“Tomorrowland” is coming to theaters this weekend, and audiences will most likely gasp at how sleek the future looks. Unlike most of the recent films set in the future were depicting a dystopian environment, this movie gives off a more optimistic vibe.
And the best part is, the key location for the movie was actually filmed in a real-life gleaming city in Valencia, Spain. The majority of the film was shot in the City of Arts and Sciences built by renowned architect, Santiago Calatrava. Star of the film, George Clooney, and director, Brad Bird, apparently couldn’t get enough of it.
In a press conference held in London last week, Clooney said, “The fun part for us is that oftentimes when you work on a film that’s of a large scale, it’s all just green screen and you don’t really get any idea of the scope.”
He added, “Either we had these giant beautiful sets or we were in Valencia in that insane building- I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s very much a dreamer who built that.”
Bird prefers physical locations over visual effects and this drove the same decision in utilizing Calatrava’s futuristic complex.
In an interview with Huffington Post, producer Jeffery Chernov said, “Calatrava’s architecture is just phenomenal and inventive and exciting.” Chernov added, “It’s very skeletal, like you’re looking at the vertebrae of a dinosaur or a prehistoric fish. You walk into that place and you never wanted to leave. That’s the vibe we wanted for ‘Tomorrowland.’”
Clooney gushes, “The architect’s imagination represents that great optimistic vision in life where you just go ‘I want to build that’ and somebody builds it. It’s pretty amazing.”
The complex is composed of different structures such as a domed cinema, a science museum, the Agora which serves as a multifunctional space, a landscaped viewing point, a car park, and an aquarium. The focal point is a white opera house with curving façade covered in mosaic tiles and a roof that resembles that of feathers. The areas within the complex are connected through a public plaza and bridges that surround a pool.
The City of Arts and Sciences opened in 2005.
