"I was in the Peace Corps in Bolivia and it was a very unique and molding experience for me. So as a filmmaker, I have always wanted to return to South America to show the beauty, grandeur and sheer awe-inspiring power of the Andes," discloses Taylor Hackford.

Charles Mulvehill offers, "The logic from the studio was to go to Venezuela because they had the infrastructure for filmmaking, but Taylor insisted on Ecuador because it had the locations that he wanted for his movie. Over the objections of the studio executives and after scouting locations all over South America, we settled on Ecuador."

"I decided on Ecuador because it embodies South America to me - it-s right on the Equator, in the heart of the Andes. Ecuador is also one of the safest countries in South America," Hackford continues.

With the production based in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, at 2850 meters (9,348 feet) above sea level, all exterior locations of the fictitious country, "Tecala," were within a one-hour drive from the hotels. Climbing up to 14,000 feet, "Camp Insanity" was near Papallacta Pass, which overlooks the extinct volcano of Antisana (5704 meters/18,709 feet). Travelling in the opposite direction was Las Palmas, an area in the cloud forests a mere 6,000 feet above sea level which was dubbed "Hollywood del Sur" (Spanish for "Hollywood of the South") by the crew. This is the place where Production Designer Bruno Rubeo and his team created "Cañon Verde," another guerilla camp where 'Peter Bowman' is held. In addition, scenes were shot around San Francisco Plaza, the center of historic Quito where the oldest church (1534) in Ecuador is located. The final shot in the movie will present Cotopaxi, the world's tallest active volcano at 5897 meters (19,342 feet).

Meg Ryan comments, "I knew nothing of South America, so everything surprised me. Flying in the jungle, the smells, the volcanoes, everything. The people of Ecuador are really beautiful."

"You bring actors to these places and they don't need to fantasize. They look around, and there it is. When Meg Ryan is walking through a marketplace in Tecala City, she's actually in La Ofilia market in Quito surrounded by real Andean Indians. It has the visceral smell, look and feel of reality because it is," offers Hackford.

He continues, "When Russell Crowe crawls through a dense cloud forest, there's rain and mud all over him - this is real - it's not called a rain forest for nothing."