It's one thing to defy gravity. It's quite another to defy expectations. Such was the challenge for director Jon M. Chu when adapting the hit musical Wicked into a live-action movie, arriving in theaters on November 22. "My goal was to go beyond the matte paintings, beyond a digital world, and really let the audience step into Oz," he notes.
"The emotions in Wicked are so deep and true. I didn't just want a fantasy world beyond our reach. I wanted an immersive space where our characters could come to life." Conceived by production designer Nathan Crowley, the sets nimbly subvert the familiar with the fantastical-layering architectural homages, narrative touchstones, and cinematic razzle-dazzle into an expansive magical realm.
"The pitfalls of the history of Oz are immense," Crowley reflects, referring to past representations of the fictional land onstage, in film, and in literature. On one hand, he notes, "we had to nod our caps to the source material." On the other, "we needed new excitement, color whimey".
At Sky Studios Elstree, on the outskirts of London, the team mapped out the film scene-by-scene, using models, illustrations, and visual references to crystallize each environment. "You have to dive in and start somewhere," Crowley explains of the concept-driven approach.
This story is from the October 2024 edition of Architectural Digest US.
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This story is from the October 2024 edition of Architectural Digest US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Elements of Style - Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry celebrate 10 years of artistic exploration at Hermès
Last March, Hermès brought its home universe to life in eye-popping fashion at a one-night-only extravaganza staged at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. The lavish performance featured dozens of dancers showcasing the French luxury house's furniture, tableware, textiles, and decorative objects in elaborately choreographed vignettes that seemed to riff on the unboxing ritual so popular on social media-a supersized spectacle of conjuring magic from ordinary crates. The event also coincided with the 10th anniversary of Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry's tenure as artistic directors of the Hermès home division.
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