Carry-On Director Explains How The Action Movie Was Filmed (& No, It Wasn't The Real LAX Airport)

Carry-On director Jaume Collet-Serra explains how his new Netflix action film was able to recreate the bustling Los Angeles International Airport during its busiest day of operations. Featuring Kingsman star Taron Egerton as a young TSA agent who finds himself at the mercy of a mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) with deadly intentions, Carry-On recently made its streaming debut on December 13.




Speaking with Tudum, Collet-Serra explained how his latest movie could film its action sequences in what appeared to be one of the world’s busiest airports. Revealing that while the movie was set in Los Angeles, production took place in New Orleans, with the old terminal of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport standing in for LAX. By having access to the whole space, the director’s team could redress the set to more closely resemble LAX and access areas not typically available to regular passengers. Check out his comments below:

We took over the old MSY [Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport] in New Orleans and redesigned/decorated it to look like LAX. It was such a thrill to have the whole space at our disposal and be able to explore all these areas of an airport that we don’t normally get to see as passengers.



What Carry-On’s Filming Location Means For The Netflix Thriller

The Demands Of Carry-On Would Have Been Too Much For The Real LAX

As the closest international airport to major Hollywood studios, LAX has been featured in countless movies and television shows throughout the years. Also, much like Collet-Serra using the old MSY terminal to stand in for the Los Angeles Airport, so too has LAX been frequently used to represent other international airports worldwide. For example, in Christopher Nolan’s 2020 sci-fi action thriller Tenet, it is LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal that is used as a stand-in for the Oslo Airport, Gardermoen.


However, while most movies that shoot on location at LAX may only have a few scenes set there, the demands of filming Carry-On would likely have had too large an impact on the daily operations of a working terminal. As such, being able to secure access to a whole and unused airport terminal would have enabled Collet-Serra and his team to more accurately represent the behind-the-scenes workings of the aviation industry without any undue impacts on the terminal’s real-world functions.

Unlike Carry-On
,
which was able to film its action in a single location, Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin was not as fortunate in his bid to recreate Washington Dulles International Airport.

Ironically, with Carry-On currently being compared to the Bruce Willis-led Die Hard franchise, Collet-Serra was even able to avoid many of the pitfalls that came with making 1990’s Die Hard 2. Unlike Carry-On, which was able to film its action in a single location, Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin was not as fortunate in his bid to recreate Washington Dulles International Airport. Instead, he had to rely on using multiple stand-ins, including Kincheloe Air Force Base and LAX, in addition to using sound stages and matte paintings.


Our Take On MSY Standing In For LAX

Using A Real Airport Helps Lend The Film Authenticity

While a small portion of Carry-On’s audience may be able to spot the differences between New Orleans’ old MSY terminal and LAX, for most viewers the substitution is relatively seamless. Removing the need to recreate many otherwise restricted areas on a Hollywood sound stage, the ability to access a real-world terminal without being constrained by its ongoing operations would likely have been a major boon to the movie’s production team. Lending the final product a greater air of authenticity, Carry-On’s filming location is an invaluable addition to a movie that is so heavily tied to its airport setting.

Source: Tudum