Lighting revamped for Ben Affleck movie
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
A scene from Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo.’
Hollywood actor and director Ben Affleck, who shot some scenes of his latest film “Argo” in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, disliked the museum’s lighting. With the cooperation of the museum management, the film crew changed the historic museum’s lights.Nearly 150 light bulbs in the big chandelier illuminating the main hall of Hagia Sophia and 2,000 LED light bulbs in 30 chandeliers were exchanged for new bulbs.
The chandeliers of Hagia Sophia and its lighting system were renewed during the recent restoration process, but museum visitors and management complained about the LED lights. Filming for “Argo” began in Los Angeles and continued in Washington and Istanbul. Istanbul’s historic neighborhoods Beyoğlu, Fatih and Eminönü, which Affleck compared to Iran, served as natural settings.
