Eurovision parody movie used Tel Aviv stage for authentic feel
Cast of ‘Fire Saga’ was flown in to use set when annual singing contest was hosted by Israel in 2019; lead actor Will Ferrell says he long wanted to make the film
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
A Netflix movie parodying the over-the-top, kitschy but wildly popular Eurovision song contest was partly filmed in Israel.
“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” is the tale of Icelandic duo Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir (Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams), who get the chance to represent their country at the annual musical extravaganza.
It was released Sunday on Netflix.
The entire leading cast of the movie was flown to Israel last year to film a scene on the real Eurovision stage in Tel Aviv, where the event was hosted after local singer Netta Barzilai won the 2018 contest in Portugal, according to Channel 12.
This year’s contest, to be hosted in The Netherlands, was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ferrell, lead actor, comedian and co-writer, explained to Channel 12 in an interview that he got the idea for the film in 1999, when he was on vacation in Sweden.
The whole family sat down to watch the show. “You can make a really good film out of this,” Ferrell said he thought to himself.
“I think that it could be that it is coming out at exactly the right time for people who regrettably are stuck at home but want to take a moment to lose themselves in ‘Fire Saga,'” Ferrell said.
Israel’s Barzilai, along with other past Eurovision winners, has a cameo role in the film and is seen attending a party.
The singing contest is much beloved in Israel.
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