When the makers of the latest James Bond film, Die Another Day, were scouting
for locations in the Far East they decided to look to East Anglia.
Although the weather may not match that of Asian climes, the filmmakers
thought the flat fields of Burnham Deepdale, near King's Lynn, would be an ideal
substitute for North Korean paddy fields.
A 35-strong crew pulled up at Deepdale Farm in April, together with a
Lambourghini sports car and enough materials to build a wooden shack.
The Norfolk scenes appear during a dramatic sequence near the end of the 20th
Bond epic.
Landowner Alister Borthwick spent a month transforming part of his farm into
the water-filled paddy fields, after the film crew asked him to set up an
experiment to see if it would work.
"They were looking for somewhere where they could recreate a little bit of
Korea," said Mr Borthwick.
"It meant they didn't have to take the whole crew out there and all the
special effects."
Mr Borthwick also had to find beds in the village for 35 film crew, but
unfortunately Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry weren't among those needing
accommodation.
"Norfolk's a long way for them to come up here from Pinewood, so all they did
was sent a stunt man up here and all the set designers," he said.
Mr Borthwick has yet to see Die Another Day, but he is pleased to hear that
the Norfolk scenes were included in the final cut as he feared they may be
edited out.
"We generated all these little walls to hold the water and then pumped the
water out of the ditch and then we had to let it go again as they set up," said
Mr Borthwick.
"Having worked four weeks to create it they were only up here for one day
filming and then they only took a few seconds," he added.
Die Another Day opens in cinemas across the UK on Friday 22 November.
Listen to Alister Borthwick talk about the filming of Die Another Day in Norfolk
