King Mohammed VI helped Ridley Scott secure military equipment for Black Hawk Down by facilitating U.S. support, enabling the film's production in Morocco. This collaboration marks just one of many times Scott has chosen Morocco as a filming location. King Mohammed VI helped Ridley Scott secure heavy-duty equipment for his 2001 combat movie Black Hawk Down, which was shot in Morocco. In a recent interview with American men's magazine GQ, the English filmmaker and producer recalls the royal gesture that, without it, his movie about the Battle of Mogadishu wouldn't have made it to the big screen. The movie is an adaptation of a 1999 non-fiction book by journalist Mark Bowden, which depicts the real-life military engagement that occurred in Somalia in 1993. The story follows an elite group of U.S. Army Rangers, Delta Force operatives, and helicopter crews deployed to Somalia. The 90-minute operation takes a dramatic turn when Somali militia fighters shoot down two Black Hawk helicopters, trapping the soldiers behind enemy lines. Asking the King of Morocco for a favor Shot in Salé, near Morocco's capital, the movie production needed heavy-duty equipment, as the title of the movie suggests—Black Hawk. Scott wanted the real thing; he insisted on using real military hardware. To convince the U.S. military, he sought the help of the Moroccan monarch, who assisted him in his quest. Scott recalls that he «had to get to the King of Morocco». When addressing the monarch regarding his filming dilemma, Scott said that he «wants to bring in four Black Hawks and four Night Birds». The first (UH-60 Black Hawk) are four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopters manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Army. The second are also heavy-duty aircraft that operate primarily at night. On top of that, Scott needed to bring «125 Rangers», who are U.S. elite infantry or special operations units trained for rapid deployment and a wide range of combat missions. Why Rangers? Because, Scott explains, «they'll be the insurance on the Black Hawk, and I can't have my actors fast-roping down, that's got to be a Ranger because if somebody falls, I am in trouble». The Sovereign reassured Scott, saying that he can help him. «I'll do that, but you have to get the Pentagon to write me a note inviting us to send to me because I welcome the American army and their devices», Scott said, quoting King Mohammed VI. «So he did that. He wrote that to the Pentagon. The Pentagon goes, 'okay, we're on,'» the movie director recalled. «So he sent in four Black Hawks, four Night Birds, and 2,505 Rangers», he remembered. Black Hawks and US Rangers in Salé The movie was shot in Salé, off the «robbery coast where all the pirates were», said Scott. During the filming, which took months, he «took over the town». «I said, 'we're going to be up and down all your streets,'» employing 1,500 people in the town every day for like three months, four months. They «loved it, it was fantastic», he concluded. That was definitely not the first time, nor the last time Scott chose Morocco to shoot his emblematic movies. Just a couple of years before Black Hawk Down, Scott shot his historical epic film Gladiator in Ouarzazate, Morocco's little Hollywood, in 1999. He returned for Kingdom of Heaven in 2005, Body of Lies in 2008, and Exodus: Gods and Kings in 2014. Most recently, Morocco served as a filming location for Scott's Gladiator II.
