The Brink of War recreates 1986 summit at Höfði

The film The Brink of War, about the 1986 summit at Höfði between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, premieres in Iceland today. Its Icelandic producer, Pegasus, told mbl.is that the production was “as Icelandic as they come”.

The premiere will be attended by people involved in the Icelandic production and several officials, including President Halla Tómasdóttir and former president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who was in office when the summit took place. Director Michael Russell Gunn is also due to attend. Sunday, October 11, will mark 40 years since the summit began.

Jeff Daniels plays Reagan, Jared Harris plays Gorbachev and J.K. Simmons portrays US Secretary of State George P. Shultz. The film was shot entirely in Iceland, with 16 of the 20 filming days spent in and around Höfði. Producer Erlendur Cassata said the filmmakers wanted to work in the house as it was during the summit rather than recreate it in a Los Angeles studio. Daniels said sitting in the same chairs at the same table had been a remarkable experience.

About 150 to 160 people worked on the production in Iceland. The crew numbered around 120, including 105 Icelanders, and local production costs came to about 800 million Icelandic krónur.

Four filming days took place elsewhere. Scenes connected to Raisa Gorbachev’s visits during the trip were filmed at Hotel Holt, the Blue Lagoon and Skeggjastaðir, where the production filmed material about the Icelandic horse. A house on Öldugata stood in for the US Embassy on Laufásvegur.

The weather posed challenges during filming in November, Cassata said. Lights on cranes outside the house shook in the wind, while snowstorms and dark clouds could give way to a rainbow within minutes.