MANILA, Philippines – On the heels of the filming of the Hollywood movie Bourne Legacy in the Philippines, other foreign production outfits are coming in to shoot some scenes in the country.
Following the “Bourne Legacy” group, 61 crew and talents of the Belgian Zodiak Media group have flown into town to film five out of 12 episodes of the travel adventure program “Pekin Express,” which is reportedly similar in format to the popular American reality competition, “The Amazing Race”.
Eight French couples are schedule to film the episodes in the Philippines. The started on Wednesday and will last until February 2.
Filming in the Philippines is being carried out in cooperation with the studio 89, France and GTNCO, France for the French broadcaster M6.
The Pekin Express sends 8 couples on a trip of a lifetime: A hitch-hike race from Seoul to Sydney, then travels through South Korea, the Philippines and Australia.
The contestants will receive only 1 euro/day per person and with this meager budget, they must find free transport and accommodation to reach their destinations, with the camera teams filming their actions every step of the way.
The group will visit and film famous Philippine tourist destinations as part of their itinerary, have encounters with local people and host families, learning about cultures which are very different from their own.
With every episode, one couple is eliminated. Only two couples will reach the final destination, Sydney, where an exciting finale will determine the winning couple of Pekin Express.
The Philippine itinerary is expected to go through Manila-Bagac-Cervantes-Bontoc-Angeles-Pinatubo Volcano-Quezon-Candelaria-Talisay and back to Manila before proceeding to Australia.
Lars Wadehn, line producer of Kanakna production, has enlisted the support of the Malacanang Communication Operations Office under Mr. Jo Paulo Espiritu, Director for Media Relations of the International Press Center, for the successful filming of this reality program that is expected to showcase in Europe the Philippines’ best tourist attractions.
