Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1526889
The next big set piece was a DC T-intersection adjacent to the security walls protecting the White House. VFX had scouted DC for plates and sent photos of the actual intersection. The crew built several hundred feet of 20-foot-high concrete barrier walls, which were fun to blow up. Once the guard house is demolished and a tank crashes the enormous metal gate, VFX has another hundred yards or so of environs before the action gets to the White House. The exterior was shot at the standing White House set at Tyler Perry Studios. A few of the interior rooms were used, changing most of the dressing. One of the first rooms had all kinds of food containers, water bottles and overflowing trash. It was evidence that the administration was under siege. There was a portrait of Dolly Madison, greatest hostess of the 18th century, presiding over the shambles. We modified a couple of hallways to tie in with the set we were building back at the studio, changing out fixtures and painting to match our set. The production realized that we would not be able to alter their Oval Office to suit our future world, and the footprint of their hallway was not a match to the real hallway. This was important to Alex—he didn't want the audience to be distracted by an architectural anomaly. We elected to rent an Oval Office, futurizing it by adding a formal chandelier at the request of the DP (there's never been one in the Oval Office, but we had future license privileges). So, the real question here is not about politics or world building or anything else. What people ask me about Civil War is…what was it like? It was like nothing else. Alex is like no one else. The film is seamless. There's another line in the script that has stayed with me. Lee says: "I figure the strike rate for keepers is thirty to one." Thirty years is about how long I've worked in this industry. I've worked on some great projects, and I can proudly say that this is my one in thirty, and there could never be a sequel. ADG Caty Maxey, Production Designer Mark Dillon, Super vising Art Director Jason Vigdor, Art Director Br ynna Nor vell, Assistant Art Director Willow Watson, Set Designer Jack Finch, Graphic Artist Lizbeth Ayala, Set Decorator C D E