Tomorrow there will be a particularly wonderful movie , [Hot Air Balloon Aviator].
Starring "Little Freckles" and Felicity Jones, the film recreates humanity's courage to explore the unknown with visual spectacle.
Of course, such a characteristic film, A-look naturally has to interview their main creators (director Tom Hubble + Felicity Jones) and listen to their ideas.
<H1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > interview with director Tom Hubble</h1>
It should be noted that the director of this film, Tom Hubble, is not alone with [Les Misérables] director Tom Hubble.
Although the two surnames are pronounced closely (the former Harper, the latter is Hooper).
Haber is a veteran of British television drama, both from Blood Gangster and the BBC's new war and peace.
In 2019, he returned to the film industry again, and the two feature films were released in the same year (the other was [Wild Rose]), showing amazing delicacy and diversity.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > since it is fictional, it does not matter whether it is male or female</h1>
Before shooting this work, did you know these stories that happened in the film? Because the characters in the play have a certain historical archetype.
Tom Hubble: Actually, I don't know much about it.
It was George Steele, the photographer I've been working with, who heard about this story on the radio.
I was excited to tell me that if I could make a movie at high altitude, think about the visuals we might have done.
So I bought a book, and there was a story that appealed to me.
It was two people who rode a hot air balloon to an altitude of 36,000 feet (about 10,972 meters), one of whom was a scientist and the other of whom was his partner.
Scientist James Grace is a very rigorous person, reading the data every second.
What they do is great, but it's not okay to shoot only one person who has recorded 90 minutes of data.
At that time, I thought it was a pity, although the story was great, but it could not be made into a movie.
I finished reading the book, it was all about hot air balloon flights, some of them recording lightning at high altitudes, some recording how they crossed the storm.
There are shining points in every story.
I thought that if I pieced these stories together, it would be a wonderful story, and it would be very graphic, and it would be able to support a 90-minute movie, and the origin of this project is probably like this.
Why did you decide to change another male character in history, Henry Coxwell, to a fictional female character, Emilia?
Tom Hubble: There are many reasons for this.
But in essence, because we originally chose elements from different stories to form this complete story.
One of them was a female balloon pilot, Sophie Blanchard, an amazing woman, an acrobat.
Married a Frenchman, Pierre Blanchard.
But they experienced a tragic accident in which he was injured in flight and later died.
After the death of her husband, she continued to carry out her career in hot air balloon flight.
She also died on a hot air balloon.
In Paris she tried to set off fireworks on the balloon, but the fireworks accidentally hit the balloon and exploded.
I felt like I could make up such a character.
Sure, I could have filmed two old men reading data and taking notes the whole time, but it was too dramatic.
I wanted to set up a rigorous role as a scientist, especially concerned with his data.
Then on the other side was this exaggerated, wild, firecracker-like woman, putting them in a small basket, facing each other, and the sense of drama was generated.
That's where the story comes from.
And I think too many period dramas are about men, and we're not making a documentary in a museum.
We can add our own fictional content, and in contrast, we chose this tough and interesting female character, which also makes the film more contemporary.
Will some people say why don't you make a historical story that really happened and involved female characters? Would you be worried about people's reactions to this change?
Tom Hubble: I think no matter what the decision, people will question why you didn't choose the other one.
I think what interests me most about this story is that two people with very different personalities, in a small space, and then embark on this wonderful flight journey together.
You can also choose to tell the story of Margaret Graham (a juggler).
But that would be another movie, and probably not have as many elements of adventure and action.
We're making a flight film with fictional elements and adventure elements.
If we're making a documentary, there's a problem changing people or events, or claiming that it all really happened.
But we stressed at the outset that this is not a film that follows history entirely, although we are inspired by some real historical figures.
But after watching a movie, the audience will know that this is completely different from documentaries, museum footage or history books.
There have also been a lot of fictional male characters in the history of cinema, so I don't think it's okay for this film to do that.
■ On the script, you and Jack Thorne co-wrote the screenplay, what did Thorne contribute to the script?
Tom Haber: He's very good at digging into human nature and being able to clearly reveal the truth.
Finally, you can see the interaction between the characters, the deepening of the relationship, their transition from mutual displeasure to mutual respect, and the chemistry between them.
There are also scenes that include James (played by Eddie Redmayne) and his father, albeit at a brief glance.
But you experience a lot of things, and he is eager to prove himself to his father, who has Alzheimer's disease, although it is only a short play that conveys a lot of emotion.
Thorne was able to capture these very precisely.
In the script, how do you balance the proportion of the scenes in the high sky and on the ground?
Tom Hubble: It's really hard to balance, we tried a lot of ways, and in the end we decided on a version that was the way the film was presented.
My biggest concern is to present the actual flight time, the balloon lifts off at the beginning of the film, and the balloon lands at the end of the film.
So the whole process of the film is consistent with the actual flight time.
The flashback section should also be inserted in a precise position to make the logic smooth, and I hope that the content of the flashback can also support the main story that takes place on the balloon.
These are also the core contents of this film.
So this balance is difficult to grasp, and we don't want either side to look too much drama.
■ This is a script with no guarantee, right? Is this way of creating common in the industry today?
TOM HUBER: Good question.
To be honest I don't know, hey, I think it may not be that common.
But we've worked together many times, and if we don't have a bottom line, we can get our creative to the fullest.
If an investor gets involved, they will greatly influence the final presentation of the script according to their own needs.
So there's no guarantee that allows us to protect our work to the maximum extent possible and then raise money from producers.
Todd Lieberman is our producer's first choice, while choosing the most suitable team rather than bending to funding to make those choices.
■ Are Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne your ideal casting? Did you envision them working back together on the big screen a second time early in the project?
Tom Hubble: Not really, Jack and I wrote the script before we thought about casting.
I think sometimes don't think too early about who will play these characters so you're free to portray the characters instead of tailoring them for someone.
■ We don't see hot air balloons very often on the big screen. What kind of research did you and your team do to make everything look like life? Including light and shadow, wind speed and the like.
Tom Hubble: We did as much research as possible, which was the most basic, and I didn't know how much content needed to be filmed.
At first I didn't expect much, but I thought at least we had to go to the hot air balloon to try a few shots, and the final part was more than I expected.
We had the actors really stand on the hot air balloons and take them up high in the air to shoot, which I think greatly reinforces the realism of the film.
This also gives us some reference standards.
For example, what kind of light is, what kind of wind is like, these materials have become our standards.
Throughout, we cross-edited these live-action footage and special effects shots, because some of the too high and difficult shots could not be shot directly at high altitude.
But we have these real-life footage as a reference, we can determine the light, wind speed and other factors in the special effects shot.
In fact, a number of special effects shots were shot live, and we followed them on a helicopter.
■ How do you train them to find the feeling of a hot air balloon pilot?
Tom Hubble: We took Felicity to Germany for a short pilot training course and flew a few test flights.
Eddie wanted to try out what it was like to be deprived of oxygen, and he went to the Ministry of Defense, and they had an apparatus, a huge cabin.
They can reduce internal air pressure and simulate the feeling of being at an altitude of 30,000 feet (about 9,144 meters), and you gradually can't breathe, and the lack of oxygen is uncomfortable.
They used this to train pilots and make them aware of the conditions under which they were symptoms of hypoxia.
I tried this experience with Eddie.
It turns out that Eddie became very hyperactive in the absence of oxygen, and I just felt nauseous in the absence of oxygen.
■ You also made an equal proportion of hot air balloons, didn't you? Hand-finished?
Tom Hubble: We went to a balloon factory and I think there are some materials that really need to be made by hand.
It's a very fine craftsmanship.
Because you know, people don't make hot air balloons anymore, especially those that have to be covered with a layer of woven mesh.
It's exciting that we can make such a balloon.
■ Did you get on the hot air balloon yourself?
Tom Hubble: Yes, I like that feeling.
I think that's my favorite means of transportation, and I want to be a hot air balloon driver myself.
I totally fell in love with the experience, completely surreal and calm, with a poetic beauty.
The feeling of rising into the air, letting the wind push you, not knowing where you're going to land.
It's like a leap of faith, but I don't know where the destination is, but I always have to land somewhere.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > in heaven, listen to me</h1>
Interview with star Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones, who is loved by fans as "Rabbit Teeth", seems to fall in love with thrills and thrills after starring in Rogue One.
She has starred in several action films, and even in the biopic [Sex-Oriented], she also plays the "heroine" Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
This time standing in the basket of the hot air balloon, facing the old partner Eddie Redmayne, she's no longer the woman behind the hero, she's the hot-blooded warrior.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > finished filming "Star Wars" and became a desperate samurai</h1>
■ Are you afraid of heights yourself? You have a lot of thrilling action scenes in the film, and even as an audience member, I feel a little sweaty
Felicity Jones: When my mom first saw it, I asked her if she liked it?
She said: "I couldn't look at it, I kept clenching my fists, worried that something would happen to Emilia (the heroine)." ”
In fact, when I first started shooting, I wasn't afraid of heights, and I was very excited about boarding the hot air balloon.
But now I don't want to go on a hot air balloon anymore and completely cross out from the list of must-dos in life.
Because I know what a dangerous thing it is.
■ How many are done by CGI/stand-ins and how much is done by you yourself?
Felicity Jones: All the action stunts are real.
Even the shot of Emilia climbing to the top of the balloon was done by my stuntman, Helen Bailey.
After takeoff, she climbed out of the hot air balloon basket and climbed to the top of the balloon.
Everything was done at an altitude of 5,000 feet (about 1,500 meters), with only a safety rope tied to it.
There were a lot of live shots, and on the first day of shooting, Eddie and I were on the balloons.
At the beginning of the shot, they take off from London, there is a little accident, and they almost fall.
In fact, that was our second descent, and we had some test flight experiences before.
So there are a lot of technical methods involved in the filming process, and the first lesson we learned is that hot air balloon flight is quite risky.
■ How did the fall happen?
FELICITY JONES: It's scary, that shot was already done.
The helicopter drove away and we relaxed, thinking that we would just land on the ground.
Unfortunately, the pilot, fearing that we would hit a tree, told us to throw the sand out of the cabin.
The sand is used to control the height of the balloon, so we did it.
When we were done throwing, the driver turned around and said how you had lost all the sand.
We said you told us to lose it.
His expression at the time was really a frightened.
He explained that we threw a bit too much.
In the end we were still entangled with the branches, and Eddie and I could only help each other down to the ground.
I accidentally slipped down in the process of coming down, and some props also fell.
One of the wooden props also carries a metal horn, only so close to my eyes (five centimeters).
That's what happened on the first day of filming, and then we realized what kind of project we were involved in.
■ Did you learn anything from stand-in Helen Bailey? You've been working together for a long time, right?
Felicity Jones: Yeah, we've been working together since [Rogue One] and we've been communicating very closely.
I hate that in the big panorama, the audience can fully see that it is a stand-in, because the way the body moves is completely different.
So we often communicate how the characters should act and train together.
Helen would do some demonstrations, and then I would try to complete some of the movements myself.
My principle is to make two people look exactly like one person.
■ Which ones are you allowed to play? After all, the crew didn't want the heroine to get hurt or anything.
Felicity Jones: There's a scene where we hoist a hot air balloon on a boom arm, 2,000 feet (about 600 meters) tall, and that's something I can do myself.
The juggling moves that Emilia does at the beginning of the film, jumping inside and out of a hot air balloon, pretending to fall, are all done by myself.
I had a protective rope tied to me, but it was a lot of fun.
■ Did Helen tell you how she felt about filming the scene at high altitude? I know special effects actors are generally brave, but isn't she afraid?
Felicity Jones: I don't believe she's not afraid.
But she says everything is well prepared in advance, and I don't mean you can practice these in advance.
I don't know how to actually practice at high altitude, you can only practice these movements of climbing.
But the stuntmen are really great, and the courage allows them to get these things done.
■ How are the snow and frost in the film made?
Felicity Jones: The crew went through a lot of trial and error.
Make-up artist Jenny Shercore is an absolute genius.
When I went to try on makeup, they were talking about what kind of material to use to make "snow" look real on their hair and eyebrows.
Finally they found a spray.
It is before your skin frosts, there will be a lot of small rashes, blisters and the like, after a few attempts we finally found the perfect effect.
I'm going to say that the film includes a huge amount of real detail at every level of execution, otherwise you'd feel like it's out of the ordinary.
If you see a very distorted makeup at some point, you probably won't believe the story.
Therefore, every detail must be very true to convince the audience.
■ In some shots you look really cold
Felicity Jones: In the beginning, the rain machine was made and we were soaked.
Then there's the blower, and then there's the freezer.
Tom (Hubble, the film's director) managed to get a freezer that would bring the temperature down to minus one degree.
We spent about a week inside.
But in fact, because there are too many people in the room, the temperature will rise, resulting in a temperature that is not low enough.
Later we could only put some ice cubes in the basket as well.
We put our hands on it and let ourselves recall the feeling of the cold.
(Laughs) Because it's a story about using physical instincts to survive.
I remember a passage that Leonardo DiCaprio said in [The Revenant]:
Presumably, in such an environment, you will instinctively learn how to survive.
It's the only way you can survive, so you have to do your best to make yourself alert.
■ I heard the director say that he allowed you to improvise some places, is there any specific example?
Felicity Jones: I think most of them show up during rehearsals, and we rehearsed for about three weeks.
Do you remember that paragraph at the beginning?
We spent most of our time rehearsing this section, trying different ways, how Emilia did that talk on the basket.
It's basically the result of a group collaboration, and everyone has an idea, especially when she rolls over and jumps backwards into the basket.
So it's a little hard to say which one is my own idea.
But most of them were discussed in the early days.
For example, we discussed that Emilia and James should stand in different corners of the basket, as if that territory were their own office and inviolable.
In such a special environment, they can also have special feelings between them.
It's also the result of the time we spend discussing and rehearsing, a lot of which is intangible.
But the audience will subconsciously feel the texture of the film and make them believe in the authenticity of the story, which is what we want to do.
You and Eddie should have been in a hot air balloon for a long time, how did you feel?
Felicity Jones: I remember in the early days of filming, because our characters themselves were also very different personalities, Eddie played James Grace, a person with a rigorous personality and a scientific point of view in everything;
Emilia is an intuitive person, watching as she goes, to see where things can go.
When you play these roles, you also exaggerate certain personality traits of your own.
I remember at the beginning of a rehearsal where Eddie's character, Gresher, said, "I think we should do it again." ”
And my character Emilia said, "No, we can succeed once, we'll be on the move." ”
We also continued this tension between the characters in the film.
■ How did you work with Eddie? In [The Theory of Everything], you are the woman standing behind the "giant." But in this film, Emilia is the heroine of the focus, how do you feel?
Felicity Jones: I think Eddie and I will only get together again on the most appropriate projects.
If it were the same as [The Theory of Everything], we might not agree to star.
Be sure to have a completely different setting.
The new characters are not the same as the ones we played before, and I think this one fully meets those criteria.
Nearly 6,000 words of interviews, there are still many wonderful and interesting behind-the-scenes stories.
Of course, it is better to "taste" with the movie, and this kind of movie with good visual effects and a good story is naturally better to watch on the big screen.
Favorite friends, don't miss this movie, November 13 [Hot Air Balloon Aviator].