Set Visit: Golden Compass

It’s
times like these when I have to admit that I have the coolest job in
the world! I’m not sure how
often someone can say that but when JoBlo.com got invited to cover 2
cool set visits for New Line Cinema in one of the greatest cities in
the world (London, England) that’s the only thing that kept
repeating in my mind. The
invitation was to attend two fantasy films in current production
(the other is INKHEART).

First
let me begin with a quick recount of the day leading up to the first
set visit for the THE
GOLDEN COMPASS. This
will be the toned down version from the in-depth description
provided in the “JoBlo.com
does

London

” piece. Needless to say,
every minute leading up to my departure and arrival in

London

felt like delirium. The entire
experience felt surreal from the moment I hopped into a spacious
black
London
cabby to the minute I approached the rich city center to arrive at
our beautiful hotel overlooking the The Green Park (otherwise known
as

Buckingham

Palace

‘s backyard). A sweet welcome
to the extraordinary, historic city indeed!

Although
a bit jet lagged, I wasn’t about to let the time difference stand in
my way. Following a fulfilling breakfast in the morning, I checked
into the hospitality suite where I was greeted by the cool folks
from New Line Cinema to receive a general 411.
After some fun sightseeing I joined the other journalists to
get whisked away to a wonderful welcome dinner where the bonding
began, as we all got into our groove and prepped ourselves for next
day’s set visit. Morning
came and we were swept away to

London

‘s Shepperton Studios to get a peep at our first set visit.
Let me begin with a brief description of this sensational,
yet dark fantasy world otherwise known as THE GOLDEN COMPASS.

SYNOPSIS

Based on the first book of Philip Pullman’s best-selling and
award-winning trilogy His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass is the
first volume of the exciting, philosophical, fantasy adventure
adapted, written and directed by Chris Weitz.
It is set in a parallel world where people’s souls live
outside of their body in the form of a daemon, talking bears fight
wars, and children are kidnapped by an evil group known as the
Gobblers.

The story is based on a brave 12-year-old girl named Lyra who embarks on
a long journey in order to solve the mystery of her best friend
Roger’s mysterious disappearance. Upon
her rescue expedition originating from
Oxford
‘s

Jordan

College

to the arctic north, Lyra uncovers the frightening truth behind the
kidnapping and inadvertently ends up on a fascinating, complex quest
to save her own world as well as ours.

A discovery made by an open casting call is gifted newcomer Dakota Blue
Richards, who is the perfect embodiment of young Lyra.
She joins an all star cast consisting of Nicole Kidman as the
glamorous yet deceptive Mrs. Coulter, Daniel Craig as the ruthless
and mysterious adventurer Lord Asriel, Eva Green as the good witch
Serafina Pekkala, Sam Elliot as Lee Scoresby and Ian McShane as the
voice of armored bear king Ragnar Sturlusson.

THE
SET

We
entered the Shepperton Studios with a heightened sense of intrigue
to discover the alternate world of The Golden Compass awaiting for
us. Anxious to feed our hungry curiosity, we were led into an
enormous but very cold green screen studio.
As I glanced around I took notice of some fake snow, some
fake icebergs, fake stuffed bear heads, a film crew and Dakota Blue
Richards filming her scene as the adorable Lyra.
We were greeted by the courteous director Chris Weitz, whose
credits include ABOUT A BOY and AMERICAN PIE.
Although a little disappointed by his inability to stop
filming to speak with us, it was apparent and understandable that
duty called and required him to continue working under a tight
deadline in the final days of filming.

THE
SCENE

Huddled
among a large group of reporters (partly for warmth), we gathered
around to witness approximately three or four takes of a young Lyra,
bundled up in an adorable winter white furry coat and knit hat
talking to a dismembered Polar bear aka Iorek.
lorek isn’t your everyday Polar bear however.
He is a renegade armored polar bear deposed as king of his
clan by a deceitful brother.

In
the scene, Lyra is facing the prop bear head who’s bobbling head is
controlled with a rod and who’s loud, deep, echoing voice is heard
presumably from a pre-recorded (or live) loudspeaker somewhere in
the room. She speaks and
cries, bidding Iorek a tearful adieu in an imaginary
North Arctic
to continue on her expedition and hunt for Lord Asriel, and to
ultimately unveil the secret of Dust.
Iorek refers to her as Lyra Silvertongue who reciprocates his
affection with a heartfelt departure.
This is the last scene in part one of the trilogy.
Her adventure will presumably continue to unravel in part two
of the trilogy titled The Subtle Knife, if part one meets and
surpasses the box office expectations.

We
are told that there are several takes needed of this scene in order
to ensure that Lyra and Iorek are at exact eye level for obvious
finishing touches that need to be made with CGI in the post
production phase. Tear drops
are also strategically placed in her eyes between takes to intensify
the emotion and evoke additional tears during this climactic scene.
Weitz remains intently focused on the TV monitor as the scene
continues to shoot over and over again to guarantee the desired
perfection.

PROPS
SET

Our
large herd of reporters were next led to the adjacent set for a
presentation and examination of the props used in The Golden
Compass. Costumes, statues,
furniture, the sky-ferry, jewelry and artwork were on display
throughout the large sized room for observational purposes.
We were given a tour of this museum assumably set up
especially for our learning pleasure.
Presentations were given by producer Deborah Forte, the
production designer Dennis Gassner and costume designer Ruth Meyers.

Meyers
walked us through the wardrobe which she explained was designed to
represent the typical 1920’s Edwardian look; plaid, dark suits, long
ruffled dresses and velvet robes for the oxford scholars.
Also on display were dark, flowing tulle dresses for the
witch, and Eskimo-like outfits for the Gyptians.

Some
of the interesting set pieces dispersed and arranged throughout the
room were the large sky ferry (zeppelin) manufactured for Lee
Scoresby’s transportation, a heavy-duty tent representing the
Gyptians habitation, and the exquisite furniture set up as Mrs.
Coulter’s living quarters. Her
living room consisted of classy black and gold furniture, an elegant
chaise long, gold statues and a gorgeous portrait of her and a
golden monkey representing her daemon.
Also on display was her bedroom’s pink and white vanity set
complete with lotions, spray perfumes and brush sets emanating old
glamour.

Gassner
gave a detailed presentation of the concept designs illuminating his
inspiration for the set and the representation and importance of
symbols in recreating an alternate world set in the 1920’s.
He talked about using
London
‘s arched

Air Street

as his template for

London

‘s architecture as well as his philosophy in using symbols such as a
circle and an oval in his concept designs.
He explained that the circle representing good and oval
representing evil, were symbols used in architectural designs, logos
and objects.

EARLY
FOOTAGE PREVIEW

Our
presentation eventually led into a unique 10-minute feature reel of
early clips revealed from the film. Although
incomplete, it was a vivid unveiling and creative foretelling of
what’s to come in THE GOLDEN COMPASS.

In
the first scene we saw Lyra running across the dining room chairs
along the long table in
Oxford
‘s

Jordan

College

while talking to her un-rendered, thus invisible daemon Pantalaimon.

Then
next scene introduced Mrs.Coulter embodied by the inconceivably
stunning and elegant Nicole Kidman. She
epitomized an ice princess with the perfect combination of glamour
and danger. Mrs. Coulter made
a commanding grand entrance into the dining hall as if working the
catwalk. Looking fabulous and unbelievably sophisticated in her
gorgeous sequined dress, her blonde hair was softly curled and
pinned to one side, clearly reminiscent of the 20’s allure. As she
sat down beside Lyra and whispered in her ear, it was apparent that
Mrs. Coulter’s manipulative charm and magnetism could very well
spellbound and ravished anyone to succumb under her formidable
power.

The
following scene introduced a bearded Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel in
the

Jordan

College

garden, scolding Lyra when she asked about a thing called
“Dust”. He was
clearly infuriated and wanted her knowing nothing about it.
His inexorable and ferocious bark was a chilling and
convincing affirmation of Craig’s impressive talent.

Another
scene was of Iorek wreaking havoc and knocking down everything while
running around loose through a market.
Lyra watching this unfold ran to his rescue to plead with the
soldiers gathered around to shoot Iorek. Just as a soldier was about
to pull the trigger, Lee Scoresby showed up taking control of the
situation with his own gun.

There
were also some special CGI effects of Lyra riding on Iorek’s back
through the North and an alternate universe created of

London

with glass and iron buildings thanks to Christopher Wren’s vision.
There was a magnificent shot of the sky ferry flying over the
city with an incredible view of the Magistrate building.

Lastly,
we were shown how CGI of a snowy North, polar bears and Lyra riding
on the back of a stationary mechanical bear are used to translate
into realistic and creative footage.

STUNT
SET

Upon
completion of the presentation, we were all scurried off to a final
green room which was designated for stunts.
Here we got a taste of what a fight sequence looked like.
A diversified group of trained males and females of different
age groups re-enacted a cool, coordinated and impressive stunt fight
scene. It almost appeared to
be a fun dance rehearsal although I imagine that special effects
will emphasize the brutality and violence in the final cut.

Next
we received a demonstration of how witches magically fly around in
the film. One of the stunt
coordinators saddled up in the harness to illustrate proper lift
off, twirling and landing.
We also saw some raw footage of Eva Green who plays Serafina
the witch, flying around in the harness.
Two volunteers from our group got the opportunity to saddle
up and take off for fun. Although
it appeared to be very enjoyable, I chose to abstain from the
activity in the fear of getting sick.

Before
heading over to a gourmet luncheon at the Shepperton Studios, we
were given a final gunfire presentation
One by one, each gun used in the film was brought out and
fired off. We were advised to
cover our ears with each thundering blast but like a fool I jumped
at every expected and anticipated shot simply because they were loud
and frightening. What can I
say, I don’t like guns!

SOME
INTERESTING FACTS

Tom Stoppard was originally engaged as the screenwriter for the film
Before Chris Weitz came on board to direct, Sam Mendes was allegedly rumored to be directing
Allegedly Stoppard’s script was eventually rejected and Chris Weitz was appointed to adapt the script for The Golden Compass as well as direct it
Stoppard’s script is said to have had taken a direction too focused on the Majesterium rather than the story of Lyra
Producer Forte has been trying to make this film for almost 10 years
The producers had Nicole Kidman in mind for the role of Mrs. Coulter from the very beginning
Forte expressed a sincere concern and commitment to the authenticity of the film which is why they decided to shoot in London

IN
CONCLUSION

Although
it was unfortunate that we didn’t have the opportunities for any
interviews due to the crazy filming schedules and deadlines, it was
an impressive set to visit and witness.
Based on the footage and scenes, Richards captures the
essence of the innocent Lyra quite effectively thus making the
gamble of the open casting call worthwhile.
Kidman and Craig are
remarkable while

Pullman

‘s imagination is realized with a genuine recreation of a
multifaceted and philosophical world.
The cinematography is quite beautiful with enhanced vivid
colors that give a realism and authenticity to this alternate,
fantasy universe in THE GOLDEN COMPASS.