Aesir Corporation Headquarters

Lore & Background

The Aesir Corporation Headquarters is the central command of the Aesir Corporation, a pharmaceutical company that developed Valkyr, a drug produced under military contract in an attempt to create super-soldiers. The project was terminated after only a few subjects showed positive results; the rest saw hallucinations and eventually went insane, forcing Aesir to cover up their involvement. B.B. Hensley, Aesir's head of security and a former cop who was a father figure to Max, secretly sold Valkyr for personal profit. He admits to killing Michelle Payne after she found incriminating evidence that could have exposed him. The headquarters is where Max, assisted by Mona Sax, shoots his way through security, eventually confronting and killing B.B. on the building's helipad. The building was constructed for the film: it took eight weeks in pre-production to build the set and another week for the special effects team to install more than 6,000 squibs for the final gunfight inside the Aesir Headquarters.

In Their Own Story

Max Payne follows B.B. Hensley back to the Aesir Corporation's headquarters after escaping a faked drowning at the city docks. Assisted by Mona Sax, Max shoots his way through the building's security, eventually confronting and killing B.B. on the building's helipad. The final gunfight inside the Aesir Headquarters took a full week to shoot using more than 6,000 squibs. The outside top half of the building was completely made of CG by Mr.X, using Google Earth to determine the building's geometry. No location could be found for a rooftop helipad, so a set was built in front of a green screen, and Soho VFX attached the helipad to the building and set it atop New York City.

Reader's Guide

The Aesir Corporation Headquarters is the location of the film's climactic action sequence. The building's interior set was built over eight weeks in pre-production, with the special effects team spending another week installing more than 6,000 squibs for the final gunfight. The exterior top half of the building was entirely computer-generated by Mr.X, who used Google Earth to find the building's geometry. The rooftop helipad was a set built in front of a green screen, with Soho VFX later compositing it onto the building and placing it atop New York City. The sequence features Max Payne, assisted by Mona Sax, fighting through security to confront and kill B.B. Hensley on the helipad.

Did You Know?

• The outside top half of the Aesir Headquarters was completely made of CG by visual effects company Mr.X.
• It took eight weeks in pre-production to build the Aesir Headquarters set and another week for the special effects team to install more than 6,000 squibs.
• No real location could be found for a rooftop helipad, so a set was built in front of a green screen and later composited by Soho VFX.
• The final gunfight inside the Aesir Headquarters took a full week to shoot.
• The visual effects team used Google Earth to determine the building's geometry for the CG model.