Stardust set visit
I'm feeling a bit uncreative in terms of blog posts this morning - I'm tentatively thinking about buying the fantasy role-playing boardgame Runebound as I type - so here are some Pfeiffer related extracts from Aint It Cool News's Moriarty, who visited the Stardust set in England. I am so keen to see the magical world of Neil Gaiman's novel realised onscreen. It sounds fantastic.
Minor Spoilers ahead...
From Part 1 of the Visit:
This first set is Lamia’s Inn. It’s not a real inn, though. It’s more like a magical mousetrap, created using an elaborate spell right along the path that Yvaine (Danes) is traveling. See... Yvaine’s not a normal girl. She’s actually a fallen star in human film, and Lamia is part of a trio of witches who need to get hold of the star’s heart so that they can eat it and replenish their magical power. Lamia creates this inn and the people working in it from whatever she’s got on hand. The serving wench and the barkeep are both actually goats who have been changed, although they retain some goaty characteristics. And the building and all the furniture in it are both made from bones and antlers and whatever else Lamia could get hold of. It’s a really solid-feeling set. When you’re standing on it, you don’t see the seams. Vaughn seems to be a firm believer in building an environment as completely as possible.
---
”This is the Witches Lair,” Tarquin said, “probably our biggest set. You have to walk in through the front doors, though.” We reached two giant massive black doors, and then Tarquin pushed them open for me.
Sure enough, stepping through the doors for my first look at the set was enough to render me speechless. These are the moments I love when I visit a set, these moments where I almost step into this other reality. The primary inspiration for the Witches Lair was the Versaille Palace, but it’s almost like a photo negative, done completely in black and accented with a bit of gold here and there. The detailing around the set is fantastic, with ornate imagery built right into each panel of the wall. Some of the imagery is profane, like cherubs slitting open the belly of a pig so the entrails can fall to earth, and some of the items in the actual palace hall made me uncomfortable at first glance. These witches are near the end of their power, and they haven’t been using the whole palace as a living space. Instead, they’ve crowded into a small part of the hall, living off the animals they keep stacked in cages. Baboons, alligators, rabbits, dogs, and cats, all of them equally tasty to the witches. Most of the cages were empty when I walked in, but based on the stink, you could tell that the cages had all held real animals at some point.
---
From Part 2 of the Visit:
When we turned around from the witches lair, we ended up facing Lamia’s Inn, and it was impressive to see the skin that would slip over the skeletal outside of the set that I’d been on in the soundstage. This isn’t a building that was “built” by anyone’s hands in the context of the film. Lamia creates the inn by magic, and as a result, there’s not a regular angle in the whole thing. It stretches and bows in odd ways, and there’s a sign hanging out front with a picture of a small one-person chariot on it. I saw some footage of Michelle Pfeiffer riding in that carriage being pulled by a pair of goats in that 30 minutes that Vaughn showed me earlier in the day, so it made me smile to see that as the logo of her inn. It seems that Vaughn and Gavin Bouquet, his production designer, have had fun with every detail of this world.
---
After we checked out the backlot and Holly interviewed me on-camera for a personal side project of hers, I headed back to the soundstage where the first unit was ready to shoot a scene with Michelle Pfeiffer’s character Lamia was preparing a hot bath for Yvaine. Pfeiffer plays Lamia as like Kaa from JUNGLE BOOK, insinuating and seductive. Watching her smother Yvaine with kindness, it’s like watching a snake toy with a mouse just before eating it. And Yvaine, who has very little practical experience with people, has no idea how wrong everything is with Lamia and her serving girl. All she knows is how tired she is and how nice they’re being to her. They talk to her in soothing, calm tones as they prepare her bath, and the whole time, Michelle Pfeiffer keeps this disturbingly sweet smile in place.
---
There’s something about Claire (Danes) when she smiles... she really isn’t like any other young star out there. She’s still very much the same actress who made such a strong impression from the very start of MY SO-CALLED LIFE, emotionally open and direct. At first, she and Michelle left the set after each scene, checking the playback first to make sure they were happy. But as the afternoon wore on, Michelle came over and sat next to where Jane Goldman, Tarquin, and I were all sitting, talking about our kids. Tarquin’s a brand-new daddy like me, and I’d seen his wall of pictures of his beautiful baby girl in the production office. Jane’s got older kids, and she talks about how they’re more like buddies to hang out with than kids by this point.
Michelle jumped into the conversation, asking about Tarquin’s baby, asking about my baby, and for the first time that day, she seemed to really engage with everyone. That’s not to say that she’s stand-offish or anything. She just seems to take every opportunity to slip away, and she seems focused on her character between scenes. I get the feeling she’s got a process that she doesn’t like interrupted. But as she sat and chatted, Claire finally threw on a towel over the body stocking she wore in the tub and walked over to join us. If Michelle came across as a really serene and witty soccer mom, then Claire struck me as younger than she is... like a very bright recent college grad still sort of figuring herself out. She’s in her late 20s, but there’s a really appealing youth about her.
...Both Claire and Michelle seemed to get more and more animated and outgoing the longer we all spent talking. Michelle broke out her personal stash of organic blueberries, which finally lured Matthew back over so he could start stealing handfuls. Flemyng showed up again, with his hair and makeup now finished even though he was dressed in the same shorts and t-shirt from before.
---
At the same time, Charlie Cox was hard at work on the second-unit stage in the Witches Lair, in the middle of his big showdown with Lamia. The Lamia he was fighting was Michelle’s stand-in, though, wearing make-up that reveals the true nature of the witch. The more power she had to channel into the fight, the less she could spend on the illusion of her own appearance, and the greater the toll the battle took on her. She was hurling huge pieces of furniture and objets d’art at him, striking him, knocking him around.
Minor Spoilers ahead...
From Part 1 of the Visit:
This first set is Lamia’s Inn. It’s not a real inn, though. It’s more like a magical mousetrap, created using an elaborate spell right along the path that Yvaine (Danes) is traveling. See... Yvaine’s not a normal girl. She’s actually a fallen star in human film, and Lamia is part of a trio of witches who need to get hold of the star’s heart so that they can eat it and replenish their magical power. Lamia creates this inn and the people working in it from whatever she’s got on hand. The serving wench and the barkeep are both actually goats who have been changed, although they retain some goaty characteristics. And the building and all the furniture in it are both made from bones and antlers and whatever else Lamia could get hold of. It’s a really solid-feeling set. When you’re standing on it, you don’t see the seams. Vaughn seems to be a firm believer in building an environment as completely as possible.
---
”This is the Witches Lair,” Tarquin said, “probably our biggest set. You have to walk in through the front doors, though.” We reached two giant massive black doors, and then Tarquin pushed them open for me.
Sure enough, stepping through the doors for my first look at the set was enough to render me speechless. These are the moments I love when I visit a set, these moments where I almost step into this other reality. The primary inspiration for the Witches Lair was the Versaille Palace, but it’s almost like a photo negative, done completely in black and accented with a bit of gold here and there. The detailing around the set is fantastic, with ornate imagery built right into each panel of the wall. Some of the imagery is profane, like cherubs slitting open the belly of a pig so the entrails can fall to earth, and some of the items in the actual palace hall made me uncomfortable at first glance. These witches are near the end of their power, and they haven’t been using the whole palace as a living space. Instead, they’ve crowded into a small part of the hall, living off the animals they keep stacked in cages. Baboons, alligators, rabbits, dogs, and cats, all of them equally tasty to the witches. Most of the cages were empty when I walked in, but based on the stink, you could tell that the cages had all held real animals at some point.
---
From Part 2 of the Visit:
When we turned around from the witches lair, we ended up facing Lamia’s Inn, and it was impressive to see the skin that would slip over the skeletal outside of the set that I’d been on in the soundstage. This isn’t a building that was “built” by anyone’s hands in the context of the film. Lamia creates the inn by magic, and as a result, there’s not a regular angle in the whole thing. It stretches and bows in odd ways, and there’s a sign hanging out front with a picture of a small one-person chariot on it. I saw some footage of Michelle Pfeiffer riding in that carriage being pulled by a pair of goats in that 30 minutes that Vaughn showed me earlier in the day, so it made me smile to see that as the logo of her inn. It seems that Vaughn and Gavin Bouquet, his production designer, have had fun with every detail of this world.
---
After we checked out the backlot and Holly interviewed me on-camera for a personal side project of hers, I headed back to the soundstage where the first unit was ready to shoot a scene with Michelle Pfeiffer’s character Lamia was preparing a hot bath for Yvaine. Pfeiffer plays Lamia as like Kaa from JUNGLE BOOK, insinuating and seductive. Watching her smother Yvaine with kindness, it’s like watching a snake toy with a mouse just before eating it. And Yvaine, who has very little practical experience with people, has no idea how wrong everything is with Lamia and her serving girl. All she knows is how tired she is and how nice they’re being to her. They talk to her in soothing, calm tones as they prepare her bath, and the whole time, Michelle Pfeiffer keeps this disturbingly sweet smile in place.
---
There’s something about Claire (Danes) when she smiles... she really isn’t like any other young star out there. She’s still very much the same actress who made such a strong impression from the very start of MY SO-CALLED LIFE, emotionally open and direct. At first, she and Michelle left the set after each scene, checking the playback first to make sure they were happy. But as the afternoon wore on, Michelle came over and sat next to where Jane Goldman, Tarquin, and I were all sitting, talking about our kids. Tarquin’s a brand-new daddy like me, and I’d seen his wall of pictures of his beautiful baby girl in the production office. Jane’s got older kids, and she talks about how they’re more like buddies to hang out with than kids by this point.
Michelle jumped into the conversation, asking about Tarquin’s baby, asking about my baby, and for the first time that day, she seemed to really engage with everyone. That’s not to say that she’s stand-offish or anything. She just seems to take every opportunity to slip away, and she seems focused on her character between scenes. I get the feeling she’s got a process that she doesn’t like interrupted. But as she sat and chatted, Claire finally threw on a towel over the body stocking she wore in the tub and walked over to join us. If Michelle came across as a really serene and witty soccer mom, then Claire struck me as younger than she is... like a very bright recent college grad still sort of figuring herself out. She’s in her late 20s, but there’s a really appealing youth about her.
...Both Claire and Michelle seemed to get more and more animated and outgoing the longer we all spent talking. Michelle broke out her personal stash of organic blueberries, which finally lured Matthew back over so he could start stealing handfuls. Flemyng showed up again, with his hair and makeup now finished even though he was dressed in the same shorts and t-shirt from before.
---
At the same time, Charlie Cox was hard at work on the second-unit stage in the Witches Lair, in the middle of his big showdown with Lamia. The Lamia he was fighting was Michelle’s stand-in, though, wearing make-up that reveals the true nature of the witch. The more power she had to channel into the fight, the less she could spend on the illusion of her own appearance, and the greater the toll the battle took on her. She was hurling huge pieces of furniture and objets d’art at him, striking him, knocking him around.
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