Day 37:

INT. DAY – CORIOLES – HOTEL LOBBY. Battle for hotel. Facing enemy. Fight between Coriolanus and Tullus.

INT. DAY – CORIOLES – HOTEL COURTYARD. Battle finishes in courtyard.

The second morning focused on developing the titanic struggle between Coriolanus and Aufidius. During the fight the two soldiers moved towards the first floor window, through which the stuntmen would then crash, falling into the courtyard below.

First off, as ever, continuity was key. Script Supervisor Suzannah Lenton, in particular, had to be alert to the slightest of positional changes from the previous day’s final shot. Once in place, Coriolanus and Aufidius locked horns for the second time. The warriors crashed against pillars and grappled across the floor, smoke still snaking all around them. As they approached the killing zone, the two actors were Zenlike in their fierce concentration; the defeat of their adversary was all that mattered. Barry captured some of the action from a segment of sliding track, which enabled him to get in close to the actors’ snarling faces.

Once the two generals reached a mark 18 inches from the window, their duel was finished and the stunt doubles took over. For days the doubles had been assisting, advising and meticulously blocking the fight scenes; now it was their turn to assume center stage. As Rowley described it the day before, the stunt required them to crash through the glass after charging it from 20 feet. On making impact with the detonated glass the two would fall 30 feet onto a stack of cardboard boxes in the courtyard below. To add to the drama, they would get only one attempt at the shot due to the expense of the glass pane. It had to be right first time.

And, of course, it had to be safe. An ambulance was on standby close to the stuntmen’s landing point, and it had a clear route off set. After lunch the two men covered their major veins with skin colored plasters and attached padding. James Grogan, who had the pleasure of hitting the glass first, wore a prosthetic cap over his forehead.

After the break, the tension grew on set. The doubles were pacing up and down and psyching themselves up while the crew were readying cameras, assessing the best angles to approach the glass. Others were stacking boxes in the courtyard. Thunder rolled overhead and it started spitting. The weather was on the verge of delaying the shot.

I positioned myself in the courtyard, under an arch, to the left of Barry’s camera, which would capture the two men head-on as they emerged through the window.

In the wait I managed to sneak a few words with stunt co-coordinator Rowley Irlam. I asked him whether he ever got nervous before a major stunt:

“I get nervous. You need to fear. And to channel it. But it’s not a success if people get hurt. For me it’s about controlling the danger, the illusion. Cuts and bruises are fine, but more than that and it’s not a successful day for me. But, yes, you’d be an idiot if you didn’t get nervous.”

I also asked whether there were are any stunts that he particularly revered. I mentioned Jackie Chan and Point Break, and he talked about one of his first gigs, on Tomorrow Never Dies. But he told me that the one that stuck out for him was the bungee jump in Goldeneye. The incredible plunge off the 700-foot Verzasca Dam (almost five times the height of the statue of liberty) was dangerous and spectacular in equal measure. Not only did skydiver Wayne Michaels have to reach for a gun as he was falling, which could have upset his trajectory, he also had to avoid steel rods down the side of the dam, which would have cut him to shreds on impact. There were obviously plenty of dummy drops, but no stunt is ever fail-safe.

The rain abated. By the time we were finally ready for our stunt, the tension had built to a crescendo. I heard Ralph ask Rowley what would happen if the glass didn’t break on impact. I stood by producers Gaby and Colin, who were holding their breaths, waiting for Rowley’s cue. The anticipation was tremendous. I was like a child waiting for the New Year’s countdown.

Rowley finally counted them down. When he got to “action,” there was a packed pause. They were on their way. The courtyard was frozen. B camera was capturing their run through the building. Then, suddenly, a sharp crack like a gunshot, a powder of smoke, cascading green droplets and two interlocked bodies suspended as one, before crashing into the boxes. Another heavy silence. Weighty stasis returned. We looked at each other. Rowley ran to the men with his hand brush, ready to perform the vital function of wiping the glass from their eyes. It was playing out as he had said it should, and yet the silence and stillness was worrying. The rest of the crew ran to help, unpeeling boxes until the vital sign revealed it self. A single leather glove poking out from a mess of boxes, giving a thumbs up. Stuntmen involved in glassy feats are often told not to move any part of their body until all glass has been removed from their person. After a few minutes of careful unraveling it became clear that James (unsurprisingly) had come off slightly worse, having landed face first in the glass. He was a little groggy and cut about the head but hadn’t suffered serious damage.

We could all breathe again!

I helped out cleaning away the boxes and got a better look at the fantastic courtyard. It was another great space. The designers had done a fantastic job strewing it with debris, lining the walls with graffiti and creating a fantastic pastel colored façade (which was sprayed with bullets earlier in the week, leaving hundreds of blank cartridges underfoot) to the hotel’s faux entrance. The courtyard and adjoining alleyway were the link between the street fighting scenes from Pancevo and the current raid on the hotel — both of which were part of the battle for Corioles.

Before wrap I had a few words with production designer Ricky Eyres, who told me about the film’s look and how he approached its design:

“It’s about creating a geography for the script. Here, the look of the city [Belgrade] was seminal to the expression of the film. Every location you could write a book about. I talked to Ralph a lot beforehand, but I actually don’t like looking at references. You have to go beyond references. As an artist you want to create your own. I know so much is derivative, but you want to create your own style — that’s what makes great movies. You look for something that isn’t derivative, whether it be color or shape or whatever. That’s the buzz. If you give that up you might as well go and drive a bus!”

Indeed! It was a decisive end to a highly successful day.

Next up, I’ve got more interviews with members of the crew (not to be missed, I can assure you) and some key actors will be telling me about who their characters are and what makes them tick.

Thanks for stopping by.

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