any war-torn nations on route. Forster explained: “Watching that plane take off over the desert, it looked so unreal and beautiful at the same time. I was overjoyed we had settled for nothing less”.
Back at Pinewood Studios, Chris Corbould constructed a DC-3 on a rig that could bank left and right, and pivot 180 degrees into the air so that Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko could perform their scenes against a blue screen.