Empire UK

DANGER EXPLOSIVES” SAYS THE

sign. Must mean Chris Corbould is near.
Though despite the warning Empire
is not on the Pinewood backlot this
clear June morning to witness any
Spectre pyrotechnics. Instead we’re
audience to Corbould’s other speciality:
a huge elaborate rig constructed by
his industrious special effects crew
to represent a collapsing building in
Mexico City. On this Daniel Craig (and
stunt double James Embree) will roll
slide and jump down from floor to
crumbling floor like a marble on a run.
Forty-six feet high and flanked by
towering cable-trailing cranes it’s
an imposing set-up. Ingeniously it’s
designed to be repeatedly reset. Each
floor exposed by a gaping hole in the
nearest wall is powered by a hydraulic
lever. First it flips down sending 007
on his parkour descent amid a flurry
of crew-flung rubber rubble. Then for
the next take it flips neatly back up
destruction rewound.
“It’s a complicated one” says
Corbould of the rig. “Took a long long
time to work it out. Mainly because of all
the safety elements. You have to have
things that trigger other things but we
got there in the end and it’s absolutely
brilliant. Labour of love that one.”
Spectre is Corbould’s 14th Bond
movie (his first was The Spy Who Loved
Me) and his eighth since GoldenEye
as special effects supervisor. Outside
of that franchis amon ny
other things w wo Su ans
(II and III) three Batmans (all of
Christopher Nolan’s) one Condorman
and has earned an Oscar for Inception
— another gl ow his
colossal kin nio ibrated
rigs. When we meet at his Surrey home
two months later Spectre’s second-
unit shoot’s only just finally wrapped.
He exhibits the bright exhaustion
of someone who’s just run a good
marathon... while spinning a plate.
Spectre he sighs has been “the

Above:The effects

ante firmly being

upped re.

Right:

Knight’s truck jumps

a light. Li Here:

Joseph G evitt

bounces off Chris

Corbould’s rubber

walls in Inception.