Latest news with #costumedesign
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Now the King gets into the movie business... with a little help from Hollywood studios and A-lister Sienna Miller
King Charles is making a foray into the movie business – as it is announced his charity is teaming up with a Hollywood studio and actress Sienna Miller. The King's Foundation is offering a new postgraduate-level programme in costume design in partnership with Amazon MGM Studios – the production company behind visual masterpieces such as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and Fallout. Eight budding students will be taught the essentials of costume-making for TV and film at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, where The King's Foundation is headquartered. Students will learn technical skills including leathercraft, hand stitching, natural dyeing and sewing production, which they will use to create costumes for both Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video. They will also learn innovative ways to repurpose the clothing used on set, in line with the King's advocacy of sustainable initiatives. The hands-on scheme has already been backed by Hollywood stars who have hailed it as 'a real milestone' in the filmmaking sector. Actress and model Sienna Miller, who has starred in movies such as Alfie and Layer Cake, said: 'The craft of costumery is so integral to the TV and film industry. 'It's about so much more than just clothes – it's about creating wearable pieces of art that help tell stories and bring characters to life. 'Having seen the incredible work being done by The King's Foundation to support emerging fashion and textile talent here in the UK, I can't wait to meet the students taking part in this new Costume Craft Programme and see them go on to carve out successful careers in the industry. 'This is a real milestone in protecting the future of costume design and production.' Miller, known for her impeccable style since her debut in the Noughties, became a patron for the charity last year – and attended an event involving students from one of its textiles courses. The fully-funded costume design programme is the latest addition to a series of textile courses offered by The King's Foundation, which also teaches heritage crafts such as embroidery, millinery, and luxury garment production. Simon Sadinsky, executive director of The King's Foundation, said: 'This exciting course will help to provide a new pipeline of talented costume designers and makers to support the growing TV and film industry in the UK.'
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
UCM student art show a chance for students to 'really excel'
Works inspired by folklore, the built environment and the human form have gone on display in an annual showcase of the talents of the island's aspiring together by University College Isle of Man (UCM) students over a 10-week period, the diverse collection of pieces represents the culmination of their art and design programme manager at UCM, Shelly Wernham, said it was a "a great opportunity for students to really excel in the areas they are interested in".The course was an "opportunity to try more specialist skills" and gave students "that confidence to make the right choice" about their futures, she said. Charlotte Micklefield said she developed a strong interest in costume design and created a folklore-inspired "giant monster suit" for her final said: "What helps with that as well is the fact that I can actually wear this and perform in it."Taking inspiration from the practical special effects in films such as Alien and The Thing for her work, she said: "I love horror, it's so much fun, yet it's so terrifying as well to be able to bring something like this to life."She said she was hoping to continue to explore costume design with a place at Middlesex University. Tom Darnill's final project centred on a model outlining the modern renovation and reinvention of a Manx said the derelict and often delipidated old Manx cottages lent themselves to the principles of the interior architecture industry he hoped to join, where existing spaces were "repurposed for continued use"."I like taking something that's already there and changing it," he just accepted a place at Leeds Beckett University, he said the wide scope of the course, which included drawing, photography and ceramics, turned out to be "invaluable" for completing his final project. Sophie Boyde said she had had "no interest" in going to university when she was at school, but had changed he mind while "working in a bank nine-to-five"."I love art, I've always loved art, and I wish I'd taken it earlier," she a place now secured Liverpool John Moores University, she is hoping to pursue an interest in interior said her Moroccan inspired household accessories, including curtains, tiles and a lampshade, were part of her plan to "incorporate a country's culture" into the she said carving out a place as an interior designer on the island could be "quite hard" she hoped social media would provide a platform to showcase her future ideas. Lula Thomas had focussed on painting at school, but experimented with sculpture for her showpiece, which was "about anthropomorphism and how it affects our understanding of abstract art"."I've always been really interested in portraiture and the figure, but I've always done more hyper realistic things," she said."I've sort of gone the opposite way to see how far I can push it away from realism to still make an impact... to demonstrate how quite simplistic forms can still convey emotions."She said she was now "really excited" about taking up a place at the Glasgow School of Art to study painting and printmaking. Ms Wernham said she was "overwhelmed by the personal journeys" those on the course had been on, adding: "I am incredibly proud of every single one of my students."The showcase of the students' work is open to the public at the UCM Homefield Road campus until Thursday. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paul Tazewell makes awards history again, becomes only 2nd costume designer to win Oscar and Tony in same year
Three months after making history as the first Black man to win the Oscar for Best Costume Design for his work on Wicked, Paul Tazewell scored the Tony Award on Sunday for Best Costume Design of a Musical for Death Becomes Her. That makes him just the second person in history to win an Oscar and Tony for costume design in the same calendar year. "Having been a part of Death Becomes Her and creating a piece of theater where people can be laughing and joyful, I think that that makes a huge difference in people's lives," Tazewell told Gold Derby a week ago. "That's why I do what I do. More from GoldDerby 2025 Tony Awards (updating live): Sarah Snook wins Best Actress in a Play for 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' 'We need to be gayer than ever before': 'RuPaul's Drag Race' queens and producers get political at FYC pool party 'Ran' turns 40: How a clerical error and bad blood cost Akira Kurosawa an Oscar READ: 'Death Becomes Her' costume designer Paul Tazewell on creating show's spectacular outfits: 'Theater-making is about the impossible' (exclusive images) Tazewell previously won the Tony for Hamilton in 2016, joining the following list of individuals who won both Tonys and Oscars for costume design: Irene Sharaff — won her first Oscar in 1952 for An American in Paris; won the Tony in 1952 for The King & I; won four more Oscars in 1956 for that musical's subsequent film version, 1962 for West Side Story, 1964 for Cleopatra, and 1967 for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Cecil Beaton — won his first two Tonys in 1955 for Quadrille and 1957 for My Fair Lady; won his first Oscar in 1959 for Gigi; won his third Tony in 1960 for Saratoga; won another Oscar in 1965 for the film version of My Fair Lady; won his fourth and final Tony in 1970 for Coco. Anthony Powell — won the Tony in 1963 for The School for Scandal; won three Oscars in 1973 for Travels with My Aunt, 1979 for Death on the Nile, and 1981 for Tess. Theoni V. Aldredge — won the Oscar in 1975 for The Great Gatsby; won three Tonys in 1977 for Annie, 1980 for Barnum, and 1984 for La Cage aux Folles. Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner — won the Oscar in 1995 for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; won the Tony in 2011 for its subsequent stage musical adaptation. Ann Roth — won her first Oscar in 1997 for The English Patient; won the Tony in 2013 for The Nance; won her second Oscar in 2021 for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Until Sunday, Sharaff was the only one who managed to win both in the same calendar year, which in her case, was in 1952. Tazewell also has an Emmy for The Wiz Live! (2016), so he's three-quarters to an EGOT, only missing a Grammy. Best of GoldDerby 'Maybe Happy Ending' star Darren Criss on his Tony nomination for playing a robot: 'Getting to do this is the true win' Who Needs a Tony to Reach EGOT? Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' Click here to read the full article.
Forbes
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Cordelia Cupp: Creating An Iconic Detective For The 21st Century
Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), Colin Trask (Dan Perrault), Wally Glick (Spencer Garrett), Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), Edwin Park (Randall Park), Irv Samuelson (Andrew Friedman), Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), Lilly Schumacher (Molly Griggs) in episode 'The Residence.' Cr. Erin Simkin/Netflix © 2024 ERIN SIMKIN/NETFLIX For 'The Residence,' a recent Netflix series created by Paul William Davies and produced by Shondaland, costume designer Lyn Paolo costumed an ensemble cast of excellent performers. Detective Cordelia Cupp, in all her bird-watching, type-A, detail-obsessed glory, is the sort of character who redefines an archetype for an era. 'This show was a real jigsaw puzzle,' Lyn Paolo told me. We'd met on Zoom to talk about her work on The Residence, a Shondaland murder mystery you can stream in its entirety on Netflix right now. The eight-episode limited series is a variation on more than a few classic tropes from the detective genre, but I cannot quite figure out how to explain exactly how stylish the whole thing is. Every frame is impeccable, especially when the show aims for high camp. 'I keep rewatching it, I don't often do that, rewatch and rewatch, because I'm so disparaging of my own work,' the designer explained. 'But this show, because I love the actors so much, and because the whole team, from production design to props, hair, makeup, all did such an unbelievable job. You know, sometimes you work on a show and things aren't quite getting right. Everyone's not on the same page. But Paul Davies, who created the series, was there every day and spoke to all of us. I think it built a bigger, stronger community. So the work is better and that's what you want on a production.' Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) testifies at a closed-door senate hearing with Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Edwin Park (Randall Park) sitting behind her. JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX This Netflix series (PLEASE give us a second season) is a bit meta, it is about archetypes, a story about storytelling told by an expert cruciverbalist. And even though this is a murder mystery, one which takes place in the living quarters of the White House during a fictional American president's term, it is delightful at every opportunity. Whenever a series or film feels effortless, it reminds me of the naked makeup look; the simplicity is deceptive and actually achieving it requires an insane amount of work. The puzzle Paolo was talking about, it was creating a detective who could hold her ground against the greats, the names that we already know and love. A private eye whose costumes might nod to or reference literary conventions, but who remained entirely herself, a complete and flushed-out individual. 'The goal was to create what we hope will become an iconic image of a detective,' the designer told me, 'like Matlock, Columbo, Sherlock Holmes. It was a fun challenge.' The result was Cordelia Cupp, portrayed by the brilliant Uzo Aduba, an actor who can say more with her eyes than many of her contemporaries can with the totality of their professional tools. Wally Glick (Spencer Garrett), Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), Didier Gotthard (Bronson Pinchot), Sheila Cannon (Edwina Findley), Jasmine Haney (Susan Kelechi Watson), Bruce Geller (Mel Rodriguez), Tripp Morgan (Jason Lee), Marvella (Mary Wiseman), Lilly Schumacher (Molly Griggs), Elliot Morgan (Barrett Foa), President Perry Morgan (Paul Fitzgerald), and Patrick Doumbe (Timothy Hornor) in episode 108 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX The first thing you need to understand about Lyn Paolo is that she loves her work a lot, that it feeds her mind and probably her soul. While this series was in production, she was simultaneously designing the costumes for The Pitt (HBO Max.) The designer enjoyed the contrast and the challenge, the way it forced her brain to stretch in new ways to accommodate the needs of both productions. (A quick aside: If you think costumes for medical shows are easy because they are mostly scrubs and white jackets, please know that a great deal of work goes into them.) 'As a costume designer,' Paolo told me, I've always enjoyed making my brain jump from one world to another at the same time, because I think that makes me stronger. In costume design, you end up doing the same thing over and over again, I mean, the process is the process. I like to have a range. I want to be challenged. When you've done this job as long as I have, when something like The Residence comes along, which is so different from Queen Charlotte, which was the last show I did, you have to take your brain and compartmentalize everything that you did and rethink everything.' The Residence is dedicated to Andre Braugher on a press tour for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" — August 2018 (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images) NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Andre Braugher, an extraordinary actor you will undoubtedly remember for his roles in productions like Glory (1989), Primal Fear (1989), The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), or Salt (2010). This writer's favorite was his brilliant portrayal of Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Braugher was originally tapped to play White House Chief Usher, A. B. Wynter on The Residence. Filming had begun, at least four of Braugher's key scenes had been completed, when the actor unexpectedly and tragically died of cancer in December of 2023. Production was faced with a dilemma about how to proceed, eventually replacing him with Giancarlo Esposito. 'In my world, I seem to work with the same people constantly,' Paolo told me. 'Even Andre I had worked with before. I was so happy to be back with him and so sad to lose him halfway through the project. But Giancarlo, wow, what a trooper came in and he is so dapper, so smart. He just delivered A. B. to us, which was for the crew. We were all so sad, I'm going to cry, but he rescued us.' It is unsurprising that Paolo continues to work with the same people, her CV reads like a fantasy of a streaming service queue. In addition to the shows I've mentioned above, she also designed the costumes for Inventing Anna, Shameless, Little Fires Everywhere. She's worked with Paul Davies before too, on both Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder. But before this show, Paolo had never designed and made the costumes for a traditional, classic murder mystery à la BritBox or Masterpiece Theater. Mystery is her favorite genre. If we're talking about personal consumption of stories, Lyn Paolo has read or watched all of them. Presidential advisor Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino) and White House usher Sheila Cannon (Edwina Findley) in episode 108 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX 'This was like coming home for me,' the designer said to me with a grin. 'I love a murder mystery. I'm a Midsomer Murders fan, anything from PBS, I'm there. I'm just a huge fan of anything related to murder mysteries. I've read all of Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell… I mean, I've read them all.' As someone currently working my way through P.D. James blacklist (and who is currently waiting for physical DVDs of The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries to arrive since it cannot be streamed), talking with Paolo about our mutual appreciation of the genre, I felt like I'd met a kindred spirit. And learning about the show, the way things worked behind the scenes, it was quickly clear that those in the cast and crew had similar feelings about this project, and working together to bring the story to life. 'Paul Davies really understands my crazy brain and the process I go through,' Paolo told me. But she's not crazy; it's self-deprecation honestly acquired. After all, costume designers are artists and craftspeople, and they do not always clearly see the magnitude of what they have accomplished. But let us start with Cordelia Cupp, before I get carried away with one fantastic detail or another, there are so many hidden in this story that are worth getting lost in. 'On many modern, contemporary shows, you don't get to build the costumes,' Paolo explained. 'I'm really proud of the show and it's very rare for me to say that. You'll see other interviews where I say I only see the things that I wish I had done differently. But on this show, I think because Paul Davies and I worked so well together, he made me a better costume designer because we put so much thought into every tiny little detail. And he gave me the time, he helped me to be able to do it. Sometimes with the schedule, you're rushing. Paul was like, no, no, let's sit and talk about this. He would come up to my office and sit on the couch. We spent many, many hours together looking at fabrics, looking at swatches, looking at sketches. Many, many hours.' Cordelia Cupp in episode 101 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX As for our leading lady, 'Uzo completely got it,' Paolo told me. 'She was onboard and really a team player. We spent so much time, as we should, trying to reflect who Cordelia was through her costume. There were tiny little details, which I don't think the camera picks up, like on some of her shirting, which we made with tiny little birds on it. Her shoes had the little tassels, very 1930s tassels. And we like a brogue, that was harkening back to 1930s Basil Rathbone. We couldn't do the deerstalker hat, that would never have worked for Cordelia. And we talked about capes, we talked about capes a lot for a long time. But we decided that her jacket would become her cape.' To do all of this takes time, probably more time than the average viewer might suspect. A job takes as long as it takes to do it correctly and in The Residence, there is neither a scene nor a garment that was thrown together at the last minute. The audience feels this, even if it is not so overt as to be obviously and consciously noticeable. To dress Cordelia Cupp the way a real person would dress herself, Paolo spent a lot of time on birding research; the clothes, the gear, what birders actually need to be able to do, the ways specific to the hobby that require participants to move. 'Me being a Brit, I showed Paul all these images of the royal family from the 1930s,' the designer told me about starting the process.. 'You know, near Balmoral trumping around, going deer stalking. They all had these amazing tweed belted jackets, they were very sort-of military feeling, which we didn't want. So we came up with this idea of crossing the 1930s vibe, what would you wear if you went out looking for birds. Then we just kept recreating that look in different tweeds.' Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) inspects the body of A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) with Edwin Park (Randall Park), Wally Glick (Spencer Garrett), Jasmine Haney (Susan Kelechi Watson), Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), Colin Trask (Dan Perrault), Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), behind her in episode 101 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX 'Uzo even went birding,' she laughed, 'which I absolutely love. It was a melding of all these elements, who Cordelia was, that she was very precise. She had to be very dynamic in her movements, bending down, crawling on the floor, looking at A. B.'s shirt, going outside a lot. She had to be able to move and do and be. You can't really do that in a cape, so the cape idea went away.' Instead, the silhouette became more modern, or at least felt rooted in the literary figures who appeared later in the 20th century. 'Poor Uzo tried on a plethora of looks,' Paolo told me. 'We sketched and sketched and made jackets and jackets and I'm really happy with where we ended up. I like that sort of British hunting jacket, tweed 1930s, Katherine-Hepburn-pant element that we got for Uzo. It worked on her, it worked for the story, and she was able to move and be dynamic. I think it stands out alone for her character, for Cordelia. I love it.' 'I am an avid reader,' Paolo said. 'My kids make so much fun of me because I keep building bookshelves in my house. I have them everywhere in every room. They're in bed, they're everywhere. Paul is also an avid reader, and that's how we approached this. I went back and reread Sherlock Holmes, Hound of the Baskervilles. I went back and read a whole slew of Agatha Christie. I went back to Ruth Rendell, Martha Grimes. I went back swirling through all the detectives in my head, all the Midsomer Murders. As I said, I'm a huge fan of these shows. I mean, it's been going on for years. I think all that literature, I don't know, it becomes part of your skin. You've absorbed yourself in all these stories for so long. When Paul called me and said, 'I've written a murder mystery,'I sort of heard angels singing above, just the thought that I would get to do a murder mystery. The idea of getting to work on a murder mystery, and one that was so quirky and had so many actual limitations as a costume designer. I mean, there was a whole palette of color that I could not use in my costumes.' The Residence. Kylie Minogue as herself performing at the White House during episode 102 of The Residence. Cr. Erin Simkin/Netflix © 2024 ERIN SIMKIN/NETFLIX The well-known, color-themed White House rooms offered one challenge, the bedrooms, the private spaces, of all the characters who make up our cast of suspects, offered different ones. The physical space an actor is in affects how they look on camera, how what they wear looks on camera, so it was never a question of simply picking or building an outfit that designer and actor both liked. The clothes had to fit into their space, just like in any other production. 'Just take away all the prime colors, why don't you, Paul,' the designer said to me with a laugh. I could easily imagine how much fun she must have had while drowning in work on this particular set. 'François Audouy was amazing,' the costume designer said of the production designer on The Residence. 'I just think those sets were phenomenal. They were beautiful. I'm going to tell you, that prop department, the fact that Uzo had to keep pulling things out of that bag, it's like that rabbit out of a top hat, that Bed Stu bag.' Before we left our Zoom, I asked the designer to tell me a story about Easter Eggs, something I could tell my readers without giving away who the killer was. Nan Cox (Jane Curtin) and Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) in episode 101 of The Residence. Cr. Jessica Brooks/Netflix © 2024 JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX 'One of my personal favorites,' Paolo said, 'because I've worked with Jane Curtin before, but in her bedroom, she's so truculent and amazing in this and so open to not being glamorous in any way. I mean, she was watching a show about birds and there were birds in the wallpaper in her bedroom. Then we had slippers that had little birds on the toe and bird socks underneath her pajamas. Throughout the whole show, if you can really look at it, there's a layering in of birds everywhere, there'll be a statue on a mantelpiece that has a bird.' These little details are not always noticed by viewers, but when they are? They are so gratifying to find, like you are being winked at from behind the camera. We all enjoy watching a clever story unspool on screen, knowing the makers were fixated on the details only makes the experience more enjoyable. Do we deserve Cordelia Cup? The answer is unclear, but it is a fact that we are very, very lucky to have her here with us in 2025. Hopefully the Gods of Netflix will give us a second season, this writer very much needs to know what happens next. All episodes from season one of The Residence are currently available to stream on Netflix.
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
She Designed Jewelry for Lois Lane
Most viewers shied away from the scary parts in 'Dark Shadows,' a gothic TV soap opera in the late 1960s, but Dana Schneider, then 7, was transfixed by the black onyx ring that the vampire character Barnabas Collins wore. 'It caught my eye because it was so dramatic and prominent. You saw it every time he put his hand on his cane,' said Ms. Schneider, now 66. 'It was a family crest ring, which I'd never seen before.' In 1999, Ms. Schneider, by then a self-taught jewelry maker, moved to Los Angeles with the hope of getting costume designers to use her jewelry — or to commission new pieces for films and TV shows. Since then, more than 1,000 of her creations have appeared in about 80 productions, including movies such as 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' and TV series such as 'Game of Thrones' and 'Californication.' Ms. Schneider said she always tries to make her designs reflect the characters who wear them — and that standouts have included the Mockingjay pin worn by Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in some of the 'Hunger Games' films; the locket worn by Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) in 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' (2013); and a charm bracelet for Viola Fields (Jane Fonda) in 'Monster-in-Law' (2005). 'My intention is to help the actor get into character,' said Ms. Schneider, an Ohio native. 'Jewelry conveys who someone is or who they want to be.' An example might be the Sunbird necklace worn by Natascha McElhone's character during all seven seasons of the Showtime series 'Californication.' 'It was a wonderful, potent image I responded to,' Ms. McElhone said during a telephone interview from her London home. 'When the show ended, I bought one from her. It's become more synonymous with me now than my character.' Contracts with studios and production companies bar Ms. Schneider from producing some of her designs, but she sells others on her website, and her Etsy page, which lists the 18-karat gold Sunbird at $5,100. Coming up? Look for a necklace in a 18-karat gold and sterling silver mix that Ms. Schneider made for Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) in 'Superman: Legacy,' scheduled to debut in July. In a recent phone interview from her home in the northeastern Ohio city of Hudson, Ms. Schneider talked about making faux gems from beer bottles, the challenges of designing pieces when you don't know who will wear them and her love of heavy metal music. The discussion was condensed and edited for clarity. How did you break into the business? When I moved to Los Angeles, I knew which costume designers were working on the projects I wanted to work on but didn't know how to find them. There was networking, recommendations and knocking on doors with my huge portfolio of 60 pieces — or 18 pounds of silver — that I dragged around. I saw Kym Barrett, who did the 'Matrix' movies, and Colleen Atwood, who does Tim Burton's films. Tim Burton's 'Planet of the Apes' (2001) was your first film? Yes. I had created large skeletal bronze arm pieces. Colleen showed Tim, who liked it. They asked for other pieces. I made several things for Tim Roth's character, Thade; most were sewn onto his costume and are seen throughout the movie. What is the production process? It's a true collaboration with the costume designer, who might select pieces from existing jewelry I show them, or we talk about what she would like and what I'm able to make for her in a certain time frame and cost. Sometimes that's only two weeks. The Mockingjay pin took three months because there were many technical details. Sometimes I'm given free rein; other times they give me a script and directions. I rarely know what size fingers anyone has, or who I'm designing for, or who will end up wearing something. And materials? Sterling silver and 18-karat gold; sometimes it's with diamonds and gemstones. I don't make costume jewelry, which is junk metal, sequins and glue. I make jewelry for costumes. My workroom is jammed with hundreds of designs and over 2,000 molds for casting. I have a ton of weird materials: beetle shells to add an iridescent look, feathers, butterfly wings, eggshells, seashells, gemstones, beads and turquoise. I've been collecting vintage Bakelite on eBay for years and plexiglass pieces from the 80s. Do you have special jewelry making skills? I have hand casting, carving wood and wax model skills. I cast all my prototypes in silver. I can incorporate leather, stones, pearls or beads into my work. I've developed an interesting way of creating what look like real gemstones, which involves shattered Heineken bottles and different colored glasses. How do you prepare or research a specific character? I've been told a lot of the story lines, outlining the character, by the costume designer. They will email me photos of fabrics or drawings of a costume. If I'm doing a historical piece, like 'From Hell' — a 2001 Jack the Ripper film starring Johnny Depp — I'd do a lot of research, like learning about mourning jewelry or how to incorporate real hair into rings and pendants. I'm constantly listening to audiobooks about history and geography, and reading science fiction or comic books. For the character Nightcrawler that Alan Cumming played in 'X-Men 2' (2003), my instructions were, 'existential rosary' for the main character, so I researched early German art imagery. For that project, I created 53 hand-carved ebony wooden beads. Jobs like that are my favorite because I'm creating something that doesn't exist and comes from me and has my handprint on it. How have you adapted designs for filming action shots? For drop earrings I switched from French ear wires, the open-end hooks that thread through a piercing, to what's called lever backs, which actually snap close, because costume designers felt the stunt person would be less likely to lose an earring. Rings need to be molded and replicated easily, usually because you're making multiple pieces for the actors and stunt doubles, using rubber or latex, and everyone has different size fingers. You don't want anything too heavy, sharp or jagged. What was your inspiration for the Russo brothers' new movie, 'The Electric State,' with Chris Pratt? I love making men's jewelry because they're heavier, bigger, more sculptural pieces. I was told his character was edgy, a transient roamer in an apocalyptic world. I showed the costume designer premade jewelry; one piece, a cat skull pendant, was 20 years old. Two other rings, one called Roadkill and another, Snake Belly, which had been made six months earlier. All three were bought for the film. They're deliberately beat up looking, which came out of my love of industrial and heavy metal music. What do you love most about creating jewelry for this medium? I've tried all these different worlds — fashion jewelry, fine jewelry, craft — and I didn't fit in anywhere. I did with movies. Magazines are great, but one month later they're off the shelves. Jewelry is forever. It's going to last after I'm gone.
