After spending the past few months filming in Turkey, Guy Ritchie has declared his love for the country and that he’d like to shoot all his films there.
In a short video clip posted on his Instagram page, the British film director showed off his “2,000 year old office” situated amid the ancient ruins of Aspendos, in southern Turkey, next to his film set, while expressing his admiration for the country’s modern and old world charm.
“Turkey in general has been a great revelation. I like the old world, and the older the world, the more I like it,” Ritchie explained as he prepares some food.
“What’s good about Turkey, it’s pretty sophisticated where you want it to be, but it has enough charm of the old world. I like it a lot. Aspendos was magnificent,” he added.
There is a close-up of Ritchie sitting in his ‘office’, with another frame showing the open air ‘room’ complete with sofa, armchair, plants and a wooden table with chessboard and pieces.
“This is my 2,000 year-old-office. If I’m operating in Roman ruins, I need my office to be in Roman ruins,” 52-year-old director explained.
“I particularly like this location ‘cause it’s kind of unique in terms of it being a ruin. This whole thing was a city. Some of it almost seems untouched” he says as we are shown remnants of the ancient city.
Armed with a cup of tea, the director is then seen strolling along a footpath when he spots some mosaics.
“Even on the footpath here, see the mosaic peeking through there. It’s a floor. It’s a 2,000-year-old floor. I love the idea that that’s just on the footpath. The place feels sort of, still alive.”
“We like Turkey, and if it’s possible to make more films here, we want to do so,” Ritchie said at the end of the clip.
View this post on Instagram
He posted the video with this message on Instagram: “Turkey is something of a revelation: beautiful food, country, hotels and people. After two months of filming I’d like to shoot all my films here.
“Teşekkür ederim to everyone at the @regnumcarya [hotel resort] in Antalya for looking after us so magnificently.”
Best known for hit movies Snatch (2000), Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Aladdin (2019), Ritchie travelled to Turkey early in 2021 for his new as yet untitled film.
Starring Jason Statham, Hugh Grant, Aubrey Plaza, and Bugzy Malone, the drama centres around an agent who is recruited by a global intelligence alliance to track down and stop the sale of a deadly weapons technology that threatens the world.
In February, Ritchie, his wife Jacqui Ainsley, and actors Statham and Josh Harrnett were guests at the opening of the Istanbul Cinema Museum, which was also attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Ritchie has also posted snaps of him and his wife at tourist hotspots in Turkey, including Cappadocia, and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
Main image, top, of Guy Ritchie at LA premiere of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, 8 May 2017. Photo © Kathy Hutchins, Wikipedia CC by SA 4.0
