And isn't it great that Dante Feretti will be doing the sets ....... And I wonder who will do the music. ??? And the photography ??? And surely with the 'setting' there must be a cameo role for me !! :roll:
If it's true, Richardson might still be available in March.
Notes from the dressing room ABIGAIL DAVIDSON, Hometown Weekly Staff 17.APR.08 Gwyneth Paltrow's lavish, gold gown in Shakespeare in Love, the swinging skirts of the 1920's in 'The Aviator' and the soiled, rag-tag looks sported by Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis in 'Gangs of New York' all came to life through the stylish genius of British costume designer Sandy Powell. Within the movie industry, Powell is a giant, known for bringing authenticity and pizzazz to outfits from every era of human history imaginable. Powell set up shop locally this winter to fashion soldiers' uniforms and nurses skirts for Martin Scorsese's la-*test*-('") project, "Ashecliffe" based on Dennis Lehane's novel 'Shutter Island' set in Massachusetts in 1954. Not only is Powell currently working alongside one of Hollywood's most critically acclaimed directors in Massachusetts, but also she is designing clothing for some of the movie industry's hot-*test*-('") stars, from Ben Kingsley to Leonardo DiCaprio and Michelle Williams. During her 24-year career in the film industry, Powell has created a name for herself as the costume designer of choice for period pieces, and lately has been Scorsese's go-to-gal for Academy Award winners like 'The Aviator' and 'The Departed'. While Powell may be in a position nowadays to pick and choice which films she wants to focus her creative genius on, when she first broke into the movie business in 1984, the same wasn't true. 'When I was starting out and no one knew me, you're keen to do anything. You kind of work for free basically,' recalled Powell. 'But nowadays, if a film is being made and if they want me to do it they go to my agent and my agent says, 'Oh so and so is interested in this and do you want to read the script?' And that's how it works. I'm in a fortunate position, whereby I get a choice. It's not a great time at the moment for me because there's not that many (movies) being made, but I generally get a choice.' Nowadays, if Powell reads a script she enjoys and feels it is a project she can really sink her teeth into, she has anywhere from six weeks to five months, depending on the scale of the movie, to prepare for filming to begin. During the initial weeks of design, Powell engrosses herself in the time period she is working with, looking through paintings, old photographs (if there are any from that era), any visual references she can find that gives her a glimpse into what people wore back then. Once she has a general sense of the style she needs to recreate, Powell likes to head straight for the cutting board and begin selecting fabrics and playing around with different looks. According to Powell, 'Sometimes I sketch and sometimes I start with fabrics. If I'm making the costumes, if we're building them, I like to start with the fabrics. And then when I have the fabrics I like, I then start thinking, 'OK, what would that fabric be good for?' This ('Ashecliffe') is 1950's and most of it's uniforms, but the girls in it, we're making them dresses.' Powell likes to meet each actor and actress she is designing for before she begins work on their costumes, so she can get a sense of what they really look like, their personality and their sense of what their character would wear. While Powell allows actors and actresses to suggest different ideas on how they think their character would dress, she tries to separate personal requests from the costume development process. 'I definitely do (allow them to have input) because they know the character probably better than I do. They've been thinking about their character, so of course you have to listen to that,' explained Powell. 'Provided it's about the character and not, 'Does my butt look big in this? This doesn't suit me.'' For Powell, the best actors to work with are, 'The actors who are interested in it (costume design). But having said that, sometimes you get an actor who just stands there and lets you do your job and that's fine as well. The worst kind is an actor who just doesn't like anything you do and thinks they know what they should be wearing and they're getting it wrong. That doesn't happen that often, but you can get people who can't divorce themselves from themselves, they can't actually think in terms of a character. (They're saying) 'I wouldn't wear this in my life', but actually the character would.' When all of the actors and extras have been in for fittings and filming finally begins, it may seem that Powell's job should be finished, but this is far from the case. Powell is constantly adjusting and redesigning outfits, adding and subtracting little details like an extra sports jacket or hat, to ensure that each costume looks perfect and that her designs fit every scene seamlessly. While she is not required on set every day, she goes every time a new actor appears on camera, when an actor has to wear a new outfit, and even when specific scenes are being shot, just to ensure everything runs smoothly. In the end, all of Powell's hard work and close attention to the smallest stylistic details always seems to pay off. Not only has Powell become one of the most well-known and revered costume designers in the movie business, she has also been awarded two Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, for her work on 'Shakespeare in Love' and 'The Aviator', and has been nominated five additional times for movies like 'Mrs. Henderson Presents' and 'The Wings of the Dove'. Winning an Academy Award is considered the crowning achievement in Hollywood. However, a freak stomach bug Powell picked up on a flight over to California for the Oscars back in 2005 almost stopped her from being at the Kodak Theatre to receive her second Oscar in person. Powell recalls how she was so sick before the ceremony she almost stayed in her hotel room. Luckily she didn't, and was presented the award for Best Costume Design for 'The Aviator' by James Bond star and fellow Brit Pierce Brosnan, however, she relates how she felt so terrible during the ceremony that 007 himself had to help her stand up. 'That day at the Oscar's I was really sick and I almost didn't go. I felt terrible. On the way other I got some virus or something and I was throwing up, I had a splitting migraine and I thought, 'I can't go through with this.' And I just about got through it. And literally he (Pierce Brosnan) was holding me up through it,' recalled Powell, laughing. 'I was home before midnight. I couldn't even get through the parties. I couldn't do it. It was awful. And it's the one night of the year when everybody wants to talk to you.' At the end of the day, what motivates Powell to continue working in an industry that often takes to her locales far away from home, where she works long hours for months on end, is not the promise of a big paycheck or hopes of winning another Oscar, but her love for costume design. 'I think I'd have to stop doing it (designing costumes) if I didn't like it anymore,' said Powell. 'You have to enjoy what you do.'
Bringing "Ashecliffe" to life ABIGAIL DAVIDSON, Hometown Weekly Staff 22.MAY.08 EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part one in a two-part series on costume painter John Cowell, who just wrapped up several months worth of work locally on Martin Scorsese's la-*test*-('") film "Ashecliffe". In the opening scene of "Gangs of New York", a violent battle erupts between the warring gangs that ruled lower Manhattan back in the late 1860's. Daniel Day Lewis steps onto the screen, dressed in a white shirt and brown vest. As he enters the battle zone, his arm is splattered with blood, and as the fight continues, his entire outfit becomes smeared with dust, dirt and, most of all, blood and gore. If you're like me, you've probably wondered how an actor's clothing gets bloodied during a fight scene, or how his clothes get dirtier and more ragged as the film progresses. Working behind the scenes of almost every period, action or crime movie is a costume painter, an integral character in the role of bringing a film to life. Costume painters, who are also referred to as dyers or agers, give personality to each costume that hits the big screen, by making clothing look old, dirty and blood-soaked or by adding an extra touch of historical accuracy. One of the best known costume painters in the movie-making industry today is John Cowell, a giant in the world of costume design, who has worked for famed directors like Martin Scorsese, on blockbuster films like "Shakespeare in Love", "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace", and just wrapped up four months of work on Scorsese's la-*test*-('") film, "Ashecliffe", scenes from which are being shot locally. Before heading back for his hometown of Deal, Kent, situated in the English countryside, Cowell took a few minutes out of his jam-packed schedule to talk with the Hometown Weekly about what it means to be a costume painter, his work on "Ashecliffe" and what it's like being the right hand man for critically-acclaimed costume designer Sandy Powell. According to Cowell, the job of a costume painter can best be described as, "giving a character to the clothing that actually didn't exist before. In other words, you've got a brand new suit and it's got to look like someone has had it all their lives and a whole series of circumstances has happened to it. It's giving a garment a history." Cowell was first introduced to the art of costume distressing at the Wimbledon College of Art. At Wimbledon, Cowell learned design skills, as well as the arts of dying, painting, printing and aging. He was taught by Mathilde Sandberg, one of the most well-respected names in costume design, and later became her apprentice and her partner. After graduating from Wimbledon, Cowell went on to pursue a career in costume design, but, to make extra money, he started working with Sandberg in her studio, aiding her in creating exquisite fabrics and in distressing and aging costumes. Cowell quickly tired of the role of costume designer, however, as he found compromising with a movie's director, producers and all of the actors and actresses taxing. However, costume painting, which allowed him the freedom to use the full scope of his creative talents, fit Cowell perfectly. "If I was interpreting somebody else's design, I only had to give them what they wanted," said Cowell of the difference between being a costume designer and painter. "The woman who taught me (Sandberg) was very, very artistically orientated and trained. She taught me how to look at a design, how to interpret color, whether or not a designer wants a pattern at a slant, to actually read a design. And that's what she's taught me; she taught me my eye, my artistic eye. And it's the thing that sets me apart from a lot of people who do this job because a lot of people are very proficient technically, but artistically, they don't have that sort of ability." So, Cowell left the world of costume design and returned to Sandberg's studio, where he learned to hone his craft and skills. Under Sandberg's watchful eye, Cowell went on to undertake many daunting projects, from designing, printing and painting a recreation of Queen Elizabeth's shawl that is covered with the "eyes and ears of England" for "Orlando" to the whimsical clothing worn in "Shakespeare in Love". It was during his work on "Orlando" that Cowell first worked with designer Sandy Powell and sowed the seeds for a partnership made in movie heaven. When Powell was recruited for Michael Caton-Jones's action film "Rob Roy" in 1995, she headed over to Sandberg's studio for help. At that time, Cowell was at the helm, as Sandberg was in America working on another film, so Powell offered him the job of costume painter for "Rob Roy". According to Cowell, he and Powell clicked almost instantly, despite the fact that the morning she came in to discuss their work on "Rob Roy" he was suffering from the worst hangover of his life. Cowell recalls how the night before his meeting with Powell, "a very great friend of mine had just won a really important legal battle, he was a lawyer, and we went out to celebrate. So when Sandy came in (the next day), I was suffering from the world's worst hangover. And as she was explaining what she wanted, I kept having to excuse myself to go and throw up. And it's the thing that made us click. She thought it was the funniest thing in the world that each time she'd describe a costume I'd have to go away and throw up.' Cowell and Powell have stuck ever since and have gone on to make a slew of some of the most critically-acclaimed movies of the last decade, from "Wings of the Dove" to "Aviator", "Mrs. Henderson Presents", "Young Victoria" and "Gangs of New York". Cowell feels that his relationship with Powell is what has made his job so enjoyable and what has helped make his career so successful. "I think I'm the luckiest man in my profession because I work with Sandy Powell," explained Cowell, "who has an incredible eye for color, loves color, understands what we're doing and it makes all the difference." But what does Cowell count as his grea-*test*-('") achievement in the movie-making industry? And what sorts of odd tasks has Cowell had to do to make the costumes of "Ashecliffe" look real? Find out next week...
Mixing mud for 'Ashecliffe' ABIGAIL DAVIDSON, Hometown Weekly Staff 29.MAY.08 EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part two in a two-part series on costume painter John Cowell, who just wrapped up several months worth of work locally on Martin Scorsese's la-*test*-('") film "Ashecliffe". When throngs of eager movie lovers and Leonardo DiCaprio fans head to the cinema in the autumn of 2009 to catch Martin Scorsese's la-*test*-('") flick 'Ashecliffe', scenes from which are being shot right here in Medfield, they will see DiCaprio, who plays U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels, clothed in dust-covered and muddy clothes, searching high and low on Shutter Island for a murderess on the run. What fans will not see are the hours of preparation and work that went into making DiCaprio's costume look like he had been tramping through the mire. John Cowell is a costume painter, a key player in the world of costume design, whose craft is bringing personality or a history to movie costumes. Cowell distresses, paints, washes, dries, stretches and shrinks clothing to make it look more realistic and to help make each character that appears on the silver screen come to life. This winter, Cowell was asked to join long-time co-worker and friend Sandy Powell (a critically acclaimed costume designer whose credits include two Academy Awards for her work on 'Shakespeare in Love' and 'The Aviator') in Medfield to create the clothing for 'Ashecliffe', a period piece based on Dennis Lehane's novel 'Shutter Island'. Cowell has been Powell's right hand man since she asked him to assist her with Michael Caton-Jones's action film "Rob Roy" in 1995. Since their first project together, the two have gone on to create legendary works like 'The Aviator', 'Mrs. Henderson Presents', 'Wings of the Dove', 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and, what both Cowell and Powell consider to be their crowning artistic achievement, 'Gangs of New York'. For 'Ashecliffe', one of Cowell's tasks was turning everything from simple T-shirts, soldier's uniforms and jackets into mud-soaked articles of clothing. The movie has turned Cowell into a mud-connoisseur, as, due to safety concerns, he had to create his own sanitary version of the dirty goop to smear on each actor's costume. 'It was very funny because one of the supervisors on the film said, 'These people need to be muddied, what should we use?' And I said, 'Mud.' And they said, 'Yeah, but we can't just use mud, can you make us some mud?'' Cowell reminisced. 'And I went out the back, dug up a spade of mud, brought it in here, then I had to replicate it using basically earth pigments that had been sterilized. And I then had to mix the powders to replicate the mud because we obviously can't rub mud from the ground.' According to Cowell, safety precautions, both for a film's cast and crew, have increased steadily since he got his start in the industry over two decades ago. What really brought the matter home for Cowell was when his mentor and friend, legendary costume painter Mathilde Sandberg, died from cancer. 'There was no history of it (cancer) in her family. She (Sandberg) unfortunately started in the business when people didn't know about toxins. She didn't wear respirators, she didn't wear any protection. I can absolutely say, without an absolute shadow of a doubt, the job killed her,' said Cowell. 'So, obviously health and safety is a really important aspect'I also think when I use a product, 'Would I want this on my body?' So as much as real mud makes sense, I don't know what's in that mud so I wouldn't want it on me, so I wouldn't put it on an actor.' While Cowell mourned Sandberg's passing, he decided the best way to pass on her spirit was through teaching others the very skills she had taught him. For two years after her death, Cowell ran Sandberg's studio, teaching other eager costume painters the arts of distressing and aging, and how to use their artistic eye. Besides his work on 'Gangs of New York', Cowell feels that having personally trained some of today's top costume painters, who have gone on to work on films such as 'Saving Private Ryan' and the 'Harry Potter' series, as his proudest triumph. 'I would rather know that there are people (in the industry) who started out with me, doing the same thing I'm doing, because I've actually taught them skills that are very refined. And I'd rather think they were doing the movies than some of the things that I've seen on the screen,' explained Cowell. 'Because to me, if I see bad work, or if I see the work, (which is) the whole point- you shouldn't see what I do, it's like fingers on a blackboard.' While working on 'Ashecliffe', Cowell employed locals to help him prepare each costume for filming. One of Cowell's fondest moments from filming was when he was able to entrust one of his assistants, Diana Reardon, to personally touch up DiCaprio's costume. Cowell credited Reardon as being, 'an absolute natural. And that's one of the lovely things I've found about being here, because all the people that have been helping me are local people. I haven't had people flown in from Los Angeles or England or wherever, and people are really eager to learn and totally fascinated by what we're doing. Diana was good enough to work on Leonardo when I couldn't be there. From somebody who was only here for a few weeks, that's an amazing achievement' but I knew she could be trusted to work on the principal artist of the film. That's quite something.' What Cowell tries to teach his students and assistants about his profession is, above all, a knack for making costumes look realistic and larger than life, so that they will almost pop off the movie screen. From his work on 'Young Victoria', for which Cowell created a to-scale reproduction of Queen Victoria's coronation robes to Daniel Day Lewis' theatrical cloak in 'Gangs of New York', Cowell believes his artistic talents are what really have set him apart and put him in the position of being able to pick and choose among some of today's biggest films. 'I try to think out of the loop,' explained Cowell of his work. 'It's one of the things that make me successful at my job. I'm always trying to think of ways of using new product, new techniques and so on to make the job easier for myself, but also to make it more believable'I'm very passionate about what I do and it makes the job interesting.'