"All the Light We Cannot See" - Production Designer - Simon Elliott - Decorating Pages: TV and Film Design

Episode Transcript
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(00:08):
Decorating Pages is a podcast dedicated to taking you behind the
scenes of the designs of your favorite TV shows and films.
Each episode, I'll be sharing design stories from some of Hollywood's most
famous sets, interviews from set decorators, production
designers, directors, and actors about creating the look of TV
and film, about their design inspirations, and stories

(00:30):
that take sets from page to screen.
Hello. Welcome to the party, pal.
Welcome to the decorating pages. I am your host, Kim. Do you know what movie
that's from? Welcome to the party, pal. I mean, I like

(00:53):
the discussion that it's a Christmas movie. As
if killing people just because it lands on
was it Christmas Eve or Christmas day, then it becomes a
holiday film. I kinda think it is though because
I feel like they've started to push it during the holidays, and now I think
of it as one. So if you haven't guessed

(01:16):
it, tune out. No. I'm kidding. It's Die Hard. Come
on. It's Die Hard. Welcome to the party, pal. Remember he shoves the guy through
the window. Yeah. Awesome. How are you? Guess what? I'm sick
again because I have kids, and now I'm sick all the time. Probably gonna
be sick next 10 years. Awesome. I wanted to let everybody know
that the STSA awards are coming up. Oh, yeah.

(01:39):
The eligibility lists were just released if you had submitted
or were looking to get in on it. And the last
day for errors and admissions is the 24th May,
then nominations begin June 1st and close on
7th with nominations being announced on June
10th. And then final voting, and then the awards

(02:01):
are August 5th. They will be handed out. So good luck
to everybody there. It's the 4th annual
SDSA awards. I was a part of that
committee and I'm still, like, lingering. It's a wonderful thing that
the STSA has finally gotten this off the ground to
acknowledge set decorators, spy set decorators.

(02:24):
It's I just I'm in full support of all of this.
So please, check it out if you can. Again, the
nominations will be announced on June 10th. So good luck
everyone. What do I wanna talk about?
I, you know, I talk about all the films and TV
that I watch all the time, and

(02:47):
I actually watched something I worked
on this week, a film called Wonderland,
which I I haven't seen it in so long,
and it just flooded me with memories
of working on this film. So I thought I'd talk about
that for a minute. I thought I'd talk about that experience because

(03:10):
it came out in 2003, so I feel like I can give you some dirt
on it now and not get in trouble. Right?
I was a PA, an art department PA on the film. I was
hired by Franco Carbone, the production designer, and
John Zachary, the art director, who, if you have not worked with
John Zachary in this lifetime, you gotta do it because he's one

(03:32):
of the sweetest, most talented men ever. And I
had worked with the 2 of them previously on a film
which was called it was called Pretty When You Cry, and then they changed
it to see this season's greetings, which is a horrible name for the film. It
was kind of like softcore. So if you didn't see
it, you don't need to see that movie. But it was Sam

(03:55):
Elliott, and I forget the guy. But, so
I had worked with them on that, and this project came
up and they were looking for a PA and luckily I was available. I was
so available at the time. I needed a job so bad,
and thankfully they hired me. We
were a very small alter art department.

(04:17):
I don't even there must have been a coordinator. I did forgot to look that.
I don't know who it was. It might have been just the 4. I don't
know. There definitely was a coordinator. I should look that
up. But then the set deck
department was super small, and it was one of those things
where all of the departments are so small

(04:38):
that you get interaction with other
departments really easily. Like, I just remember all the time the
director, James Cox coming in to talk to
Franco all the time, and him being
super approachable and and very nice, and, so
yeah. So just if you haven't seen the film,

(05:00):
I think it's a pretty good film myself. I I like it.
It's about John Holmes, who was a part of the
Wonderland Murders in 1981 or
82. And he went to trial
for it, and he was a part of it. And it's a kind of
like he said, he said type of story of who do you believe, what really

(05:23):
happened that night, and 4 people were killed. And
it's it's a horrible story, true story, of the Wonderland Murders
up in Laurel Canyon. And we the location
that we shot at wasn't the exact house. It was, like, 3
or 4 houses down from the real place.
So that was super creepy going to that set.

(05:46):
And as a PA, you do many tasks.
Right? So let me just tell you a couple of my
tasks on this film, and I am not bitching about it at all. This is
what you do. This is how you learn. One of the cool things
was Franco had an idea for a mirror, a
specific mirror that he wanted over the bed,

(06:08):
and he gave me a picture of it and said, like, we
can make this. And so it was just these very
thin slats of glass, like, piled on top of each other,
and it's in the bedroom of the hotel room that they
stay in. And I took that mirror
since 2003. I've had that mirror, and I only just

(06:30):
got rid of it in the last couple months because it was kinda falling apart.
But I was so proud of that mirror and then it being a part of
the film. So that was awesome.
Another thing was they had to custom
make this bed for this drug dealer where they find a safe under the
bed. And the bed went into

(06:52):
this location and fit into this nook, and so they
wanted it all upholstered in, like, I think it was velvet or
something, red velvet. And he was I
don't even know who he had for construction, or maybe he didn't even have construction,
and maybe that's why it was kind of like, can you help find someone?
And at this time, I wasn't a decorator yet. I was still PA. I didn't

(07:14):
even know what I wanted to be yet. And I
went and found this car
upholsterer, like, down, like, in Adams District or somewhere funky.
But I gave pictures and drawings to this guy, and he was like,
yeah. I can do it. And I'm pretty sure that's how

(07:35):
that set was helped me. I'm pretty sure,
you know, you get fuzzy. But those are the type of things. Like, you have
to be resourceful. You have to go out and find things or resource
things as a PA and, you know,
do do other things like make copies,
which, there's a scene in the film where the

(07:57):
policemen are looking at crime scene photos.
And all of a sudden, it brought so many memories back to me
because we had the real crime scene
photos. And they asked
me to go to FedEx and make copies
of these photos. And I was on on

(08:21):
at FedEx on what is that? Vine
near Sunset?
Over you know, like, now it's like the arc light over there or, you know,
the behind the arc light with the McDonald's. It's a car, like, across from McDonald's.
I don't even know if the FedEx is still there. But I remember
taking these photos

(08:42):
into a FedEx and, like, looking around, like, oh my god. If
somebody sees me with all these bloody photos,
like, this is crazy, and they were traumatic to look
at. And a weird thing was is that
you kinda had to study them. And I mean, I wasn't in CEPTECH either,
but, you know, they were looking at what were the walls and the

(09:04):
wallpaper and everything. And I swear to you
that they were so
gruesome that it after weeks
went by, we thought that we were looking
at a woman dead on the bed, and it was a
guy. Like, it took us weeks or at least it took me weeks to figure

(09:26):
out who that person was on the bed. Well,
it was awful. It was really awful. And I wish
that I did didn't have those pictures in my
head. So yeah,
this crime was actually the first time that
videotape was used in a crime scene. So

(09:48):
the police went through with, like, a video camera and videotaped
the crime scene, and we had footage of that too. The other
thing is we used and they used that crime scene for
they used all the real stuff in the movies, which I don't think you could
do that now. I think you'd have to recreate it and use
those photos. Right? I don't I don't know. Crime scene photos

(10:10):
is kind of, that's touchy. So
there's a PA story for you.
I also you know, you go out, you do runs.
We were shooting over at Occidental, I think it was,
which is off of Beverly and, like, Temple, like,
over down there, like, by these

(10:34):
little tiny stages. And
the the,
the dressing rooms, the the the trailers were in this really
tiny parking lot. And I remember I had I was on a hot run
doing something, and I, like, zoomed up the stage, like, dropped something
off, and I went to back out of this tiny little parking lot, and

(10:57):
I hit Val Kilmer's trailer.
Like, I like, it went it shook. And thank
God that guy was not in the trailer because he
was already completely on edge during the whole film.
He he was very nice. Like, I would we would see him, and he's

(11:18):
always smiling, kinda like chewing gum or something. Like, that's kinda what I
remember. But then we
heard a story that he sent his
assistant out to get beverages for his trailer,
and I think it was a chick. And she came back with a bunch, and
then she came back with some diet Coke, and he got super pissed and was

(11:38):
like, what am I fat? And he, like, threw it at her. I'm not
I swear. I don't think I'm making this up. I really think that that happened.
I remember the story, and then I absolutely remember
that to, air quotes, get into character,
he trashed his trailer, like,
with, like, fake blood or whatever. Like, because there's a

(12:01):
scene where it's a it's a scenario that he was a part of these
murders, which apparently, I think he was. But,
yeah, totally trashed the trailer. So that was cool. I didn't have
to clean that up, though, as a PA. I didn't have to do that. I
don't know which PA had to do it, but somebody had to do it. And
speaking of doing it, I had to go

(12:23):
I don't know why. I think that they
bought sheets and then wanted to return them
and or they were rental sheets. Like, I don't
know why I had to do this, but they're
the crime scene is people being bludgeoned to death in bed.
Okay? And I got sent

(12:45):
to the laundromat on I think it's
sunset. It was like a laundromat slash Starbucks at the
time. It was like, what a genius idea.
Right near Alvarado and Sunset, and they sent
me with all of these bloody sheets to
get washed. I

(13:07):
seriously, like, was trying to hide that they
had tons of blood on them, And I don't even think the
blood came out. I think I bleached them and everything. I think I try I
was there a long time. That was, like, half of my day at least, like,
doing this huge loads of laundry of, like, white sheets with blood
stains on them. But that's,

(13:29):
I did that as a PA. I can I can say I did that?
What else? This is so much fun. I feel like I'm cleansing.
I don't know. I mean, I know that I had a really great time working
on that film and was just so into it
and so proud to be a part of, like, a

(13:50):
film and, it was awesome.
I mean and there were so many stars in it. There was the guy
there's Ted Levine is in it who is Buffalo Bill from
Psalms and Lambs. And one day at lunch,
there was a bunch of people at a table and they asked
him to say, place the ocean in the basket, and he

(14:14):
did it. It was. I believe he did it. I believe that
story. Oh, things get faggot, but how would I why would I make that up?
So I think he did his famous line for everyone, which was, like, super
cool. I remember him sitting with the crew at lunch all the time.
Like, a lot of the actors did. I think Val went in
his trailer, though. But yeah. And I think it's

(14:36):
like Paris Hilton's first movie, where she has a tiny clip in there.
I don't know. I had a great time on the film. It probably shot for,
like, 3, 4 weeks. It was super fast.
Set decorator, Jason Howard, did a fantastic job,
and, I've spoken to him about it through like, I think the last

(14:56):
time I saw him, I was like, hey. I actually was on Wonderland. He's like,
what? But yeah. And Franco has gone on to
do, like, a million, like, Sylvester Stallone movies and, like,
huge things. And John Zachary, again, is, like,
an amazing production designer at this point. I think he just I think he's
on Grey's Anatomy now. He's all over the place. He's great.

(15:18):
Please, if you get a chance, work with that man. He's amazing.
But, yeah, I had a huge crush on Josh Lucas at the
time. Huge crush. So it was like I was just in awe
to see him. And,
yeah, I don't know. That's about it. That's, that's what Wanna
watch this week, so I thought I'd take you down memory lane on that.

(15:43):
Yeah. So we, again, are
in our little Emmy preview
and f y c, and, it's getting it's
getting busy. We got a lot going on. We already have a full
month last week with Glenda Rivalo
of Frasier, Michael Nollen of mister and

(16:06):
missus Smith, Gina Alessi of Manhunt,
Helen Jarvis for Shogun.
I can't I have so I so many. We did a bunch of film studies.
James Philpott for death and other details.
Yeah. Mark Ricker and Cherish Hale for

(16:27):
Capote. And so coming up today, we have Simon
Elliott, the production designer for All the Things We Cannot See. Next
week, we have Michael Wiley, who it was
fantastic to connect with him because I'm such a fan. He
did, Avatar The Last Airbender, David
Grotman, my all time probably favorite guest before, for

(16:48):
right for Ripley, Kim Leonard, set decorator for Griselda,
Kirsten Mann, the costume designer on loot, and then I still have 1 or 2
pending so you might even get more. So I
got a lot. I got a lot going on. I'm trying to get everything out
before 13th for before Emmy voting begins. I don't know.
We might have to extend people. We might have to. There's a lot

(17:10):
there's so much good things out there. So many good things. It's
fantastic. So let's talk about
today. Today on this episode, I speak with production
designer Simon Elliott, the brilliant production designer
who his latest project is a limited series adaptation of
the Pulitzer Prize winning book, All the Light We Cannot See on

(17:32):
Netflix. Simon shares the fascinating details behind the
recreating of World War 2 France and the use of real
materials to authenticate the sets of this
captivating story and bring
in real wood, bring in real
stone using real materials to make these sets come to

(17:54):
life. We'll also just discuss the intricate
city scaled model that they created for the film,
working in underwater sets, and all
of this the the actress for this limited series was
was really blind, and the young actress who played it was really blind.
So we talk a lot about making the set safe when you

(18:18):
have those, elements and making
it comfortable for people. And, we also talk about
a stunning French palette that he has and a beautiful staircase.
I loved. So I hope you enjoy.
Hello. How are you? I'm good. Thank you. How are

(18:39):
you? I'm good. Are you east east coast, west
coast? No. I'm London. Oh, you're London?
Oh, man. What time is it? Yes. Yes. I'm London. It
is 5 o'clock in the evening. Yeah. Well, it's happy hour.
Then then we're we're good. Right? Exactly. Well, I'm so
glad that you could do this and I I It's my pleasure. I

(19:02):
promise all I'm gonna do is praise your work because it's
That's very kind of you. What a beautiful, beautiful
project you have have there and just
so impactful. I that's all I can say
about about the whole series. It's just so impactful and I I don't know how
many times I cried during it, but I

(19:23):
loved it. I just it's so heartwarming, and your
designs in there are just just gorgeous. So
Well, it's one of those you know, when when you're kind of working your
career, you know, you occasionally get those beautiful scripts that come along.
Mhmm. And you just go, oh, this is this is
going to be an absolute joy and pleasure Yeah.

(19:46):
To, to design. How did you get
involved with the project? So I was very
lucky. I was on a list of designers
that were put in front of Shawn Levy, the director,
and, he
checked me out, saw some of my work.

(20:09):
He had a friend a friend of his who had worked with me,
and, so there was enough there for him to then
have a meeting with me. So I I mean, I wonder I
wonder why you you you don't really have a great resume. Let's put it
Okay. I don't you don't I mean,
it's tremendous, really. It's like Thank you.

(20:32):
I think I, yeah, I think, for Sean, because Sean
is such a stellar director and works with,
you know, at a level. And I think maybe I think there was,
there and and and predominantly works in in the US. And I think
there was an unknown quantity to me. And, like any good
director, he did his due diligence, and then

(20:56):
and then was kind enough to invite me in for a meeting. And,
normally, when I go for a meeting, I do a a design as a look
book. Yeah. And it it is it is a a feel and a
flavor. Some of it's specific to the script. Some of it is
mood, atmosphere, just, and my emotional response,
really. And in this particular occasion, Sean

(21:17):
just went, that's that's the show.
Yeah. Don't change anything. I want
everything in your lookbook, and I want it translated onto onto
screen. Mhmm. And that's that was how I got the job.
Absolutely. But that having that connection right off the bat must have
been sort of a relief too because Oh, so

(21:39):
this was a long process. I mean,
it's prep and Yeah. Yeah. It it it was quite it
was well, for me, it was
probably only about 4 months,
prep. Yeah. So having some initial conversations
and then had flying out to Hungary. And

(22:01):
then, yeah, it was probably about 4 months before photography.
Yeah. So, actually, that's quite a lengthy time. But No. To
yes. To do the amount that we had to do, it was, you know, it
was, yeah, it was quite a challenge. How
was locate I mean, you have, so many locations in
this and and integrated with your with your build. Yeah. But

(22:24):
how how was location scouting? Was that
I I That was that was that was that was that was good
fun. I mean, I originally, there was an intention to go
to a different country, and
after much discussion, it was like, actually, I think
Budapest will offer us much more,

(22:48):
particularly, because we need the Paris, and
Budapest is a good substitute for Paris.
And there are kind of sections of of untouched,
Budapest, which are very easy to
recreate, historical kind of periods in
time, whereas trying to shoot in modern day Paris would

(23:10):
have just been Right. Just logistically kind of
just too much of a mountain to to to climb. So,
that was a good and the studio system is great, and they have great
technicians in Budapest. So, yeah, it was a it
was it it's it proved to be a good fit. Yeah. I'm there's a
couple and I think Wednesday was there, and Yeah. I've heard of,

(23:34):
many others in the past going through. Denis Villeneuve
loves Budapest. So he shot both Dune movies there. Oh.
All the studio stuff. In fact, we were tail enders as
they were coming in for June 2. We were leaving.
So, because We needed some sand. I'm sure they should've they could've
thrown some over to you. Yeah. So but we probably,

(23:57):
we probably built more sets than I
think some people have realized. I know. I wanna get into that because I I
think you did an awful lot of builds. And I I think
it they're built so well that you might not know that you might think that
they're locations, which is good. I mean, you're tricking No. That's that's I mean
that I love I love being surprised. You

(24:19):
know? And I'm a decorator, and I'm still like, that was the location. Right? Like
yeah. Okay. Well, hopefully, I can surprise you. Yeah.
Let's maybe let's just look at
this kitchen here, which I love. Yep. The door. I mean,
it is so heartwarming
and I mean, the the thing

(24:43):
to me is is that there's this big, long, like, farm table. Like,
you knew, like, this was such a gathering place for a family, and
Yes. And you can sort of imagine how it used to be before the war.
And you had 2 decorators or 1? You 2?
Well, that's a complicated story.

(25:05):
So, we had, I started with
1 who, for personal reasons, exited
quite soon in the process. Mhmm. And
then go. And then, I,
I'm quite you get 2 schools of of designers,

(25:26):
production designers. Those who are sort of
very intensely involved in zed decorating, and they feel that that's part of the
whole world, and those who are really comfortable just
focusing on architecture and locations. And, I'm
one of those designers who very much is all over set decorating.
So, with that in mind, we were

(25:48):
coming up to some big sets. So I
kind of took on the mantle of sort of principal set
decorator, and then I had amazing support
from Zuzi Zuzha, who is the Hungarian set
decorator. So it was really a double act of
myself, Zhujia, and her team, and I

(26:10):
had a UK assistant as well Good. That were the principal
set decorators, really. But, I mean, we all work together. I mean, it's
I can't I I I don't know how much tie I spend more time with
the production designers than I do my husband. I know that.
So Right. They're you're you're a forced family.

(26:30):
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. So yeah. So that
that that's how we how it ended up being,
managed, really. But this was our principal set build.
The house? This this house. Yeah. And it was 2
builds with a staircase, so it was split. We had the attic and
bedrooms on one one layered set, and then

(26:53):
this kitchen was part of, the full
staircase and the parlor.
I too wanna talk about the pallet that
you have. Yeah. And
wondering if that is I mean, it's period
and it's you have the French colors in there and everything like that. But

(27:17):
is it more influenced by the
story or because she's blind? Like,
with or these things that came into play?
So with me, color is
sort of instinctive. When I read a script, I see
colors. Mhmm. That sounds very abstract, but it is

(27:40):
a it's a gut response to a script usually.
And then through the process of creating the lookbook for the director,
and I when I'm sort of pulling images and putting them together, and
then once I start printing them out and putting them up
so you can see everything together,
the palette kind of emerges. So it's an instinctive thing. And

(28:03):
so these sort of, muted blues
and the pinks and the the yellows, they they all came
out of my initial response and the images that I was responding to. I
mean, this this blue is particularly French. Mhmm.
And Sean was very passionate about this this color.
And then this kind of French gray, which is quite a traditional

(28:25):
color for sort of provincial homes.
So it was there in a lot of reference. And then you, you know, you
turn it up and turn it down when you when you want to and play
with it. So it's an ins there's a an instinctive
level to it, but, also, there's a a
research element to it as well. Right. The,

(28:47):
I saw one, video of the actors walking in the
set and talking about the flooring and the unevenness
of the tiles and how authentic, all the
sets were. So bravo for that. The the actors are still talking about
it. That's that's lovely. I I
love, I love bringing real elements

(29:09):
into a set, whether that's found objects, architectural
salvage, the, real tiles,
you know, wherever you can that they bring a
quality to a set, particularly set that you're going to be in for such a
long time. And we were in there, and you know that
it gives a layer of authenticity for the

(29:31):
actors, for lighting, the way light bounces
off real objects. You know, we you can have the
most skilled painters. Yeah. But
somehow, sometimes that real patina of
of authentic items just it transcends and then
moves a set into a into a a different place. And that

(29:54):
sometimes helps blur the line for an audience being able
to know it's real or not, whether it's real or not. Yeah.
So yeah. So these these were these were real tiles. There's a lot of
real timber in this set. Yeah. And so
spliced together with with, obviously, beautiful construction work
and and even better scenic painting. Yeah. I mean and that

(30:16):
fireplace is so amazing and
so authentic too. Like, well, this is what they did they had. This is where
they cooked, and this is what it was. And it's but it's so it's not
even overpowering the room. It's it's just another character in there. It's so
beautiful. Yeah. And that that was lifted from a reference photo.
You know, when when I found it, I was like, that's got to go

(30:38):
into the kitchen. Oh. Because and also captivating that
that this house has a has a has had a life before
this family. So you find
in and still today in in provincial French homes
that you might have the original fireplace, then you have the modern

(30:58):
stove and the new way of cooking. You may not.
Particularly this period and in in rural homes, quite often, you might find
that, you know, the matriarch of the family is is cooking still
cooking on the old traditional ways on an open fire, and
some traditional French dishes are still cooked like that. And then, also, they
have modern appliances. And then in this particular period,

(31:20):
the the family have a gas stove as well.
Was there anything particular in in
the design of, like, the flow of
these rooms that you broke away from
a traditional thing, not just for camera, but for the
actors? Yes. I mean, there's a

(31:44):
there's a slight exaggeration of scale, that's
to to make it comfortable Mhmm. For for everyone to
work in. So there's that. And,
probably, just the orientation
of rooms and staircases so that you
can flow from staircase to room and

(32:07):
camera can be in a position where you get depth.
I love depth, so there's probably artificial
depth to the arrangement of rooms, so
that Cameron can be in the kitchen and look through in the hall and catch
the bottom of the stairs and the front door. Whereas a lot of
the way those houses are built is actually you know, it's room and

(32:30):
then room and then room and then room, and you don't really
see the connectivity. There's a
more practical so there's a much more artistic,
approach to how you arrange the rooms in order to
get, and invite beautiful shots from
the camera team. There's also, this I know

(32:52):
I know it's almost props, but I know that you were I know you
had to be in involved in this. Yeah. And it's such a story
point. It's I mean, it's that's this is it. The kind of
not to give anything away, but there's something very valuable in here.
Yes. Now this and this also included some stunts with it,

(33:14):
I mean, at the end did. And everything. I mean, there's a there's a lot
of intricacy in this model that
I'm sure was discussed in many meetings. It
was. Yes. The first the first debate was
the scale of it, how to get the right scale so that it it
it had a presence, but,

(33:36):
also was practical and that you could use it.
So there was many debates about that, and I think the first thing we
did, we plotted a a layout in in various scales, and then that
was put on a a table in the art department. And and
then, you know, somebody made little kind of cardboard houses, and

(33:56):
we played with scale. And, and then,
working out that it had to be beautiful to
look at, but also had to be believable that it was fit for
purpose. And the fact that,
we could, you know, believe that
she was mapping out her journeys through. And then we

(34:19):
explored various, different ways of making it.
We were 3 d printing at one point,
and that wasn't quite working. And then we were it was being carved out of
polystyrene at one point, and that wasn't working. And in the end,
it was handmade. Wow. And it's made of wood,
and several model makers spent a good amount of

(34:42):
time building
this beautiful yeah. I hope I hope someone took that
home. I I think I think I think it's
sitting in a crate in LA somewhere. Oh my god. Oh.
Is it But then it was a it was also important to explore
how would it have been made, what have been made up, so which is why

(35:04):
when you see detail, the idea was it was everything that
could be, that her father could lay his hands on.
So it's the idea is it's made from vegetable crates and wine boxes and
wine crates, and and that's why there's the beautiful graphics
Yeah. The the writing you can see here. All of that.
Yeah. No. The detail and the age on it. I mean, aging things

(35:27):
like this is really important too because it's not
those crates weren't new. You know what I mean? Like, it's it's so
well done. Yeah. No. We I mean, it was it was
nerve wracking, and there was a as you said, there was a lot of meetings.
And then I think the day I was supposed to present it,
I think we got they were running I it was put beside the

(35:49):
the stage where there was shooting, and I was very
tense. And and because because everyone was coming to look at
it, and then I think they overran on something so that then it
wasn't it wasn't my meeting was
canceled. And then, actually, I think in the end, it happened
really spontaneously without the pressure, and and it was all fine.

(36:11):
Yeah. Well, that's sometimes the best way. Like Yeah.
Yeah. Let's just instead of just talk about it, let's just come over to my
office, and we'll chat. Yeah. Yeah. We don't need everyone there.
The other thing that strikes me in this, and this is
a a a video that the actors are doing, but this is the
Yep. The scene. The these this wallpaper

(36:33):
and these textures that you've given to this room
It's still common. It's so gorgeous. It's so
gorgeous. I mean, yeah, I mean, it
it was obscenely expensive, that sale. Whatever.
It looks great. But but but but, I
thought absolutely worth

(36:54):
it. Oh, yeah. It's it's very common for
French homes to, put fabric on the
walls. And it and that that that lasts
for, you know, a a a good couple of centuries, and
went right through. And and, you know, you still find old homes which have
fabric on the walls. So and that was instinctive.

(37:17):
And then, yeah, and then just getting the warmth and that
that beautiful sort of pink color.
It was, yeah, it was at a French, fabric house, that
I went to and just, yeah, it's kind of one of those things. I'm sure
you have it as a decorator. You see something and you just go, that's
it. That's it. There it's. And then That's it. You build around it. Like, you

(37:39):
you're like, I have to do this, and then I'll I'll make cuts wherever I
need to, but this is what this needs to happen. And
then I found I I chosen the fabric,
and then the 2 chairs that you see behind
Mark, that was part of a salon suite,
that we found on French eBay. Yep. That

(38:03):
was then you know, when I saw it, it was, like, perfect color.
Mhmm. So that was that was a serendipity that
we did that. There's so much
furniture from Ebay, what we've said. Yeah. On their
account. We went shopping with French eBay, and because we had a
a a French side to the production, I was elating

(38:25):
things and putting them into a warehouse, and then we had a big truck Good.
That drove drove to Hungary with all these
beautiful exquisite French piece of furniture,
that were authentic and also specific to
the area that we were supposed to be in. So there's some bigger bits of
furniture, heavily carved that are

(38:47):
specific to that part of France. Uh-huh. That's
wonderful. It's amazing. I mean, we u I use eBay and
Craigslist and, like, 1st dibs and and cherish
never quite seemed to work out for me, like, shipping wise, like,
price wise, but I love looking on there. But No. That's
no. We all get lots of looking, and then they come back to reality. I'm

(39:09):
like, okay. There's gotta be a knockoff somewhere on eBay
or like Exactly. And then I I think
sometimes I kind of you know, you go home and I get, like, you know,
the kids go to bed, and I'm sat there kind of lost
Yeah. Searching and see doing search engines on eBay or Yeah. Facebook. And
then I arrive in the office with a big pile of printouts, and I

(39:31):
yeah. I've just found all of those. I think that'll you know?
We'll we'll make it work. Yeah.
I I believe you did a q and a in Los
Angeles, in December or something, and I had missed it.
And my friend went to it, but she heard you talk about the attic. And,
I believe that you had taken wood from We bought a

(39:54):
barn. Yeah. You bought a barn and used all that repurposed wood. How
genius. How wonderful to make that live again.
Again, it's, it's actually remarkably
reasonable to buy things like that. I'd
actually done it before in another production, in the UK,

(40:18):
and it had it it had shocked me how, cost
effective it was. So by doing it, you
gain all that beautiful timber, and it is
just, I mean, irreplaceable
to try and create it with the most skilled plasterers and painters.
It's just something very special about it.

(40:40):
So I was very lucky. I'm a construction manager.
When I had waxed lyrical about my love for authenticity
and real things,
after he'd showed me a
a molded foam beam and a plaster beam, and I'd
gone, yeah. They're they're lovely. But Yeah. Anyone

(41:04):
ever talk about real stuff here? And, and and to his
credit, he he he went on the quest. And so we we
we, we ended up with this amazing timber. And what was
particularly special was, when
Aria first stepped onto the the set, she
could smell it. Oh, that's fantastic.

(41:26):
Yeah. So that was a very, moving
new moment, because, it was
an extraordinary experience working with somebody who
experiences the world in a very different way.
And, you know, my whole career is based on my
sight. Yeah. And, it was

(41:49):
very humbling, to
be, to to be taken on a journey where
I was kind of educated and learned to
experience the world in a slightly different way. I mean, a a very different
way. And even from
explaining sex

(42:14):
in a way that was non
sighted. Mhmm. So all the things we take for granted.
That's awesome. Came that came about smell,
texture Right. Sound,
the the the the how the sound vibrates around a room, it,

(42:34):
yeah, it that that's when the the
floor texture came into play. That's when the sound of
floor made when when Aria Walton did. All of these things
took on a new importance,
which was, you know, it was a it was an extraordinary journey to go on

(42:55):
as a as a as a designer. I I that
strikes me so much because we are so visual. And, yeah, I
do you do feel textures, and you do do all this. But even
in this shot, I think to myself, my god. She doesn't even know, like, a
camera could be, like, 5 feet from her face. You know what I mean? It's
so intrusive filmmaking, really. And

(43:16):
it's not, you know, it's not this. Do you know what I
mean? This is your set. This is everything. It's just
gorgeous. But, you know, when all the lights and the bounce come in
and everything, it it makes such a different feeling. It must. I can't
imagine the feeling for her of, like, trying to suss
out the space that you've created so wonderfully, but then

(43:38):
having, like, a dolly track. You know what I mean? Aria.
Aria was remarkable.
So she, obviously, she spent time on the sets, and no one
was there. Mhmm. Or either myself or Sean
was there. And she

(43:58):
would negotiate and and and and
familiarize this. I've been committed to her mind memory,
and then it was no longer, an an issue. So it was
that that was extraordinary. Obviously, on the day to day Yeah.
Whenever it's getting pulled apart, things change.
But, watching Arya commit spaces

(44:21):
to her memory, was yeah. It was another one of
those kind of very kind of special moments when kind of I
was learning to experience everything a bit differently.
I did not read the book. I know. Bad Yep. Bad girl.
But, is the is the design of
this so specific in the book also as this is

(44:44):
of these of the worn down and the, like,
the ships and everything. Is this Right. Something to That was a
few. Yeah. No. That that yeah. That was yeah. It was,
it was trying to cap capture the idea of a
man who had once been, you

(45:04):
know, had the freedom and had experienced the world,
And then through the trauma of war was
then this this space was his world,
and he was so learned, and
his voice was traveling the globe. So it was how we brought
those elements of the world into

(45:28):
in a in a sort of slightly exaggerated, but also
a a a sort of a real way that that these dioramas
of ships and, you know, that, actually, they
exist, but having them in that quantity and just bringing the
the the world into this space so that we could have a
landscape that would, would kind of

(45:50):
give the audience something every time we're in there, because we're in there so much.
And then that it was his domain, and at the same
time, it was, the attic of the house. So there was the history of the
house was in the attic as well. And then he'd made the space in the
middle for him, and that was clean. But everything else, as he went out,
was more dusty. His, you know, his

(46:11):
sister doesn't really come in. She does a little bit, but doesn't really
come in. It was really his domain. So that's where it it
it it it came out from. There's so much character in it.
There's like, every little nook and cranny is so much character, and
so much of the structure is the character. It's so
beautiful. So beautiful. Yeah. It

(46:34):
was a lot of fun to create. And then I love god. I love a
model. I love models.
I love a foam core model. That I mean,
what that shows you is obviously the structure, but what that doesn't show you
is that that attic,
was 3 stories in the air. Uh-huh. Two and a half stories in the air.

(46:56):
So we had the staircase going up to it, the landing, and then the half
landing and the bedroom. So it was actually very,
very high. Oh, wow. And it was something
I was so fixated on having a staircase in
the, in the house. I think I have that. Wait. This.
Yes. Yeah. My god. It's so So there's It's so gorgeous. There's a

(47:20):
brief description. There's several descriptions in the book of the
house that are quite throwaway. One was that the house was
like, a spiral shell stood
on its end. And I read that,
and then I knew the script, and I thought this is,
this is what I got. This this staircase is so vital

(47:43):
to the atmosphere of this
house, the comings, the goings, the and particularly the
scene, at the end where, we have all the menace
and the threat. Yeah. And, it was something,
thankfully, Sean got behind. And we did a we did
a phone model, and then we did a digital model to show the the how

(48:05):
the the camera could use that space and develop
into, you know, a whole, heap of
of a a different way of shooting all these scenes. Oh,
yeah. So, yeah, that was that was very
exciting. Like this, like, I I feel as a viewer, you look at this or
maybe if you're thinking about it, you're like, well, the look at the location they

(48:26):
found here. Do you know what I mean? Like, with this being a build
is so spectacular. It's I mean
So going back to your point about kind of,
changing things slightly. So this staircase is
exaggerated in so much as the
the the well in the middle. That's quite rare

(48:49):
in in in houses of this type. Normally, it's it's a very
small, you know, gap down the middle, but, obviously, we opened
it up. We stretched and broadened the staircase in order to
get that amazing shot.
There's, so many, stairs lately. Like, I watched,
like, Ripley and, like, this and this. It's you know, but there those

(49:12):
are those are beautiful, real kind of they pick the best best
locations all over Italy. I mean, stunning. I know.
I and I recently just watched this Orson Welles film, and there's
a staircase in that and just the shots and the and
the the, and and with this, you know, with the window
right there and getting the shadows and everything and making it

(49:34):
menacing or like it's it's such a wonderful
tool, staircases as a plot point too. Because, like,
the fear of that, you're falling down, you're you're running up,
anything, it's it's such a great
little tool. I think the directors shoot it correctly. Yes. And
and then I think also when you when you I mean, I love burying myself

(49:57):
in research. And and then when you're looking at old photos and you're
looking, you know, at old kind of architectural drawings and things like that, and
then you find the whimsy that you never thought existed, say, things like
this window with the stairs kind of cross in front.
Yeah. Now if I hadn't seen that
in a reference, I would never have thought to do it because I would have

(50:19):
then done what I would have expected, that the window was more
balanced in the wall. Right. But because I saw a beautiful
old photo, which I thought, that's perfect. That's how I
light the treads Yeah. Above, below, and and
then adds to the quirkiness of the
the the house Yeah. That it is

(50:41):
this strange rambling sort of character of its own, and
then, yeah, and then playing with wallpapers, which I love. So
yeah. It shows off that gorgeous wood floor too. I mean Yes.
It really Yeah. Captures that too. Did I skip something? Oh, the
blowing up of the room, which Yeah. It's was so sad.
So sad. But I'll probably,

(51:03):
Sean, early on when we were talking about the
poetry of the piece, the book is very poetic, and
that Sean was very, keen to capture that. That there was a
lyricism and a poetry to the piece, and
that in a way, the destruction of that
beauty made it you feel it, and that that

(51:26):
visual sense, you made it feel eviscerate. So
not only is that the the tragedy of the the
characters, but, also, there is this other layer of of
this poetic beauty being destroyed as well. Yeah.
And and her whole world. I mean, that's her whole world there. It's you just
feel so bad that it's all happening to her. It's just

(51:47):
Yes. Guys running after. It's sad.
This, I loved I actually, I have little boys,
and I believe when I went back to watch this, I had I was
skimming, and I was like, look at the dinosaur. Look at the bones. I'm
like, look at this. Like, this is
a location that you built all this in, and then the jewelry

(52:10):
rooms and This is a library in Budapest,
who couldn't have been more helpful. Oh. And we we built
we built the museum inside. So,
I think it you can't quite see it from this photo, but, you'll
see all around the bottom layer. You can just see

(52:32):
all the cabinets in the walls. Oh, right. All
the area to bones and things. Well, they were all bookcases, and the
library beautifully removed all the books, thousands
of Paris. And then we put the cabinet
and some of the bookcases and then filled them with various bones
and fossils. And then I was lucky enough to

(52:55):
find all those period
museum cabinets. Mhmm. There was a happened to
be a a a supplier in the UK,
who who had salvaged them from a museum. And so
we snapped them up, and we shipped them over to, Hungary.

(53:15):
And then a beautiful sculpting job on on the triceratops
and the, T Rex. Yeah. I mean, these are
huge dresses, huge dresses of transforming a a
beautiful, shell, beautiful booting. I
mean, all But credits to my team because we had such time. You
know, the nature of these these beautiful locations is

(53:38):
they are they have a lot of restrictions. You
know, the financial cost of of booking something and closing
something. So, the team were amazing
in doing quite extensive dresses in very
limited time frames. Yeah. It gets it gets tight.
I I love when they keep the business open, and you're make

(54:00):
and you're making it into something else, and the customers are walking by like, what's
going down this aisle? Like, what I mean, that happened that happened on the
street. There's there's actually a a whole sequence that didn't
make it into the show where we turned
a a street. We had a nighttime scene, but we
turned it into an area of of Paris called Pigalle, which is all nightclubs

(54:22):
and and restaurants. Mhmm. That we just, it was like
we were the, entertainment. So we had
crowds watching us Yeah. Working. Yeah.
Yeah. So it's walking down the middle of the set, but the camera is just
kind of as if they were at a a amusement park. Yeah. Or trying to
get in. Or, like, when you're addressing something, people try to get in, and they're

(54:43):
like, look at these dinosaurs. Like, oh, like
Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's it's always great when the location's open to the
public. But Yeah. Now I'm assuming this was all a build
ish or add on. If this was all a build. Right? No. It's all a
build. Yeah. My gosh. It's huge. It's a tank. Were you in a
tank? How did you do this? Yeah. We were in a tank. A

(55:05):
a small exterior tank. In fact, actually, there
there are pictures of how
big we ended up. Yeah. We had a huge,
tent over the whole thing. But, yeah, this is,
yeah, this was this was a challenge, this set,
to say the least. Because there's stunts in there and

(55:28):
making it safe for the actors and Making it safe for the actors and
camera? It's it's it's alien for,
most of the the the sighted members of crew, you know, working in
water Yeah. And let alone when, you know, you
have to consider Arya.
So, yeah, so all those walls are

(55:51):
rubber. Oh, wow. So
So sculpted out of rubber? Yeah. Wow.
So so we they we bought loads
and loads of oysters. They were then mounted, and molds were
taken. And they meant that there could be, an organic
nature to any of the fight sequences. And we didn't have to worry about

(56:13):
hitting a mark or or making sure, you know, there was this
section of wall because that's all. So,
yeah, huge swathes of this were all all
made out of rubber, and testament to
my painters, because, yeah, it's
flawless. Yeah. And then and then,

(56:35):
the then having a a the floor is is
perforated steel to allow the water to go up and down,
but also to give Aria, and it's rubberized. It was rubberized
as well so that Aria had, was completely sure
of foot. There was no obstacles to her.
So once she come down, she has an entrance down a quite a tricky

(56:57):
staircase Right. Which she more than happy to
do. I was so worried that I would lose the
artistry and creativity of the staircase because of practicalities, but
Aria was amazing. And then once she'd stepped
off that and and into the water, it was completely smooth,
rubberized just, just to give her as much

(57:19):
confidence to feel that she was capable of doing anything
in that in that space. It that's how big was
this? Did you how many stages did you have?
We had 2 stages,
and the tank. And on one stage, we had the house,
which was and on the other stage, we had

(57:43):
4 sets. So, it was 3, then one
came down, and then we built another. Mhmm. And then the this was
out in the, on the exterior tank. I know what
I forgot to put in here was that bar. I forgot to I was
gonna ask you about that bar. I forgot to put a in. It's that that
was a build. Right? That was a build as well. Yeah. I mean So so

(58:04):
the bill our builds were, the the hotel fees,
the bar, the museum vault Oh,
wow. The, the bakery, the
the the backroom of the bakery Mhmm. Again, where the bombs go
off. The cellar with

(58:25):
all the where the radio where the where the radio where they're working on the
radio and the bomb ceiling collapses. So that
was those and then the house and then,
yeah, this. And then but then you had, like,
you had all the and you built this bridge. Right? Yes.
Yeah. So, But this is this

(58:47):
outside, or is this inside? It's out no. It's outside. So
outside. Oh, wow. It's is got this amazing fortified
wall all the way around it. And we had,
every intention of going and shooting as much as we could in San
Malo, but, it it seemed to became apparent that
it was just not gonna happen. San Malo, it was the

(59:09):
height of summer. It's the one of the, you know, huge tourist
place, you know, everyone. So it
became apparent that I would need to build a section of the wall. So this
was a this was a facsimile of a section of the wall of Semale,
that we could then do, and we built it, you know, at on the back

(59:30):
lot in Budapest. Oh, that's great. And and what we
did was we went to Saint Malo, and we filmed on
one of the beaches there so we could, you know it was really important for
everyone that we actually shot something
in Semarai because the book is so you know? Right. It
that's yeah. The But we only shot the beach, and then we

(59:53):
found an alternative town for our version of San Malo.
The, the some the location where where the
buildings are, like, crumbled and everything, would
that be were there buildings there that were, like, half blown up, or did like,
were those builds? Like, I I was like, where did they get these?
So, in the in the EEA, you can buy in the streets of the town

(01:00:15):
after the bombing raid. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. No. That that that's all
construction. That's all, Yeah. We were,
blessed again. We went to a town in,
South of France, and it's called Villefranche du Rouecue,
and they rolled out the red carpet for us. It's a stunning

(01:00:36):
town, but somehow has not quite made it onto the
tourist routes. Let me write that down.
Yeah. Let's hit that. They got a winery?
Sorry? They got a winery? Oh, this I mean, it's beautiful part of
the world. It's a beautiful part of the province. But it's just yeah.

(01:00:56):
And so it's unspoiled streets
and streets of beautiful old buildings. And
they just let me go to
town. So we, you know, obviously, we we fronted
endless businesses, you know, and they and we put up
shutters, and we closed businesses, or we redressed

(01:01:19):
their their shop windows. And so we complete you know, they let
me I mean, that that square that we're
in is medieval Yeah. In our there's a
huge cathedral, stunning cathedral in the square, and
yet they let me burn a carousel in the middle of
medieval square and, you know,

(01:01:40):
burn cars and, yeah, they they I mean, they couldn't have
been more helpful. Oh, that's great. Very So there's scope
yeah. So there's, those big piles of rubble
Yeah. They're all lightweight. They
were all made of, you know, a a a frame structure
with canvas and, sculpted rubble

(01:02:03):
on the top, each we painted. And then on top, we did a
wonderful layer of broke the broken furniture and
the Uh-huh. People's possessions and and, you know,
all of those things that were then there. It meant that we any at any
given time, because we had we had a rolling schedule of road posters.
So when we finished, we had to then open roads that then people

(01:02:24):
either either pedestrians or indeed traffic could
utilize. So, yeah, it was like a kit of parts. So I
think a to f of
different shapes, and each each configuration was
and we've got a and b here and, j
and you know, it's a it was a kit of parts. It's always

(01:02:46):
whenever you see, like, war aftermath movies, it's always
like, man, I did I always think, like, now is it
just, you know, they they CG that or, like, how did they
get that? Because I you assume a lot of times that these Yep.
Buildings have been either torn down or rebuilt. So
Yep. It's finding things We had we had we had, obviously, we

(01:03:10):
had a CG, augmentation, and and there are some set extensions.
So when you see in the in the deeper background, you
know, completely collapsed buildings, that's yeah. Yes. That
And everything kind of foreground or midground, I I most of that is
practical. Wow. That's a it's such a big dress. It's such
a huge dress. I know what it is.

(01:03:32):
Yeah. I I love the blue
the blue green here and and the way that every
all the the the wardrobe and the characters just pop off
of this blue. Was this exterior in
that specific town or yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
So, yeah, I think that's yeah. That shot's in a in a in a

(01:03:54):
in in in Villefranche. Mhmm. Yeah. So we,
we found the square where we put the again, the hunt for the house took
ages Yeah. To find the perfect exterior. And we found
that beautiful square, and,
yeah, this was this was actually a big,
shop window that we took out. Oh.

(01:04:18):
Yeah. And put, obviously, our our set into
the archway. The rest of the house was absolutely perfect,
but there was a there was a modern, sort of, shop
window and door in this archway. But you
can never find anything perfect. No. That's kind of
That's the fun. Yeah. That's the fun of it. Yeah. You can go

(01:04:40):
to yeah. I'm going to you know, we're gonna take that window out. We're gonna
paint that house. We're gonna, you know, sound right. And in and there
there was a couple of shops that we well, it's more than a couple of
shops that we did a makeover on in this
town that were empty, and had been
boarded up or they've been fly posted and things like that. And the

(01:05:01):
mayor, actively asked us
to leave. So there in this town, there are now
remnants of our shoot, and that's some periods. That's a compliment.
That's a huge compliment. Yeah. Just, yeah. And so we kind
of left a little mark and contributed a bit to just
lifting the, lifting the town. Did

(01:05:24):
you have any sort of,
huge obstacles in this that we were like, I just we can't do
we can't, and then it's and then you do? Is there was there anything,
like, location wise or set wise that you felt like
it was almost nearly impossible for the guests to get this done, and but we
did it. The I mean, the the was

(01:05:47):
was probably there was so many conversation,
endless about the scale, how we would
approach it, how to get the water moving,
and and the complications of having the challenges of Aria being able
to be comfortable. So that was probably the set that
had the most conversations about it. Models,

(01:06:10):
digital models, endless kind of, you know,
how do we do this? How do we do that? And then, of course, the
challenge, poor Tobias. I'm going I'm building a
grotto, and there are no windows. So how did
we kind of give Tobias a biting chance of getting some
light in here? Yeah. Yeah. So,

(01:06:32):
yeah. Not with that. That that was probably but but
everything else, like, my wild is kind of, you know, I want
to burn a can I burn and set fire to a build a carousel and
set fire to a carousel in the middle of this town and
expecting everyone to just laugh at me and go, it'd be so ridiculous?
And getting the sign off from from the the town and the

(01:06:53):
mayor. They get, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's fine. And I'm just I told
Sean a reference image of the of the carousel on fire. And when you're gonna
put that in that scene. I'm going, yes. He said, and they're learning it. I'm
going, yes. So it's testament
to gray location's team, who really went
to bat for me whenever there was a challenge, like setting

(01:07:15):
fire to cars in the town or blocking streets. They, you
know, they really got behind the spirit of the show.
Yeah. And and and and nothing was too much trouble. So then suddenly, you
know, the danger when that happens for a designer is that I keep
moving the goalpost and ask for a bit more Well, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's

(01:07:36):
some That's the track of a good designer. You never go
backwards. You keep pushing forwards. Yes. But to be honest, I
don't think I ever got that, you know, a
a hard no where I went, oh, really? Mhmm. So
yeah. I think that's why the show is so special. Yeah.
I I think it all shows on screen too of just the

(01:07:59):
sometimes I just feel like you can tell people
were into it when they worked. I don't know. There's something that I
feel like you can tell when you watch things. Like, this is like
a passion project or but it's I mean, obviously, it's a big Yeah. Project
project. It's not a passion, you know, indie film or something, but you could see
the love and tenderness put into this. Yeah. And the

(01:08:21):
delicacy and and everything and the sensitivity, it's just but
it's beautiful. It's just beautiful. I will say I mean, I was
blessed. I mean, Sean Levy is an exceptional director, but he
also placed his faith in
me and his trust very early on
and allowed me to fly in a way. You know, he didn't. It wasn't one

(01:08:43):
of those really where, you know, keep pulling you back and
pulling back and going. He really let me fly. So
that was, you know, special because, you know, we all experience
productions where it doesn't quite work out. Yeah.
Well, I think too, but when you are a good

(01:09:05):
director, a good designer, a good decorator, and you
let your team you trust your team Yes. And you let them
do their job. And you let them and then you don't have to worry about
it. And you, you know, they're bringing you they're all collaborating together.
It's really without the doubt. Yeah. And, good producers
let you do that too. I think. Yep. They do. Yes.

(01:09:27):
Yes. Are you working on anything? I am. I'm
doing a I'm doing a 6 part thriller for Netflix.
Oh. Yes. That's fun. Set in set
in the UK. Nice. Yep. Well, then I'll
talk to you I'll talk to you again. Contemporary.
Oh, nice. Little change. It's a little a little shipper. Like,

(01:09:50):
it's, yeah, it's contemporary, but, it's, yeah, don't give too
much away. But, Well, that's still It's still a it's still a a
really interesting design piece. Is it, is it
busy over there? No. It's not at the moment. It's very
quiet everywhere. Yeah. Still here still here
too. It's a little It's just starting to, but

(01:10:12):
it's very small amount that's picking up.
Yeah. Yeah. You can't quite hear an echo, but,
you know, like, little things are here and there.
Yeah. But not enough really to sustain, you
know, the No. Scale of the injury. It's very
it's weird, but, it's in the back of my head. I still think, oh,

(01:10:36):
they're always gonna make projects. Like, it's just bizarre to
me. We're just in a little slump or something. But I think too big.
Right? The the bubble got very big. Yeah.
Needed to deflate a bit, and I think then it's just finding
its new level again. And and then, you know,
this, obviously, the the, you know, the strikes

(01:10:58):
and everything just, you know, everything just had its moment,
and now we're just yeah. Things are all good and resolved and but
it's still finding its finding its new level. I
just finished 2 Netflix half hour comedies, and,
I must I do like working for Netflix, though. Like, I love that
they put time like, effort and money into, like, good

(01:11:20):
projects and everything. So Yeah. I It's my yeah. The
one I want now will be my 3rd with, with Netflix. I did a
I did a Black Mirror a long time ago. Yeah. But,
yeah. But yeah. No. I I I I yeah. It was a, I mean, a
joy. You know? Yeah. I I I
enjoy I enjoy the streaming world, I must say. So

(01:11:44):
less clearance issues and more money.
And, also, a chance to really explore worlds
if you're lucky to get the right script and Yeah. You
know, and and to explore stories and, you know,
just longer you know? Like, this
could've been a 2 hour movie, but they took the time

(01:12:06):
to, you know, expand the story and tell the whole book and everything.
So Yep. Yeah. I love that. I love that there's so there is
creativity, that they appreciate, I think, and I think
it's great. I love the series. I think it's great. I think you did a
phenomenal job, and I'm so happy to connect with you. It's been No. That's great.
Kind of you. I, you know, I appreciate everything you've said. I mean, it yeah.

(01:12:27):
No. It was one of those special
projects Yeah. Coming together with a great bunch of people,
you know, at Tobias lit lit my
sets so beautifully. Yeah. So Thank
you. So it it was just, yeah, it was just a great
collaboration. Oh, that's awesome. So it was,

(01:12:48):
yeah, coming together. Just sometimes, you know, it it doesn't quite come
together and and but this just yeah. It was it was great.
Well, I hope to, I hope the work is,
noticed in the, in the voting system because I everyone
I know has seen it. So I think you're gonna get a chance,
but it's beautiful. So thank you so much for, taking this time with me because

(01:13:12):
I mean, although I'm a decorator, I still love and appreciate everyone's work, and
I just love talking about it. I love talking about joy of
what we do is that, you know, you can, still go to the
cinema or turn on the television and and appreciate
good work, you know, and and, you know, that's So much
good work out there too. So Yeah. There is. There is

(01:13:34):
some very great stuff out there at the moment. Well, have a good
dinner. Thank you. I wouldn't keep you too much. Yeah. No. No. No. That
was perfect. Thank you very much. Well, thank you so much. See you soon. Okay.
Okay. Take care. You too. Bye bye. If you
have not seen this limited series, it's
so good. It's a real cry and,

(01:13:59):
very emotionally fulfilled, I would
say, after seeing it. And, I
love Hugh Laurie, who's in it, who was in Veep. And I just think that
that man is just a tremendous actor that, obviously,
he can pull off anything. But, all of the actors in it,
just a phenomenal performance and the sets and

(01:14:22):
costumes. It's, you can
tell that a lot of love was put into this project. So
thank you so much to Simon for, joining me on this
and and speaking about it. Just really great. I really wanted to
ask him about,
Iron Lady because he did that. I didn't have time. That was a

(01:14:45):
bummer, because I'm a fan of that film too. I think he did a tremendous
job there too. So but, hey, maybe next time, man. We'll
never know. I hope, I hope you got an earful.
I'm Kim Wonup. I I told you in the beginning, we have so
many great interviews for any
consideration. So I hope that you are following

(01:15:08):
along. And don't forget to check out the YouTube page because everything
we talked about here, I do have snippets on the
decorating pages YouTube page. So if you'd
like to follow along, please go over there and hit it. As they
say, you'd like and subscribe, and I'm never gonna tell you that again.
How about that? I hope you got an earful. I'm Kim on

(01:15:30):
up for decorating pages.

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"All the Light We Cannot See" - Production Designer - Simon Elliott

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}"All the Light We Cannot See" - Production Designer - Simon Elliott