Crushable » behind-the-scenes

Crushable’s Adventures At The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter: Red Carpet, Night Rides, And VIP Status

Natalie Zutter — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:02:25 +0000

As promised, here’s the second gallery from my trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida last weekend. (And make sure to check out yesterday’s photos of the park itself.) Now, even though I’m calling this the “VIP” gallery, that doesn’t mean that everything included is super-secret. Several of these photos you’ve seen before, but they’re what I snapped while on our VIP tour of Islands of Adventure as well as Universal Studios. (In fact, we were instructed not to take photos on certain parts of the tour, mostly navigating the “secret passages” between parks.)

There are also several shots from the red carpet, with the cast and crew milling about and answering reporters’ questions, and the afterparty. Did we mention that they closed down the park for this party and we got to ride the coasters and explore the stores without pushing through crowds? Now that was the highlight of the trip.

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Crushable’s Adventures At The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter: Exploring The Park

Natalie Zutter — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:54:45 +0000

This weekend, I had the incredible chance to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park. I’ve been wanting to visit “Harry Potter land,” as my friends and I call it, since the park opened in 2010. So when I had the chance to cover the DVD/Blu-ray release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, I couldn’t wait.

I got to spend all of Saturday wandering around the park, riding roller coasters and guzzling butterbeer. (No, really.) The attention to detail is amazing, from the colors of Honeydukes to the Golden Snitch flitting around the sporting goods store. Since you’ve seen plenty of photos of the park as a whole, I focused on these specific touches that really brought the world of Harry Potter out of my imagination.

Don’t worry, there’s more! Tomorrow I’ll be posting another gallery of photos from our VIP tour and the red carpet/party, so stay tuned for those.

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Video: Emma Watson’s First Kiss With Rupert Grint Was Extremely Awkward

Jamie Peck — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:17:05 +0000

Emma Watson and Rupert Grint basically grew up together on the sets of the various Harry Potter movies. So when it came time for them to have their first kiss on camera in the series’ final installment, they were justifiably weirded out. I mean, how would you feel if you suddenly had to make out with someone you’ve been good friends with since childhood? You’d feel weird, I bet.

This video clip–taken from the upcoming Blu Ray release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2–gives a little behind-the-scenes look at what went into filming that first kiss. In it, director David Yates explains how Emma and Rupert are “like brother and sister,” so she wanted to get it right the first time and be done with it. Look at her go for it! Unfortunately, she ended up laughing and they had to do more takes anyway. I wonder how many they ultimately did? It has got to be at least a little bit fun kissing Rupert Grint…I mean, look at that goofy ginger face. It’s hilarious.

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Video: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Jennifer Lawrence’s X-Men Makeup

Lucia Peters — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:45:19 +0000

There is one thing I remember vividly from the early days of X-Men movies. It was a sound byte from John Stamos, who was at the time married to Rebecca Romijn, and it was with regard to Rebecca’s crazy blue Mystique makeup. I’m paraphrasing a bit here– it’s been years since I read that article and I’m not even entirely sure where I found it anymore– but the quote went a little something like this: “You have NO IDEA the places where I keep finding blue makeup on her after she comes home from work.” That quote alone was enough to make me never want to play a character in any kind of film, television, or theatrical pursuit that required heavy makeup or prosthetics EVER IN MY LIFE. Funny, then, that ten years later, another sound byte involving a totally different actress, but still involving the same character would drive that point home as if it had never been made before. Want to see what Jennifer Lawrence had to go through in the makeup chair in order to become Mystique in this summer’s X-Men: First Class? Check this out:

In a lot of ways, this is actually pretty neat: They modeled Jennifer’s Mystique look as closely as they could after Rebecca’s, so it’s nice to know that even though they didn’t have the same makeup team from the 2000 X-Men movie, they still made a huge effort to keep the continuity intact. But you know what you have to do when you’re redesigning makeup like Mystique’s? You have to test it. You always have to test makeup effects, but when you’re trying to match something someone else did ten years ago, you REALLY have to test it. You need to find exactly the right shade of blue. Oh, and also? It took seven hours to apply the makeup each time. SEVEN. HOURS. EACH. TIME.

At least Jennifer had a positive outlook on the proceedings: “It’s like a sleepover,” she said about the long hours of makeup hell. “Except I’m naked and being painted.” Right. EXACTLY like a sleepover.

[Via The Daily What Geek]

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‘Game of Thrones’ and the Art of the Visual FX Reel

Lucia Peters — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 20:13:14 +0000

Even if you don’t know much about filmmaking, odds are, you’re aware of the mark of good special effects: If the effects are reeeeeeally good, you don’t actually notice them. This is one of the reasons why the Lord of the Rings trilogy is so good; it’s one of the reasons why Black Swan was so good; and it’s one of the reasons that HBO’s Game of Thrones is so good. This is also why it’s so much fun when special effects reels detailing how all of those so-spectacular-you-didn’t-even-notice-them things were accomplished pop up on the Internet. Hoorah for the Internet!

Things that I hadn’t realized before watching this just-released Game of Thrones visual FX reel include the fact that all of the big architecture strewn around Westeros and the lands across the Narrow Sea is added in after the fact with CGI. This isn’t a ground-breaking discovery– even though Lord of the Rings may have gone out and built the whole of Edoras on a hill somewhere in new Zealand, I don’t expect the same from a television show (not even an HBO show)– but somehow, it just hadn’t occurred to me that the huge and ancient-looking buildings would be CG. You know why? Because they looked so real that they didn’t draw attention to themselves. Take a look-see here and prepare to do some ooo-ing and aaah-ing:

The reel’s reveals (hey, that rhymes!) work in either of two ways: 1) It shows you the before followed by the after, or 2) It shows you the after followed by the before, which is then followed by an even bigger after. Usually, it relies on the first method, which has mostly to do with how the reveals impact the audience. Which makes you go “Whoa!” more: Seeing a weird wooden cage-like thing hanging out alone in front of a green screen become a tiny, rickety elevator traveling up a massively tall Wall of ice, or the other way around? My guess is you’d pick the first option; when you see something small turn into something huge, it can literally take your breath away. Occasionally the GoT reel does use the second option; notably, this occurs during the reveal of how Tyrion’s prison cell in the Vale was done: It starts with the familiar shot of Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) peeking over the edge as the camera pulls back; then shows the cell as a solitary set piece on a sound stage; then finishes off with the full shot of the cell looking over the edge of a gigantic mountain range. What this does is give you a frame of reference beforehand so you can track what’s going on during the reveal– then, when the final big after makes an appearance, you’ve now gotten two take-your-breath-away moments for the price of one.

All in all, it’s pretty awesome. Who else can’t wait for season 2? Or for George R. R. Martin to finish the rest of the book series, for that matter? I know I can’t!

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Crushable Books: 6 Things We Didn’t Know About ‘Constructing Green Lantern’

Lucia Peters — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 18:42:51 +0000

There’s only two weeks left until the release of Green Lantern, which means only two more weeks to sit and wonder whether it’s going to be awesome or awful. However, awesomeness or awfulness aside, it DOES look like it has some pretty snazzy special effects and an impressive production design. We got to take a look at the making of the film, thanks to the new book Constructing Green Lantern: From Page to Screen landing on our desks recently. Written by Green Lantern’s researcher and asset manager, Ozzy Inguanzo, the book goes behind the scenes and delves into how the production team built the world of Green Lantern from the ground up. Here are six neat things we learned about the making of the film:

1) A lot of the Lord of the Rings team are responsible for the design of the film.
Production designer Grant Major and costume designer Ngila Dickson were two of the people who created the extraordinarily complete world of Middle Earth in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, so we can safely expect that they’ll bring the same level of complexity to the mythology of Green Lantern. For example, Major, when designing the Green Lantern Corps’ home planet of Oa, wanted the architecture “to be so ancient that it would be impossible to distringuish it from the landscape,” according to concept artist Justin Sweet. Consequently, the landscape of Oa looks organic, almost as if it has grown in, through, and around itself. Furthermore, these sorts of design touches run throughout the film, tying it all together: The ancient monolith that is the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps looks more like green resin than stone, a detail that carried through to the designs of the lanterns and the Power Rings.

2) Louisiana’s Lakefront Airport stands in for Coast City’s Ferris Field.
The character of Hal Jordan is from a fictional California city called Coast City, though interestingly, a lot of filming was done in Louisiana. Ferris Field, the main base of Ferris Aircraft (the family-owned company that Hal flies for), needed to be on a lake, and it needed to be in the art deco style favored by Southern California. Lakefront Airport in Louisiana fit the bill perfectly, though as it was in the middle of a major restoration, there was some doubt as to whether it would be available on time. Luckily, it all worked out!

On the left, Lakefront Airport; on the right, Ferris Field.

3) Green isn’t just green.
Grant Major explains that the color green has a tendency to give skin a “lifeless complexion when photographed;” moreover, for use of the color to be effective, it needs to be used sparingly. In an attempt to achieve the perfect balance, Major, working with cinematographer Dion Beebe, developed the idea that Green Energy has a hotter core, subsequently making the energy whiter at the center before it fans out into th emerald shade associated with Green Lantern.

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Video: Behind the Scenes of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’

Drew Grant — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:07:33 +0000

As many of you are already gearing up in line to MovieFone in your tickets to the first half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Access Hollywood was kind enough to give you a sneak peak at what’s going on behind the climatic wedding scene with stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. MAJOR spoiler alerts: but don’t tell us we never did anything nice for you guys.

“It’s a perfectly nice wedding until the Death Eaters come to get us.” This why we love the British, you know? Stiff upper lip and all that. “Oh, the Death Eaters. NBD.”

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Hilary Duff Femme for DKNY Jeans Video

Arieanna — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:46:52 +0000

A new behind-the-scenes video has been released for Hilary Duff’s photoshoot for the Femme for DKNY Jeans campaign. It’s really a fantastic video, looking at all aspects of the shoot, but also with Hilary narrating her vision for the line.

Hilary says, “The thing that I like about this line is that I’m giving my fans my style. You know, the things that I like to wear. And I wanted to be able to make it accessible for them, to wear those same things.”

Hilary shows us some of her favorite pieces in the line, including the hooded jacket that Hilary wears in the main campaign image. Hilary shares that she wanted to make sure each piece in her collection could be worn in many different ways, inspiring people to be creative in their fashion.

Hilary has previously shared that she is signed on for two collections with Femme for DKNY Jeans – both Fall and Holiday. This is the largest collaboration that DKNY has done to date.

“I love the idea that the collection reaches a lot of people and provides them with so many different options,” she said. “There is truly something in this line for every girl whose styles change every day, like mine does,” continued Duff. “Sometimes I want to wear tight leather leggings with a big plaid shirt, or other days I want to wear a floral-print dress but make it look edgy. Some days I like to be a bit more punk rock, but in a girly way. I love wearing layers and scarves, and I love that this line can be mixed and matched just the way you want it to. I think it’s the perfect line for young girls who can’t afford to buy a lot of clothes these days.”

Hilary Duff says she hopes to continue with the Femme brand even after her 2 collection partnership with DKNY ends.

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Making of “War, Inc”

Arieanna — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:26:39 +0000

A new behind-the-scenes video from Hilary Duff’s movie, War, Inc., has surfaced. The videos show Hilary filming the wedding scene and, in the second video, the song “I Want to Blow You Up”, one of the lead songs in the movie. It looks like maybe they were going to make that into a music video?

If you haven’t yet seen War, Inc, you can buy it on DVD here.

Also, check out some new photos of Hilary Duff at the gym and going for lunch with Mike.

Hat tip to mattz

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Hilary Duff at Heart’s Truth Fashion Show – Backstage

Arieanna — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:54:04 +0000

Hilary Duff flew to New York to be a part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2009 in New York. Wearing a Donna Karan dress, Hilary walked the runway for Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection fashion show. Check out some photos of Hilary backstage at the fashion show getting her make-up perfected and giving some interviews.

Don’t forget to check the red carpet photos of Hilary!

Images: Newscom

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