Fun Film Trivia: Whiteout
Behind the Scenes on the Action Thriller Starring Kate Beckinsale
Sep 9, 2009
In the chilly thriller, Whiteout, Carrie Stetko (Beckinsale), the only law enforcement agent in the territory, must find the killer of a murdered geologist, whose dead body was found frozen and contorted. All the while, a deadly Polar whiteout threatens to envelop the area’s research station and its crew.
The Story Background of Whiteout
Screenplay written by two teams of brothers, Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber and twins Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes. The script is based on the graphic novel, of the same title, by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. The graphic novel was published in four installments by Oni Press in 1998.
Whiteout is directed by Dominic Sena (Swordfish). Sena's own professional experience sparked the idea for doing a movie about the powerful effect of a severe environment could have on human behavior.
Sena shot commercials for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway. Filming during that time of year, they had only three hours of daylight. The average daytime temperate rose up to zero degrees, and dropped as low as 40-below at night. As a result, Sena and his crew stayed cooped up in our rooms. After several such depressing weeks, the claustrophobic isolation began to negatively affect everyone’s mood.
The Main Characters of Whiteout
- Carrie Stetko, a U.S. Marshal, with a hidden, troubled past, is played by Kate Beckinsale (Underworld). Beckinsale’s daughter Lily, (with actor Michael Sheen) accompanied her on the films’ sets. During her downtime on the movie, Beckinsale got a root canal done in Winnipeg.
- Robert Pryce, a U.N. investigator, with a high-level military background, that partners up with Stetko, is played by Gabriel Macht, (The Spirit).
- Dr. John Fury, Stetko’s closet friend, who has secrets of his own, is played by Tom Skerritt, (Contact).
- Delfy, a young, optimistic pilot and former Iraqi War solider, is played by Columbus Short, (Stomp the Yard).
- Russell Haden, an Aussie pilot and shameless flirt, is played by Australian actor Alex O'Loughlin. O'Loughlin ad-libbed a good portion of his dialogue.
On Location with Whiteout
A Northern Canadian locale, outside of Gimli, Manitoba, was used to depict Antarctica. At times during the shoot, the mercury readings in Manitoba dropped lower than numbers logged that day at the South Pole.
Actual workers employed at South Pole must undergo psychological evaluations prior to long-term assignments. To alleviate anxiety and help protect the cast and crew, production managers provided everyone with guidebook the size of a telephone directory warning of all the different ways to die or be injured from the elements, such as frostbite, hypothermia and exposure.
Portions of the set not earmarked for additional filming were left for the nearby communities of Gimli and Eriksdale, to be recycled into a planned daycare center.
Behind the Scene
Carrie Stetko’s (Kate Beckinsale) nude shower scene, while admittedly gratuitous, also serves as a flashback sequence. Russell Haden (Alex O'Loughlin), and his buddies, participate in a naked sprint patterned after a genuine South Pole tradition known as The 300 Club.
The membership initiation requires one to soak in a sauna at 200 degrees, then run outside naked at 100-below, for a few seconds, until the South Pole marker is touched, and, finally, race back inside before freezing to death.
The big whiteout storm scene shot on a soundstage in Montreal, where 120 tons of sand was mounded up and covered with 12 tons of salt to create giant snow drifts.
(Source material courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)
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