Cinefex Weekly Update | Issue 18

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Article by Joe Fordham

3,197 years ago, a beautiful woman absconded with a youthful prince from a neighboring city and inspired her jealous husband to mount a mission to retrieve her, gathering a fleet that -- legend has it -- numbered 1,000 ships. Now the subject of Warner Brothers Pictures' historical drama, Troy -- adapted from classical texts by screenwriter David Benioff and directed by Wolfgang Petersen -- the story has exploded onto theater screens with a stellar cast, vast scenes of war and some of the largest sets ever constructed on a feature film location.

Assisted by physical effects, makeup effects and visual effects from four London effects studios, production designer Nigel Phelps resurrected the ancient city of Troy and launched the Greek attack almost entirely on location in Malta and Mexico. "Wolfgang wanted to make the film look as real as possible," stated visual effects supervisor Nick Davis. "He wanted to show the sheer scale of battles and the massive Greek armada, but he wanted the camera right in there with his stars, really on the ocean."

Art director Cliff Robertson initiated warship design by drafting conceptual renderings for two full-scale seaworthy vessels, extrapolated from historical reference. "Both ships were 'monoreme' designs," related marine coordinator Mike Turk. "Unlike a bireme or a trireme, which had two and three decks of oars, monoremes had a single bank. It was the oldest and simplest style of vessel, which helped keep labor costs down for rowing; but they had to look enormous, very high-sided and menacing."

Turk's family business, R.J. Turk and Sons -- based in Kingston upon Thames, near London -- has been building ships since 1710, during the reign of Queen Anne, and has supplied boats and ships for film and television dating back to MGM's A Yank At Oxford in 1938. Turk drew upon his maritime lineage for Troy, referencing the 1987 reconstruction of Olympias -- an Athenian Trireme of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. -- led by John Morrison, former President of Wolfson College, Cambridge. "I knew Professor Morrison," said Turk, "but we only used his research on the oars. In fact, because we were working from Cliff's drawings, we worked backwards, figuring out what lengths our oars needed to be to reach the water -- doing everything arse-about-face!"

Turk's naval architect, John Heath, devised working drawings from the designs. An oar specialist then built 19-foot-long oars out of spruce, and Turk's team built masts and spars at his boatyard in Kingston. The main structural build took place at Cassar Dockyard, close to the main filming location in Malta, where steel fabricator Norrie Henderson lead construction of the hulls -- one measuring 120 feet, the other 140 feet. "We didn't try to build the hulls traditionally in timber," Turk said, "because we only had four months to build them." Steel hulls helped the ships comply with maritime safety standards. "We built them to the same standards as passenger ships that cross the English Channel. They had no cabins or sleeping accommodations and, in fact, no toilets; but otherwise they complied to day-sailing regulations for 100 people."

The art department devised six liveries for the ships depicting different ornamentations for tribes of the allied Greek forces. Turk's team created sails using flax, an authentic material to the period, and designed custom rigging. "We had no historical detail whatsoever about rigging," Turk explained, "so we used our best means of guessing. But they sailed all right, so we guessed correctly!" Sailing was accomplished with combinations of oars and wind power, assisted by a pair of diesel engines mounted aft, beneath the waterline, in line with twin rudders. Helmsmen used engines to position warships in shots and bring the 70-ton vessels up to speed.

Bringing manpower up to speed proved a bigger hurdle. "We only had six days of training," related Turk. "I brought out six Watermen from England, who were expert rowers -- tug skippers and passenger boat masters from the London River, and winners of Doggetts, the oldest rowing race in the world -- and they trained our local oarsmen, who were made up of waiters, out-of-work cooks, chefs and other colorful characters." Despite the ragtag crew, warships performed impressive feats of seamanship. "For one shot, they wanted the camera to hang out over the water, shooting under the bow, then rising up and descending over the stern. We did that on the Mall, outside Valletta harbor, running the ship by the camera within five feet of the sea wall, with ocean liners and ships sailing by as we came out. We got up to about 14 knots -- that was bloody fast."

Warships roamed up and down the Maltese coast, shooting ten days of first unit with principal performers, and three weeks with second unit, accompanied by an armada of 25 ancillary ships coordinated by Turk. Support ships doubled as camera craft, two passenger ferries served as lunch and toilet facilities, while a flotilla of safety boats, police and security trafficked the area. Turk's team also constructed a half-boat launch to represent Spartan King Agamemnon's barge and smaller period vessels similar to Arab fishing boats.

At the end of the Malta shoot, warships were dry-docked, then the art department recycled sails, masts and rigging in Mexico, constructing beached versions of the ships using molds taken from the hulls. With digital enhancement by Framestore CFC, and building on years of maritime history, the ships provided dramatic underpinning to an epic adventure. "A Turk built a warship in defense of the realm to the south of the Tower of London in 1295," Turk remarked, "so we have been building warships for some time! It was quite dramatic stuff. I hope it comes across on film."

For the complete story on the effects of Troy -- featuring interviews with Nick Davis, The Moving Picture Company, Framestore CFC, physical effects supervisor Joss Williams, makeup effects supervisor Daniel Parker and more -- look for Cinefex 98 in July.

One license. One artist. Six weeks. 150,000 realistic characters.

"Massive is a lot easier than people think," says Jordi Bares of The Mill in London.

"It feels like the 80's again, when this was a cool job with cool people showing the world something radically new. Massive is the hottest new tool everybody wants. The bar has been raised, and there's no turning back."

Compiled by Joe Fordham

Constantine: Check out the first spooky teaser trailer here for this film adaptation of Alan Moore's Hellblazer character starring Keanu Reeves as a world-weary investigator of supernatural mysteries, who walks a thin line between the ordinary world and one populated by demons. Francis Lawrence directs, with effects by ESC Entertainment, Stan Winston Studio, Tippett Studio and others.
Hellboy 2: The Hollywood Reporter states that director Guillermo del Toro will be back for more red devil fun. Mike Mignola will develop the new story with del Toro. Mike Richardson and Lloyd Levin will produce again for Revolution Studios and Dark Horse Entertainment. No word of a release date, but more details can be found here.
Books of Magic: THR also states Swedish directors Simon Sandquist and Joel Bergvall will direct an adaptation of this DC Comics' precursor to the Harry Potter books. Written by Neil Gaiman and first published as a graphic novel series in 1990, the story is about 'a bespectacled teenager learning magic in contemporary London.' Mark Canton, Bernie Goldmann and Steve Barnett are producing for Atmosphere Entertainment, and Alan Riche and Tony Ludwig are producing for Riche-Ludwig -- all under the banner of Warner Brothers Pictures.
The Incredibles: Click here for domestic troubles with this crimefighting family featuring Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone. The CG superhero fun is coming November 5 from Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, and director Brad Bird.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The official teaser website has appeared for this science fiction satire based on the popular novels and radio play by Douglas Adams, with a report from the set on the third anniversary of Adams' untimely death. The site includes a brief, soundless video clip of an early test of the robot suit for Marvin the Paranoid Android. The production is now in its fifth week of shooting in England. Click here, don't press the red button and, above all, don't panic!
Death, Jr.: Variety reports Circle of Confusion and video game development company Backbone Entertainment are developing film and comic book versions of this Backbone property, which is being created as a video game for Sony's forthcoming portable version of PlayStation 2. Lawrence Guterman will reportedly direct the feature film version, about an ordinary teenage boy who discovers he is the offspring of the Grim Reaper.
Van Helsing: Industry professionals and guild members are invited to click here to reserve tickets for the Entertainment Technology Center in Hollywood, where filmmaker Stephen Sommers' new Universal monster movie will be digitally screened, May 24 at 7 pm. The screening will be followed by a question and answer session with Sommers' long-time editor and producer Bob Ducsay. Admission is free with proof of professional and/or business affiliation -- such as guild or union card, business card or student ID.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Narniaweb.com -- which is doing for C.S. Lewis what TheOneRing.net did for Lewis' old pal J.R.R. Tolkien -- has announced that director Andrew Adamson has cast Tilda Swinton as the White Witch, nemesis of the fantasy realm of Narnia in Walden Media and Disney's upcoming fantasy classic adaptation of Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Previous reports that Nicole Kidman would take the role were proven to be bogus. Narniaweb.com also notes that Harry Gregson-Williams will score the film and 'a real lion' will play Aslan.
Cowboys and Aliens: The Hollywood Reporter states Escape Artists and Platinum Studios are producing this 'high concept tentpole' production for Columbia Pictures. Written by Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Donnelly, the film is adapted from a Platinum comic book, and concerns an extraterrestrial threat in the Wild West 'where cowboys and Indians must put aside their differences to battle an alien invasion.'
Darkwatch: Curse of the West: Coincidentally, Variety reports screenwriters Glen Morgan and James Wong are adapting a science fiction western for Sammy Corporation, based on a video game. This one is described as being about a train-robbing cowboy who is recruited by a secret organization to battle vampires and other supernatural creatures.
Tideland: Variety reports filmmaker Terry Gilliam will next adapt this novel by Mitch Cullin about a young girl in rural Texas who escapes the grim reality of her life by wandering through a surreal fantasy world, accompanied by four disembodied doll heads. The British/Canadian co-production is scheduled to start shooting September 7 in Saskatchewan, Canada, once the director has finished his current project, The Brothers Grimm. Gilliam has co-written the Tideland screenplay with Tony Grisoni.
Fantastic Four: IGNFilmforce.com reports this Marvel Comics adaptation will start shooting in August, directed by Tim Story. Per producer Avi Arad, casting should be completed in several weeks.
The Ruins: The Hollywood Reporter states DreamWorks has optioned this novel by Scott Smith for Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld's Red Hour Films. Smith, author and screenwriter of A Simple Plan, will adapt his own novel about 'something evil' lurking in the jungles, and presumably the Mayan ruins, of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
René Laloux: Animation World Network has posted an obituary and retrospective here about the life and career of animator René Laloux, who died of a heart attack in Angoulême, France, March 14. Among his strange but beautiful films, Laloux animated La Planète sauvage (Fantastic Planet), a cel-animated science fiction tale, which took the Cannes Special Jury Prize in 1973.
King's Cross: Spielbergfilms.com and French website Nova Planet report Steven Spielberg's next project will be cryptically entitled 'King's Cross,' and will focus on the Israeli secret service's pursuit of the Arab terrorists responsible for the massacre of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Eric Roth, an Oscar-winner for his Forrest Gump script, has reportedly been tapped to write the screenplay.
Duel: Dark Horizons has announced that Universal Home Video will finally release a 'Collector's Edition' DVD presentation of Steven Spielberg's 1971 monster truck television movie on August 17. Click here for a Spielbergfilms.com review of the many bells and whistles featured in this DVD, including interviews with Spielberg and writer Richard Matheson, photographs, poster galleries, trailers and production notes.
Blood Meridian: Variety reports filmmaker Ridley Scott will direct an adaptation of this novel by Cormac McCarthy for producer Scott Rudin and Paramount Pictures. Screenwriter William Monahan, who wrote Scott's Crusades epic Kingdom of Heaven, now shooting, is expected to adapt the novel, about a young boy in the 1840s who becomes involved with a gang of outlaws employed by the territorial governors to clear Indians from the Mexican border area.

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