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Originally I was going to be incorporating this report and the
one from yesterday about the Episode One script, into my London
Adventures which I have been writing since I got back. But I
figured to break it up. I’ll put the completed text of the London
journey up in Harry’s World when it’s done, and I’ll point you in
it’s direction when it’s finished.
I went to London as part of a gigantic press contingent to
check out this small little bitty film (sarcasm) called THE
MUMMY. Reporters from MTV, The New York Times,
Premiere, Starlog, Fangoria, Toy Book, Details, Ad Age, People,
Entertainment Weekly, etc... This is the first time I have been
invited into this sort of company. The whole time I was definately
the odd man out.
On the bus trip to Shepperton, where THE MUMMY is
shooting, I discovered just how odd it was. It seemed everyone
knew everyone. They would all laugh and chat like old high
school chums on they’re 20th reunion. Me, well I felt like my wife
was sick at the hotel and sent me to find out how the old gang was,
but of course noone paid me any mind. The sound emanating
inside of the press bus, was literally like that sound that Robert
Redford heard in SNEAKERS... a cocktail party I believed he
called it.
Me, I was lost in thought, staring out the window as London
passed me by. Baden Powell House, the home of the founder of
the Boy Scouts. I wish I had time to visit there. Then my thoughts
turned to Shepperton. The place would surely carry the memories
of films past in it’s walls. Aliens, The Third Man, 101
Dalmations. A great many films found there babysteps there. If
the walls spoke, the stories would surely make me shake with their
coolness.
As we approached Shepperton, I realized that my legs were
extremely cramped up. The previous day was exhausting,
stomping miles all over London with Vivian Leigh, Rash, Chief
Jawa, Marian Ravenwood among others. I think it was the
combination of the exercise, something that being stuck at a
keyboard doesn’t allow much of, and the drinking of alcoholic
British brew left me very dehydrated. So as I stepped out of the
bus I walked a bit like Karloff, dragging myself along, painful step
after agonizing step.
The bus pulled up to Stage I, and this is where we first stepped
onto the ground that carried so much history. Outside of the Stage
were these raised brazier type things with fire burning up to the
sky. There were Hollywood versions of Egyptian gods/pharoahs. I
say Hollywood versions, because the previous day I had visited the
British Museum and saw the real artifacts. Upon close
examination there were textural differences, there were of course
material differences, but then you can’t expect a film to construct
real marble statues that are giant, and on film you can’t tell the
difference.
This stage was set up to greet the press, to serve as the hosting
area. Round tables with glasses of water and wine. As I enter the
stage I recognize Sean Daniel, Producer on THE MUMMY,
instantly. You see, about 3 or so years ago I met Sean Daniel at
City Wide Garage Sale in Austin. Well before I ever had this web
site. On this one Sunday in particular he purchased a group of
Hopalong Cassidy posters with a couple of Roy Rogers and Gene
Autry posters. At that time his next project was a remake of DAY
OF THE JACKAL, boy that turned out to be a real BAD flick. But
this fella had his hands all over ANIMAL HOUSE, FAST TIMES
AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, BRAZIL, FIELD OF DREAMS and DO
THE RIGHT THING. He comes up to me laughing. We instantly
acknowledge where we last met, and he’s quite surprised at how
I’ve gone from selling movie posters to whatever my current status
is.
He introduces me to the other main producer on the film, a
Jim Jacks. This fella has been Sam Raimi, Richard Linklater and
the Coen Brothers’ producer in the past. In fact his most recent
film, A SIMPLE PLAN, which I had seen just before arriving in
the U.K. is one of my top three films of the year (with GODS &
MONSTERS and THE MIGHTY as the other two). This fella
seems to be quite fond of the coverage and the reviews of A
SIMPLE PLAN that Hallenbeck and crew gave it. Wow, a
producer that likes Hallenbeck... shocking.
Jim Jacks and I begin talking about THE MUMMY and he
draws comparisons to GUNGA DIN, CHARGE OF THE LIGHT
BRIGADE and the INDIANA JONES movies. Well given I had
read the script twice. Once long ago, and then once again on the
plane trip over, I knew it had the potential for that, but I thought
there was a strange sprinkling of humor that I didn’t quite jive
with... I didn’t know what the tone of the film was. Will it make
light of the Mummy, or will it take itself seriously. I really feel the
horror genre needs some straight genre interpretations instead of
all this cross-pollination we’ve been getting as of late. This won’t
be that though, because the script has far more action in it than the
traditional Mummy story.
The Production Designer ALLAN CAMERON (Willow, 1984,
Highlander, Starship Troopers, Tomorrow Never Dies) served as
the tour guide for the press contingent. There were publicity types,
usually closest to the bigger press people. When they tried
courting me, I just started talking about the script, and they went
away.. I take it has to do with knowing they can’t convince me of
anything, they can’t paint the film in any better light than what I
know. I’m here to see how the production design, look of the cast,
and hopefully to see some finished footage so I can get a grasp for
what type of Mummy flick this will be. The script is unlike any
other Mummy film made thus far. Doesn’t mean it’ll be great, it’s
just different.
The first stop is the Art Department. Here they have all sorts
of sketches, minatures, etc. They have the sets for the City of the
Dead, built inside the mouth of a dormant volcano which I believe
was outside of Marrakech in Morrocco. The set is really quite
impressive looking. We’re told they actually built it out there in
the desert, and it’s all gone now. They show as the Book of the
Dead and the Book Of Life. It’s quite cool. They also show us
this winged scarab beetle which is the symbol of IMHOTEP, the
mummy in the film. We see storyboards for Anubus coming out
of the sky with a chariot of dead horses. We see storyboards of
massive sandstorms, of fire falling from the sky, plagues of frogs,
locusts, etc. Armies of the undead. This is pretty damn cool stuff.
At least at the art on paper stage. Another thing they seem to be
doing, is not hiding the big deals. Why? I think it has to do with a
little independent film called STAR WARS EPISODE ONE. You
see, THE MUMMY, comes out two weeks before, and it is
Universal’s big summer film. I think they figure that gives them
14 days of no Star Wars, then once Star Wars comes out, I think
they figure there will be a significant spill over audience. That
there will be a lot of people wanting a good FX flick, and since
Star Wars will be sold out all summer, that’ll leave them in a pretty
second place spot. Will it work? I don’t know.
Next up they took us to the great big paddle boat, where the
characters that Brendan Fraser (Rick O’Connell), Rachel Weisz
(Evelyn), John Hannah (Jonathan) fight the Mumia, the sacred cult
out to protect the secret of the Mummy. It’s a big, Indy like, battle
aboard this ship. I walk around the set instead of going aboard
like the press, I don’t need to, I know what happens aboard.
Instead I begin talking to the construction workers that are putting
the finishing touches onto the big boat. One fella talks to me
about why he does this, instead of normal carpentry. He doesn’t
talk of being a writer or of being a director. This fella dreams of
one day being a master carpenter. He loves building sets, because
he gets to build Egyptian statues, big paddle boats, Muslim
archetecture with some British renovations. And this is just on
this film, he’s worked on everything from Bond sets, he helped
build the volcano headquarters in You Only Live Twice, and he
helped build the sets in Episode One as well as the original trilogy.
Look for parts of vacuum cleaners in the walls during the final
battle in Episode One. This guy has helped to build some of the
most fantastic sets to come out of England... and he never even
gave me his name. He does damn good work though... and I hope
he does become a master carpenter some day.
Next we went to the backlot of Shepperton where the British
barracks, where the main characters stay in Cairo. It’s huge, and
it’s rigged all around by hail machines that will spit out gasoline
hail balls that will burn and slam into stunt men setting them
ablaze. Too cool, eh?
Next we hiked back onto the lot to goto the quarters of these
characters. The interior sets of the British barracks are gorgeous.
Instantly you forget where and when you are. Once again I
separated from the group, staring at the book shelves, the mosaic
pattern upon the wall, the chandeliers, the carpet, the old papers,
and the mummified corpse of one of those that dared to open
IMHOTEP’s sarcophagus. A very very cool dead body, I presume
it was created by Nick Dudman’s team, they’re doing the practical
effects. Next we went to the catacombs of the CITY OF THE
DEAD. These creepy corridors were raised up on platforms about
10 feet up, you see the sets are built to sink on command, with
sand pouring in. I was fairly amazed at how open they were being.
Of course I bet most of the reporters won’t be covering this till a
few weeks before the film, when the studio will release pics, which
we were not allowed to take. I have ways around that though.
Heh heh heh.
Next we went to the treasure chamber where the principal
photography was commencing. As we enter the room, Stephen
Sommers comes up all excited with me. I believe he was happy
with my DEEP RISING review from last year. He apoligizes for
singling me out of the group, but seemed excited to meet me,
something I’ll never understand.
As I round the corner I see the whole set. Sweet Jesus, this set
is cool. You know the “well of the souls” set? Imagine that done
bigger, with more treasure. This is the first time a set made my
mouth hang open. I can’t adequately put into words what it was
like to be on a set this big, this detailed, this beautifully lit. I was
just stunned, but hey, I’m a bit of a greenhorn when it comes to
sets like this, so maybe I’m easily awed, but this would be the
coolest play room ever. I mean, the mounds of gold... I felt like I
was in a Carl Barks designed Uncle Scrooge story, but mixed with
some of that old Karloff MUMMY atmosphere. Here... I can do
better than that..
First thing you notice are the ILM people. They’re taking
laser measurements, holding grey balls for thermal and color tests
(I think that’s what they are for), you notice them because they are
constantly moving and they have laser sites. Then your eyes pan
across the room. Statues that seem to go 25 feet or higher caked in
gold, piles of gold jewelry, gold glyphs. This is a treasure
chamber. The lighting was understated as if coming from a torch,
a single burning torch. The shimmering blaze of light catching on
the shiny surface of the gold inside. A glow of golden embers
surrounding Kevin J O’Commor (Beni). In this scene he fights off
an attack of killer scarab beetles, and that’s why ILM is so busy
with the measurements. Instead of following the press crew to an
overlooking position, I part from them again to hang with the
regular folks shooting the film. Getting behind the camera,
watching the video playback, you can’t see anything from their
vantage point... nothing that ends up on film anyway.
Watching John Berton advising was so cool it hurt. I mean
here’s one of the main men responsible for how cool effects are
today. He worked on T2, Jurassic Park, SWSE, etc.. His long red
hair and his moustache make him seem soooo Austin like I have to
suppress a giggle.
Soon we are ushered out of the treasure room, when all of a
sudden Rachel Weisz shows up. She does a little socializing,
mainly answering questions from THE NEW YORK TIMES fella.
However, she introduces us to Arnold Vosloo (Imhotep the
mummy). Instantly I recognize him from HARD TARGET and
from DARKMAN II and III. Though at first one could mistake
him for Billy Zane, there’s a striking resemblence. Then Brendan
Fraser shows up. This seems to peak everyone’s interest. Nothing
like throwing meat to a pack of wolves. I decide to just sit back
and watch how this plays out. Instead Brendan picks me out of
the crowd, while this is cool, it kind of is distracting. He wants to
shake my hand, take a picture with me, and talk with me about my
review of GODS AND MONSTERS and my championing of the
film. Sheesh, are these people prepped or is it genuine. It seemed
genuine, but I seemed to be blushing. By the way Brendan is a
gigantic human. At least 10 feet tall. He was dressed in these cool
as hell boots, they reminded me of the type of boots that Buster
Crabbe wore in the old serials, and the pants are all flared out like
that too. He’s got that... adventurer for hire look down. I just
hope is performance is closer to GODS AND MONSTERS than
GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE.
Next we head back to STAGE I for lunch and the video
presentation of footage, along with film people demonstrating how
everything was/is being done. Really good Egyptian cuisine.
Because they are actively filming, they had to start the
presentation as soon as Stephen Sommers got off set. The video
clip was being shown on a huge screen, though the clarity and
color quality was far better on the widescreen televisions, so that’s
what I watched.
The first thing I can say is the cinematography is gorgeous,
Adrian Biddle (ALIENS, WILLOW, THE PRINCESS BRIDE,
THELMA & LOUISE, etc) has certainly not lost his touch. Think
in terms of STARGATE, but prettier. The aspect ratio is, I
believe, 2.35 to 1. As Stephen Sommers said, when you’re
shooting where they did, you don’t shot flat. Overall it reminded
me very much of the look and tone of an Indiana Jones film. That
same mixture of humor with deadly seriousness. And just like in
the Indy films, the magic aspect is never jokey, it’s dead serious
(pun intended). Imhotep’s babe is knock yourself over the head
drop dead gorgeous. The shots of back in the past were very nice
looking, well technically that describes the entire film given this is
a period piece.
There are scenes of big cavalry charges where people are being
shot off the backs of their steeds en masse. This is what Jim Jacks
was talking about when he mentioned GUNGA DIN or CHARGE
OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, except back then Yakima Canut was
working and he didn’t have the looking after animal foundations
to deal with. The chemistry seemed to be working pretty good.
None of the effects work was inserted yet, as ILM is just getting
started with their end of the job.
Next up was the John Berton presentation. He showed us
some amazing work. They are doing some amazing motion
capture work, and creating a digital cadaverous mummy that if
you think in terms of a fleshy decaying terminator endo-skeleton
you’ll get the idea. This stuff looked so good. Then he said there
was another thing they were doing to poor ol Arnold (the mummy)
that Dudman would talk about. In addition to all the Mummies
ILM is animating. They will be creating the plagues of ancient
Egypt, the killer scarab beetles etc... They designed the mummies
and the types of mummies from the ground up. And they look
cool.
Next up was Nick Dudman, (RETURN OF THE JEDI, the
Joker from BATMAN, THE FIFTH ELEMENT and STAR WARS
EPISODE ONE) who is one of, if not the main man in terms of
cool creature effects. He, in conjunction with ILM, has created a
new type of make up appliance that fits onto the actor. Instead of
trying to create the prosthetic illusion of missing flesh, bone,
muscle, etc. In the middle of the prosthetic is an electrical
measuring device with red LEDs, that tracks the movement and
gathers information so ILM can go in and take out bits of the
actor, allowing half his head to be gone, with Scarab beetles
crawling out of it, etc. You can watch his larynx move from the
outside, his heart pumping... it’s majorly cool yet gross. This is a
major advancement in terms of make-up and digital effects.
Then Dudman brought out some Mummy heads. The priest
mummies look a bit like the classic Jack Pierce mummy designs,
but the soldier mummies look like those Ploog designs of the B-52
animated corpses from HEAVY METAL. These babies are real
friggin cool looking.
After the presentation it was time to leave, but me and the
New York Times guy didn’t leave with the rest. We continued
digging, albeit separately. I found someone that would show me
the stuff UNIVERSAL cut out of the program. Also I conned one
person into letting me freely look at dailies. In all the film seems
to be pretty good. Also, I managed to get some storyboards to
share with yall. So enjoy these. down below.
Will this film kick ass? It could. We’ll have to see. It all
depends on how the chemistry of the characters comes across. The
effects work, design and look of the film is all top notch. They got
Jerry Goldsmith doing music, and well. This could be the
beginning of a new series of UNIVERSAL horror films. I’m
keeping my fingers crossed, and trusting in the hands of Nick
Dudman and John Berton. Those guys are amazing. Here’s some
storyboards... hope you enjoy...
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Any posting in TALK BACK labeled as Harry Knowles is not me. I will no longer be posting to Talk Back till the registration software is installed. So if you see someone acting like me, they are full of baloney. Have fun posting. Harry
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