French Premiere Article on The Avengers

January 1998

UMA PEEL AND RALPH STEED
On the making of "The Avengers", starring Uma Thurman, Ralph Fiennes and Sean Connery.
By Gerard Delome (Translated by Debnwal)

London, the summer of 1997. The city is booming, money is circulating, a relentless energy is in the air and people entertain themselves. London is swinging again, just like in the 60-ies. The sight gladdens the producer Jerry Weintraub, although for him it is but a fortunate and simple coincidence. For several years now, he has worked on the adaptation of the famous teleseries "A Derby Hat And Leather Boots".

The project picked up full speed two years ago, when Weintraub decided he had a good script, written by Don McPherson. Then, entering the scene were Jeremiah Chechik ("Diabolique'), and an all-star casting: Uma Thurman, Ralph Fiennes and Sean Connery.

The story takes place in 1999. Steed and Peel must confront Sir August De Wynter (Sean Connery), a millionaire who has seized control over "The Prospero Project", a system that is able to manipulate weather. Now, he can sell rain to Sahel (?), snow to ski resorts and sunshine to seaside spas. Conversely, he can cause catastrophies and demand ransoms from governments. Emma and Steed are assigned to prevent him from creating trouble, but, to do so, they have to face a deadly robot made in Emma's exact likeness.

Deserted aeroports

Everybody remembers that the inventiveness of the original series was largely due to lack of financial resources. For example, if they used deserted aeroports for shooting locations, it was not because they were after an unusual atmosphere, but because those places were closed on Sundays and charged them much less for the usage of their premises. Sometimes the series did not even have enough money to pay the actors. Jeremiah Chechik's film will attempt to recreate some of the original effects (like abandoned places), but with a completely different approach. Two thirds of all scenes were filmed in a studio ( in Pinewood and Shepperton), the rest outside. Practically everything, from props to costumes, was made specifically for The Avengers, with a budget estimated around 60 million dollars.

The Head of Nelson

Among others monumental sets constructed for the movie there is Connery's haunt, a subterranean silo which is supposed to be located 150 metres underneath London's Hyde Park. It is a plateau which resembles a huge concrete parking lot. It stretches infinitely in all directions. Painted glass is used to create an illusion of the place extending to the vanishing point. In the middle, an immense dome allows one to access another, even deeper, room. This is the heart of De Wynter's lair, his commanding post. This set was constructed in Shepperton. It is here that the final confrontation with De Wynter will take place.

Another set is built for the minister MI 5 for whom Steed works, taking orders from Mother, played by Jim Broadbent. Mother's office is situated under the Thames river. It is inspired by the architecture of railroad buildings of Victorian times. Light, filtered through the current's muddy waters, is let in by giant portholes. We see dead cats and empty cans float by. Since the Ministry is broke, it is badly taken care of: the sidelights are leaking, the ceiling is overflowing, and the books on the bottom shelves of the library are soaked in water. To get from the door to the office, one needs to walk on logs in order not to wet one's feet.

In one scene, Steed has to safeguard Emma as she flies above the Trafalgar Square in an air-balloon. The place has been devastated by a snow blizzard caused by Connery. The gondola of Emma's balloon crashes against the statue of Nelson, breaks its head off, and Emma falls on the statue of the lion. Steed finds her and rescues her. The shooting of the scene required making a 130 m2 model which was built in Shepperton.

The major part of the footage is already finished. It is now time for computer graphics and special effects of the weather scenes. It is known that Patrick McNee will appear in the movie without actually being there: He will be the invisible man who will smoke his pipe and whose voice we will hear. His pipe will be seen floating in the air, like a tribute to Magritte. The great question remains: does Steed have an affair with Emma? The answer will arrive in the summer of 1998.

Quote: "It would be inappropriate to suggest that Emma and Steed really have an affair. It doesn't hurt, though, to imply that something can happen any minute" Uma Thurman.

By a picture with Sean Connery and Uma Thurman: Sean is very special. He loves all kinds of costumes, and he looks good in them. The first time he appears in the movie, he plays the organ near a lit- up window. He is dressed for the occasion in a bright red Swiss costume. The second identical suit was tailored for the real organist who plays the piece. On the organist, the costume looked like a clown's. On Connery, the suit suddenly becomes imperial. Connery kept it to wear it when playing golf.

Caption by pic of RF and UT in a car: Emma is a redhead, so Uma has to wear a wig. Ralph is dressed by the best couturiers of Saville Row. Even his umbrella, with a cane made out of a single piece of apple tree, was manufactured individually. FIN