Set Visit: Dark is Rising

When I got the email from JoBlo
asking me whether or not I’d like to go to Romania in order to cover
a set visit for the site…I thought he was joking. (I
also had a thought that maybe there was a place like Romania, Ohio or
something similar that I hadn’t heard of.) But alas he was referring to the real
Romania, the eastern European country. He told me that it was for a film called THE DARK IS RISING, and that it was based on a British book series. While
I hadn’t heard of it before, I went out and got the book, the second in a series
of five written by Susan Cooper.

THE DARK IS
RISING is the first film adaptation of the author’s acclaimed “The Dark Is
Rising” Sequence. The film tells the story of Will Stanton, a young man who
learns he is the last of a group of warriors who have dedicated their lives to
fighting the forces of the Dark. Traveling back and forth through time, Will
hunts for a series of mysterious clues and encounters forces of unimaginable
evil. With the Dark once again rising, the future of the world rests in Will’s
hands. Based on the award winning novel by Susan Cooper.

I read the book on the flight over, and
to be truthful I didn’t really think much of it. Filled with more detail
pertaining to atmosphere
than anything, it seemed slow to me and I couldn’t figure out how this thing
would ever pan out on screen. I found that after speaking with some of the other
journalists about this I wasn’t the only one in this boat.

Vlad Tepes statue outside a church in Bucharest

After a long night of drinking and a
car ride to the studio, which was so nerve racking I had to stop looking out my
window for fear I might have a panic attack, we rolled up to this enormous
studio set in the country side of Bucharest. Filled with screaming Romanian
teamsters and packs of roving dogs, which were being followed by packs of roving
puppies, the whole set was bustling with activity.

We were brought to a small festival
tent outside the studio where filming is in it’s final days. It’s here we meet
with John Hodge, the man responsible for adapting Susan Cooper’s book into
something that will be enjoyable to see on screen. You may recall Hodge’s name
from a little flick called TRAINSPOTTING. After Hodge discusses how he’s
altered the book for a more enjoyable watch, we are taken with David Lee,
production designer for DARK and he begins to fill in the details of why a film
set in the English countryside is being filmed in Romania (Basically it comes
down to the all mighty dollar.) From here we start to
visit the sets, and this is really where everyone begins to get excited about
the film.

A path from downtown Bucharest to our hotel

The sets are absolutely enormous.
Built with all 360 degrees in mind, we first see a church that will be the
pinnacle of many scenes. The set has working trap doors, faux stain glass
windows that must be at least 20 feet high, and secret markings everywhere that tell a
story filled with symbolism. We also get to visit a mansion in which the
crescendo of the battle between good and evil in the film will take place. The building is marvelous
from the front, and it’s inconceivable to think that there’s nothing behind this
front except logs and 2×4’s. There is no mansion per se; just a house front. We also get to see the set which
used to be one of the
rooms from inside that mansion.

I say was because it has been completely
destroyed. When director David Cunningham shot the scene, he went the more
traditional route with the SFX and had the room succumb to all the damage that any house
would in the same position. (In this case in particular flooding water) The result is a trashed set filled with debris,
loose floorboards and hopefully one hell of a shot. The best set that we see
however is a recreation of a snow globe. It truly looks like it’s been taken our
of a glass orb and is very cartoon-ish in appearance. In front of this globe
sits a huge tank of water that director Cunningham will film through, as to give
the shot a look of actually being outside the globe looking in.

It looks like Super Mario is actually Romanian

We speak with director David
Cunningham and he tells us about how he came onboard and why his ‘realistic’
film styling is more in tuned with what the producers are looking for with this
picture. More and more the book seems like it will be amazing to see on screen.
We’re than taken behind the set where filming is happening to get a sneak peek
at some footage David has put together to show friends and workers what they’ve
got so far. It was once I saw this that any fears I had about whether or not
this book would turn into a good movie were vanquished. The footage Cunningham
showed us was absolutely amazing! The cinematography, the acting, the mall
security guards turning into friggin’ birds! It all looked so good, and this was
only a rough cut.

This totally blew my mind

During lunch along the river that
runs through this studio, we were
able to sit down with Jonathan Jackson, who plays The Walker in DARK. It’s
a nice conversation over apple juice and spicy sausages. Jackson is thoughtful in speaking with us, and it’s
interesting to note that of anyone that we spoke to that read the original
novel, he’s the only one to have enjoyed it.

A huge fountain that easily ran for a city block

We finished the day by leaving the
studio and hitting up the hotel where Chris Eccleston was staying. He wasn’t
able to be on set with us, so we chilled out in the bar at his hotel, drinking
beers and eating funky appetizers. Eccleston was even cool enough to pick up the
tab for us. He briefly talks about the villain character of The Rider that he
plays and also gives us a glimpse into the future of his HEROES
character.

Romania actually means ‘I love George Michael!’

While I’m primarily a horror movie
kind of guy, this seems like one of the better fantasy films that has come out
in the last few years. The realistic feel that Cunningham has brought to this
work, the edginess that Hodge has been able to give this slightly flat story,
and the character actors who are filling the roles marvelously make me think
that this film really has something over other films of a similar genre. THE
DARK IS RISING will be hitting theatre’s October 5th, and if you want to
hear more about the film, be sure to check out our upcoming interviews with
director David Cunningham, writer John Hodge and actors Jonathan Jackson and

Christopher Eccleston.