Ridley Scott to direct 'The Last Duel'

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Brand new interview with Janty Yates:

Janty talks about the complicated process of creating The Last Duel's armour, Ridley's unmitigated love affair with mullets, the Prometheus helmets and officer ranks and insignias and much more.

She also talks about "THE HELMETS"...

*Note the Kitbag concept art on the wall behind Yates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fpf-nGKWjE

[Nightmare Asylum]

Home media release for this is today in the States.

[Ingwar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiNQZ-5Dryg&t=5s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqEgaGax-nc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL1dPT-qVJ8

[T Dog]

Was that taken by your friend who worked on the film?

Yeah, I had to crop it in a good lot because there was a crew member in the shot; but I thought the rig was cool!

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

From Jodie Comer and Adam Driver's hair designer Luca Vannella:

Creating this look... ⠀
According to Ridley's notes Jodie should always look beautiful and natural. ⠀
We applied a 24" full lace fronted wig-this gave Marguerite the base for her angelic look."

"To create the numerous looks & styles of Jodie's character Marguerite, we applied many switches & plaits along with some leather & vintage hair jewelry in fitting with the period the movie was set in. "

We aimed to read the scenes in her hair, so we kept her in the castle & in the field, then more glamorous at the Crespin party, then a strong and hard look  was created for the trial scene. ⠀

Adam Driver as Jacques LeGris in "The Last Duel" Creating this look....⠀
In the story LeGris is an educated man so it was important the character look neater compared to Carrouges (Played by Matt Damon).

For Adam Driver's young look we used his own hair. For his "hero look" we decided to apply a full lace wig. Styled using a marcel tong. ⠀
Collaboration is key to create every character.

https://twitter.com/awards_watch/status/1473352330103832576

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Director's masterclass:

[BlueMarsalis79]

f**king masterpiece.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

[Ingwar]

Fingers crossed for Wolski to win his first Oscar one day. Man deserves it. Cannot wait for Kitbag. Any leaks from the set? Photos? I cannot find anything.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Don't see anything yet either. We'll probably only see something when they shoot outdoors.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Very interesting interview with production designer, Arthur Max.

-He says that the Covid induced shutdown during mid-production actually benefited the film.

-Calls Dariusz Wolski the "prince of darkness". 

-Jean de Carrouges bedroom was based on that of King Richard I.

-In addition to real candles, Led candles were also used.

-Says that The Martian was probably one of his most challenging films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7xqgLtxpNk


Looks like The Last Duel is following in the footsteps of Blade Runner that was only really "discovered" on VHS after it's theatrical release.

https://twitter.com/CreativLicense_/status/1478811151777546247

[ace3g]

Now streaming on HBO Max.

[Ingwar]

Tell me how The Last Duel came to you.

Via an email through my agent, as [roles] usually do. It said that Ridley [Scott] wanted to meet me, so I met him at his offices in London. It was just a general chat, really; he was asking me a lot of questions about my life. And then he goes, "So, what did you think of the script?" I hadn't actually been sent the script, but luckily I had read some of the book beforehand as homework. There was a slight miscommunication—I didn't know any of the materials. He was like, "Right. I want you to go away, read it, and give me your honest opinion." The next day, as soon as it got hand-delivered to the door and I read it, I was like, "Yes. Yes, yes, yes."

Did you have to wear a corset?

Yes, but I don't know if that was just a bit of cheating, to help a girl out, if you know what I mean. But no, the costumes were incredible. Ridley really liked these wooden clogs that were two sizes too big and made out of pure wood, because of the way they sounded on the cobbles. So I was shuffling around most of the time, trying to keep my shoes on.

You have a very extreme scene in The Last Duel. Was that difficult to shoot?

There are larger, more dramatic scenes within The Last Duel, especially in regard to the assault itself, and also the questioning within the court. As an actor, when you come to those kinds of scenes—the scenes you think of for months and months on end—you hope that you give them some justice. But it was an incredible atmosphere on set to work with Ridley. He works with four or five cameras rolling the entire time. So it's not a very quick process, because he doesn't miss a beat. He always allows you the time, but it just forces everyone to be really on the ball and very, very present.

He goes fast.

He does. We shot [Comer's character] Marguerite's perspective first, before we ever delved into another perspective. Which was great, because then I felt secure in knowing that I'd captured her story, and then I could play around.

https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/jodie-comer-last-duel-killing-eve-interview

[Ingwar]

VFX Tax Rebate Keeps Hollywood Productions in France

Recognizing that international productions would often shoot a handful of sequences in France before moving post-production responsibilities abroad, the French government passed a series of reforms to the country's tax rebate scheme in early 2020 meant to spur on and encourage foreign investment.

Since April 2020, France's Tax Rebate for International Production (TRIP) scheme now offers a 40% rebate on all eligible expenses – including for live action spends that are not VFX related – for international projects whose VFX expenses surpass €2 million ($2.27 million) spent on local soil.

The recent addition marks a 10% increase on the longstanding 30% rebate. In order to qualify, a live-action production must shoot (at minimum) five days in France while partnering with a local production service company to handle digital processing and rendering for any and all onscreen elements.

"The goal is to develop the French VFX sector," explains Mathieu Ripka, who heads the CNC's France Film Commission. "While [local VFX houses like] Mikros and Mac Guff are among the best of the best, you can only get so far on know-how. For a long time, the [VFX] industry has just scraped by, because the local production market was not enough to [support it]."

"It's rare to have a purely French project with a [Hollywood budget and] scale," Ripka continues. "Though big productions like "Asterix and Obelix" do come along, our VFX house cannot live entirely off them. So this 40% tax rebate is very positive."

Among the very first productions to benefit from this new scheme was Ridley Scott's "The Last Duel," a 14th century period epic that shot in France through late 2019 and early 2020.

Budgeted at over $100 million, the Fox/Disney project was already eligible for France's 30% tax rebate by the time production wrapped in February 2020. When the new scheme passed in April – and with it, a retroactive window that opened eligibility to projects shot within that calendar year – the Hollywood brass felt encouraged to seek out Paris-based VFX house Mikros Image. When all was said and done, the American producers had an up of $300,000 on paper for the additional $2.6 million they spent in Gaul.

"We represented France, so we had to prove that we could offer a workable solution," said Beatrice Bauwens, who served as VFX and post director at Mikros Image before the VFX firm merged with MPC Episodic in September 2021. "[At Mikros,] we had to prove that we could handle €2 million worth of VFX in France."

"We never thought that we couldn't handle it," Bauwens continued, speaking at a panel organized by Paris Images Online. "But there was quite some pressure owing to Ridley Scott. Many of our VFX artists started work in this field because of him, so failing wasn't an option."

With houses in Montreal and London handling other post-production tasks, Mikros focused on environments, digital mattes, crowd-scenes, and landscapes, working throughout the year and delivering its final shot in April 2021.

As she reflects on her work on the project – which has subsequently led to new bids from international projects – Bauwens smiles when thinking of one visual in particular. "I think Ridley loved the shot where we see the Notre-Dame cathedral being built," says Bauwens, whose own office faces the very monument. "The only let-down was that Ridley Scott never actually came to our office. We only ever [met with him] online!"

https://variety.com/2022/film/filming-locations/france-vfx-tax-rebate-1235158057/

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Now we know why Kitbag will also be filmed there.