Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546033
T H E B R I D E ! | P E R S P E C T I V E 4 3 wildness and inappropriateness—to be entirely deliberate with the chaos and to intentionally expand the world—while remaining grounded in research and craft exploration. Although Elsa Lanchester's character in James Whale's 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein appears for less than ten minutes—voiceless except for hisses and grunts—she remains iconic. Our script wasn't meant to serve as a revenge narrative or a feminist argument, nor to speak on Mary Shelley's behalf; rather, it's driven by curiosity. What other wilder, more dangerous ideas might she have wanted to convey—what might the bride reveal about her search for identity, femininity and the simmering rage rooted in years of silence? It's a monster story that delves into the monstrousness within all of us. From there, we set out to craft a love letter to the era and its place in the 20th century—standing at the cusp of profound change. Questioning our choices and applying this philosophy, we aimed to embody our 1930s world by blending its spirit with the nonconformity of '70s and '80s punk. Dr. Euphronious's Townhouse Dr. Euphronious, an ambitious scientist studying singularities, is sought by Frankenstein to create his mate. At her Institute of Cataclysmic Regenerative Theory, we meet them both, along with her reinvigorated bride. The Institute comprised seven sets: one exterior on location, four augmented interior sets in a separate location, and two interior sets on stage. I typically prefer working with an existing location rather than building something new from the ground up, especially for period films. Cues we pick up from the surroundings can add unexpected and welcome detail, and they were a big part of my conceptual thinking for the world of The Bride! The aim was to explore how the juxtaposition of old and new would amplify the narrative and visuals. The production began searching for a New York exterior from the 1880s that could form the base of the Chicago house and found a corner mansion on Riverside Drive on Manhattan's Upper West Side. We redesigned the exterior by adding levels and fenestration—tile, steel and glass-block windows—to create a Gilded Age mansion with a shimmering modernist glass turret that seems to have landed atop it. At night, the blur of the glass bricks would reveal shadowy activity, light, color and metal shapes—both mysterious and alluring. B. DR. EUPHRONIOUS'S TOWNHOUSE EXTERIOR. FILM STILL. WE SEARCHED FOR AN IDEAL MANHATTAN CORNER TOWNHOUSE AS THE STREET-LEVEL LOCATION, WHERE WE COULD ADD DETAILS. WINDOWS, TILES AND THE GLASS-BLOCKED, SKYLIT LAB ATOP THE TURRET IN POST-PRODUCTION 3D SET EXTENSION WORK, BY QINGLING ZHANG. B