PRODUCTION WICKED
VISUAL ALCHEMY Alice Brooks’ (right side) work with Panavision led to the development of custom anamorphic lenses for Wicked Wizard (played by Jeff Goldblum). The story unfolds over the course of two films, shot simultaneously in the UK over nine months of principal photography. The production took place at Sky Studios in Elstree and on the expansive sets that sprang up in Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire. always filled with Broadway tunes. And The Wizard of Oz ? Always, right? I was Dorothy for Halloween one year – it was definitely a large part of growing up: the yellow brick road, dreams, wish fulfilment and the idea of home. “Almost all the movies I’ve made in the last few years have been about finding what home is,” she continues, “as well as what your family is and who the most important people in your life are. That’s what Wicked is about; it’s the epic world of Oz, but at its heart is this relationship between Elphaba and Glinda.” Elphaba and Glinda are Wicked ’s central characters brought together at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. Elphaba (played in the movie by Cynthia Erivo) is a misunderstood young woman well as features Jem and the Holograms (2015) and the much-lauded In the Heights (2021). Most recently, it bisected with one of the most famous roads of all time: one paved with yellow bricks. Reuniting with Chu, Brooks has shot the forthcoming big-screen adaptation of stage musical Wicked , which is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (which is in turn based on L Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the much- loved movie, released in 1939). It’s a fitting project for Brooks. “My mother loved dance,” shares Brooks, who also lensed tick, tick... BOOM! (2021), the directorial debut from Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. ”She loved music; our house was with green skin, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Meanwhile, Glinda (Ariana Grande) strives for popularity before maturing into Glinda the Good. Their metamorphoses are prompted by their interactions with the
ALMOST all movies I’ve made IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN ABOUT finding what home is ”
“I love all the interior sets of Emerald City,” enthuses Brooks, who goes on to reference the last 40 minutes of the first movie from the moment the song One Short Day ends. “It’s this long sunset scene where the sun gradually disappears,” she adds. “We call it the Hall of Grandiosity, a hallway where Elphaba and Glinda walk to meet the Wizard. “They enter the throne room – one of the most exciting places to light. It was magical and huge. People can’t believe the ceiling goes all the way to the top of our stage. Everyone assumes it’s a set extension, but it’s a real ceiling with real lights, and the Wizard’s head is there too: a 20-foot tall, real puppet.” It’s a key point in the film, leading to the moment when Elphaba is first described as the Wicked Witch. Accompanied by a giant balloon and a towering staircase over 50 feet tall, Brooks shares her insights with genuine enthusiasm. She is a woman who loves
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