Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes: Filming of Ulice in Secret Location in North Pilsen

The TV Nova crew is filming new episodes of the popular series Ulice here. And Deník got the exclusive opportunity to participate and meet Mrs. Nyklova (Jaroslava Obermaierová), her son Lumir (Václav Svoboda) and others on the set.

The very first news that Lucie Urbánková from TV Nova brings is not pleasing, but not surprising either. Due to the weather forecast, the production was forced to change the shooting schedule and its start. Today, it will start filming an hour later than planned. It doesn’t matter, at least there will be time to talk to the actors during the preparations and I won’t drag them off the set.

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At the beginning, of course, it is necessary to find out what exactly is happening in the picturesque settlement by the Střela river, as if cut out of old tramp films. “We are filming the first episodes here, which will be broadcast after the summer break,” reveals the leading director Stanislav Sládeček, admitting that the choice of such a remote location was intentional. “We needed an isolated place where the main characters of our series would have a boys’ party. The bonus is that no one disturbs us while filming here,” he laughs and admits that filming in nature, where the Ulice crew only visits about twice a year, is much more demanding than indoors. “The screenwriters don’t know the location, they write in a general way, and we have to specify what and where will be filmed on the spot, adapt to the given situation,” he explains, and then he sets out with two colleagues to find the best places to set the written plot .

The Christmas episode The Street was filmed in Kašperské Hory, you will see it on Christmas Day

I’m also catching up with Petra Benešová, who has been one of the location series Ulice for seven years now, and I’m finding out how suitable locations for filming are searched for. “We are looking for suitable exteriors literally all over the country. We have one or two big shoots outside of Prague a year. So far, it’s only happened once in southwestern Bohemia, in the Kašperské Hory Mountains, it was amazing there,” he recalls, adding that as for filming here, he and his colleague received an assignment from producers and directors half a year ago. They described to them what the cottage should look like and what would take place there. “We knew that it had to be a big classic cottage, like a tramp, an important condition was that it had to be secluded. So we started looking for objects that would be suitable for filming. We chose the one that suited us the most. We agreed the terms with the owner and set off for the first technical inspection,” Petra described how the filmmakers got to this picturesque corner of western Bohemia.

Second trip in eighteen years

The first actor I am referring to is Jaroslava Obermaierová. The icon of the series, which was created in 2005 and its fans could already see almost four and a half thousand episodes. “What time is my shooting day in Ulica? I can’t count that. But we can try it. It is filmed ten months a year, which is about forty weeks, and twice every week. And multiply that by eighteen,” laughs the 77-year-old actress. She adds that filming in Pilsen is special for her. “It’s only the second time I’ve been outdoors over the years. Twelve years ago I was in Poděbrady for a few days, otherwise I’m still in a bistro, an apartment and so on. So I’m enjoying it. Thanks to the weather, it’s pleasant here, but the road here is thorny. I admire those who have cottages here, that they come here every week,” laughs Obermaier, who seems very optimistic. She chats cordially with staff members, even some very young ones touch her.

Source: Deník/Milan Kilián

While heading to the improvised make-up room, the director returns from a location 300 meters away from the log cabin, where one of the other locations on this three-day shoot is located. Everyone packs the equipment and transports it to the site. “Take the polarizers,” the technicians receive instructions from Mark Janda, the chief cameraman.

The native of Stod loves it here

There is still quite a bit of time before everything is ready, so I ask Filip Hornyak, the representative of the series Lexik, about his impressions. “I enjoy filming outside, it’s better than in Prague. I can breathe better here, I like filming by the fire, by the river. Grandfather has a similar cottage,” confides the ten-year-old boy, accompanied by his acting coach Jana Epikaridis.

That’s Václav Svoboda, aka Lumir Nykl from the series, who sits on a bench in front of the cottage and recites the text to himself, he’s not entirely enthusiastic about filming in somewhat rough conditions. “Filming outside Prague is always worth it. It’s a long way here, a crazy road, about 4 km through the forest on incredible bumps, so by the time we get here by car, we’re all jumpy. There are a lot of flies, biting mosquitoes, so it’s wonderful here,” he laughs and admits that he likes nature, but he mustn’t overdo it.

Out of luck, Rapl, Mattoni. Filmmakers like West Bohemia

His serial love, the innkeeper Kateřina Dubovská, is excited about filming at Strěla. Her representative, Martina Randová, is a native of Stod in the Pilsen region and lived in Tachov for some time, so she has a connection to western Bohemia. “I like this region very much. The nature here always puts me at ease and at peace. I was really looking forward to coming here, because not only do I love the forest, but we used to go to these forests a lot for mushrooms. They are memories for me and very nice,” confesses Randová, who is in Ulica for the third season. And she’s excited about it. “There are great people here, amazing staff, fantastic management. You can see that everyone respects each other, and you can see that in the work. When you value the work of others, no matter what kind of work it is, it can only bring something good,” the actress, known for example from Ordinace v rozágádena, is convinced.

Run? Never!

But now we all have to move to the place by the river, where the first flap of the day will fall. The cameras are already ready, so the actors take a read test. After her, the director specifies how he imagines it. “Václav, this is where you will run,” he points. “Run? I? Never!” Svoboda says with a serious face, but then laughs.

The filmmakers returned to the defunct village, Tomáš Mašín Brothers was filming in Vyškovice

Obermaier and Rand are walking away from where they will be crossing the narrow footbridge over the river. One more test, and then it’s finally time to get down to business. It’s been almost three hours since my arrival, so it’s time to say goodbye, I still can’t tell too much about what exactly will happen in the new episodes. On the way back, I stop by two locals watching from afar. “I didn’t miss filming, it’s a diversion. I watched it now, because I won’t watch it on TV, I don’t have it at all,” laughs Milan Rous, adding that this is not the first visit of filmmakers to the region, Cesta z město was filmed nearby. He already remembers a lot here. “I was first brought here in the eighth grade 71 years ago when I was three months old. I’ve been coming here ever since, and I’ve been living here for over thirty years,” concludes Rous.