Cinematographer Wally Pfister spoke to MTV.com that they watched a bunch of old Bond films for inspiration for the scene.
With those Bond movies in mind, the production took over a shuttered ski resort in Calgary and built a massive set. The shoot took a full two weeks to capture — the final weeks of principle photography. “We were running around with a lot of handheld cameras,” Pfister explained. “And I had a wonderful ski cameraman who could handle the camera while skiing down the slope, so we were able to get dynamic footage.”
After building the huge set the filmmakers had to wait for snow. “The scariest thing about that situation was that after we built this huge set, we found ourselves praying for snow,” he said. “You’ve got to be careful what you hope for, because we got a blizzard,” he added with a laugh. “It made shooting difficult and cold and uncomfortable.”
