Reporter Zhong Yulian / Comprehensive Report
The Green Knight, the annual epic adventure created by the "Gold Medal Maker" A24 Production Company, costs 15 million US dollars (about NT$413 million) to produce a production budget, and finds the "Lord of the Rings" special effects company to create super special effects, but the soul character "Green Knight" is purely based on special makeup, and it takes 3 and a half hours to make makeup every time it is played, which makes it very hard for actor Ralph Ineson to call out.
The "Green Knight" character has no special effects at all. (Photo/ Courtesy of Caichang)
"Green Knight" enlisted the participation of Weta Digital, a well-known special effects company of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Avatar", to create a revolutionary visual feast, and also made most film critics such as Rendy Reviews praise: "From beginning to end, it is a visual blockbuster!" SlashFilm: "All the scenes can be displayed in the museum!"
However, it is surprising that although this film uses a lot of special effects, the soul character "Green Knight" has no visual effects at all, director David Rowley compared the role of Green Knight to the "Tree Man" in "The Lord of the Rings", and other inspirations also came from the wood recycled from the shipwreck, so that Ralph did not show his face at all this time, and must interpret the domineering spirit of this character through eyes, momentum and body movements.
Ralph Ineson. (Photo/ Tatsushi Video)
David Raleigh proudly said, "This character didn't use visual effects at all, we went through a lot of crazy design, and eventually I wanted him to be the actor in that makeup." I decided the best thing to do was to choose a really good actor and design some incredible prosthetics for him."
The crew also specially invited Barry Gore, a special makeup artist for "A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones", to work with him. Barry recalls: "The character seemed to have been created from the natural world, as if it were made of bark and roots, so we used a lot of organic materials as a real reference, and the design alone lasted about two months."
Ralph Ineson had to spend 3.5 hours on makeup. (Photo/ Courtesy of Caichang)
For the opportunity to interpret the classic role of "Green Knight", Ralph Ineson said that he has loved "The Legend of King Arthur" since he was a child, and has studied this story in the past, so playing the Green Knight is very simple for him, but it is not easy to tighten it with a special makeup bag from head to toe, which also makes him call it out at first.
"Although it was a great experience, wearing so many prosthetics is a high burden on the body. I put on makeup for 3 and a half hours every time I go on a show, which makes the day very long." It is reported that the heavy wearing of props, coupled with the face to be wrapped in multiple layers, even the ears are covered, let him describe the sound he hears, as if in the water.
Stills from The Green Knight. (Photo/ Courtesy of Caichang)
At the same time, wearing contact lenses with special effects also makes his vision lower than the standard, so that he who does not like to wear contact lenses, directly calls himself as if he is wrapped in a "cocoon", and because of a lot of special makeup, he said: "I must learn to use prosthetics, and to a certain extent exaggerate facial expressions, in order to find out that feeling, I have done a lot of practice in the mirror." 」
However, when he first appeared at the round table in full green knight costume and riding a horse, the entire crew was shocked by his aura, and he said with satisfaction: "Seeing everyone's unbelievable expressions, this is very inspiring, and subconsciously makes me feel that I have become stronger and more impressive!" 」 The film will be released in Taiwan on the 10th.