Naman Shrestha
In Apple TV’s action comedy film ‘Mayday,’ US Navy pilot Troy “Apache” Brennan is given a top-secret mission to fly over Russian territory in his Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and surveil Soviet airspace during the height of the Cold War in the late 1980s. Things take an unexpected turn when the hotshot pilot is left with no other choice but to eject from his plane and crash-land in the Russian wilderness in order to get away from a mid-air collision with a MiG-29 headed his way.
After his crash, Troy gets injured, but an ex-KGB agent named Nikolai Ustinov comes to his rescue. At first, Troy thinks his life is in danger, but as he forms an unlikely alliance with Nikolai, he seeks to return to his homeland safe and sound. Written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the thriller movie comprises a talented ensemble cast — Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Marcin Dorociński, Maria Bakalova, and David Morse. The tale of war and unlikely friendships unfolds mostly in the Russian wilderness, where Troy crash-lands and befriends Nikolai.
Mayday Filming Locations
Production on ‘Mayday’ was conducted in Quebec, California, and Hungary, particularly in Montreal, San Diego, and Budapest. According to reports, principal photography for the Apple TV production got underway in early March 2024 under the working title ‘Blackbird’ and wrapped after about a couple of months in May or June of the same year.
Montreal, Quebec
A significant chunk of ‘Mayday’ was reportedly lensed in the city of Montreal, situated in the province of Quebec. It is likely that the cast and crew members took over multiple streets and neighborhoods across the city, transforming them into film sets to shoot important scenes for the Ryan Reynolds starrer. Other notable movies and TV shows shot in Montreal include ‘The Voyeurs,’ ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ ‘Source Code,’ ‘Red Rooms,’ ‘Jack Ryan,’ and ‘The Last Frontier.’
San Diego, California
For the purpose of shooting, the filming unit of ‘Mayday’ also utilized the terrain and amenities of San Diego, a coastal city on the Pacific coast of Southern California. During a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, the directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley were asked about how they approached filming the cockpit scenes involving Ryan Gosling’s character. Without giving too much of the behind-the-scenes, Jonathan stated, “We had a vast number of technical consultants, both from the Air Force and the Navy. We came close to collaborating with the Navy, but they had an issue with the way the movie ended, and we weren’t gonna change it. So ultimately, we did not get to shoot on their aircraft carriers.”
Budapest Metropolitan Area, Hungary
In order to paint the canvas of ‘Mayday,’ the production team also set up camp in the capital of Hungary — Budapest — and its surrounding areas. They made the most of the facilities of Korda Studios, a film studio complex located in the village of Etyek, just 25 kilometers away from Budapest. The state-of-the-art studio is home to a total of seven fully equipped, soundproofed sound stages, a water tank with bay windows, dressing rooms, and warehouse and workshop space. It also consists of a New York backlot, a Renaissance backlot, and a Medieval Backlot, making Korda Studios an ideal shooting site for all kinds of projects.
The cast and crew were also spotted taping pivotal sequences in and around the Hungarian State Opera House on Andrássy Avenue and Heroes’ Square, located next to City Park. In the backdrop, you might spot the Museum of Fine Arts and the Budapest Hall of Art or Palace of Art. A few outdoor scenes were also reportedly shot on Dózsa György út. In the aforementioned interview, Jonathan revealed that they shot real planes, “it was French jets above the Mediterranean, which we then digitally turned into our American planes.”
Elaborating on the same, the co-director John Francis Daley added, “It was similar to the approach that they did with ‘Top Gun,’ where they re-skinned these, I think, L-39s. It was a month of aerial photography in the South of France. So all the flying stuff that you see was actually shot. And then we also had the honor to be able to talk to some of the original pilots of the SR-71 Blackbird, who regaled us not only with the technical aspects of flying one of those things, but also their close calls that they encountered when they were in active duty. It was unreal.”
Read More: Where Was The Bombing of Pan Am 103 Filmed?
