Mettler goes to Hollywood

Mettler Toledo laboratory equipment plays a cameo role in the film tipped to be the box-office smash of the year - The 51st State

Described as the biggest English-financed film ever made, The 51st State is directed by Ronny Yu and stars Samuel L Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Rhys Ifans, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwee and Meatloaf.

Due to be released on 7 December, it is the story of Elmo McElroy (Jackson), a streetwise American master chemist, who heads to England to set up his last big deal.

The storyline of the film required that two fully equipped pharmaceutical laboratories be set up - one set in California and one in England.

Both were created in the UK and it fell to set designer Duncan Wheeler to create two suitably authentic laboratories.

He says: "Back in 1991 I worked on the set for a drama for ITV called 'Chimera' which was set in a state-of-the-art DNA laboratory.

For that project, Mettler Toledo loaned me some high-tech balances.

I always tend to keep information, so when I needed to source laboratory equipment for The 51st State, I dug out my contacts and again turned to Mettler Toledo, who were delighted to help." Although the equipment was only required on loan, it was revealed that in one scene in the film the 'Californian' laboratory, along with all the equipment in it, is blown sky high.

Fortunately the company was able to provide stunt equipment in the form of two old balances for this scene and the remainder of the equipment, which included a titrator, an analytical balance, three precision balances and a printer, survived filming totally intact.

Ironically, Wheeler was once a research chemist.

"I hated it," he comments, "and moved initially into the theatre.

However, that experience paid dividends when I saw what was originally planned in the script for the laboratories - I was able to re-jig things to create authentic-looking laboratories.".

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