(The online newspaper): Three years ago, Per-Olav Sørensen’s (59) Netflix series ‘Home for Christmas’ was a big hit. He is now set to premiere another Christmas series, ‘Julestorm’.
On Friday, the new series will be released on Netflix and there you will get to know a number of characters who have to spend Christmas Eve in Gardermoen due to a heavy snowstorm.
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Most of ‘Julestorm’ was recorded in Gardermoen, and according to series creator and director Sørensen, the series recording in Norway’s busiest airport went better than expected.
Because when the recording of “Christmas Storm” was hit by coronary restrictions in January, it quickly turned out to be a fluke for the Netflix production.
He had Gardermoen to himself
Sørensen tells Nettavisen it was a great relief when the production learned that a series of restrictions had to be made in Gardermoen after a new wave of infection ravaged the country earlier this year.
So they basically had the airport to themselves.
– It almost seems that we went right in and filmed without further ado, laughs Sørensen.
The director goes on to say that the production was dealing with a specific area of Gardermoen. It was still partially in operation, but had less traffic than usual.
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This allowed the production to take more liberties with the filming location, and Sørensen describes their version of the airport as a “Gardermoen hybrid”.
– The main role in the series is Gardermoen, says Sørensen to Nettavisen.
It was still a small challenge that kept repeating itself.
– Every time a plane with many masked passengers arrived at our set, we had to stop recording, recalls the 59-year-old.
According to the creator of the series, it was a well-considered choice that the crown should not play a role in the new Netflix series, even as the pandemic devastated the recording earlier this year.
It could change everything
Thanks to the pandemic, Netflix production has had more freedom in Gardermoen. If the recording had taken place today, Sørensen isn’t sure it would have gone as well.
He can hardly bear to think about what it would have been like to record “Christmas Storm” during full operation and how thousands of travelers could have influenced the recording.
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– Ugh, no, I dare not think about it, says the director of “Christmas Storm” and continues:
– Now that I have made this series and know how well it went, I think with horror what we would do if there were full operations in Gardermoen. Or no operation.
I will never experience that again
‘Julestorm’ stars a number of famous faces, including Dennis Storhøi (62) and Thea Sofie Loch Næss (26). They don’t hide that recording in Gardermoen was something extraordinary. For Storhøi it was a unique experience.
– It was very exciting to work in an airport. It’s usually just in and out, but becoming part of the ‘insides’ was special. I think it will never happen again, Storhøi tells Nettavisen.
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Storhøi, who plays the character Arthur, also says he felt very safe on set. The actors were tested every day and most of it was organized by Gardermoen’s staff.
Loch Næss, who plays young Sara, also thinks the experience was special. You’ve never experienced a recording go so well before.
– One might think that filming in an airport is not logistically suitable. I was quite surprised at how well everything went and how smoothly it went, says the 26-year-old.
