Entertainment Weekly - February 24 - March 3, 2017

N THE CASTLE HALL SET OF

Beauty and the Beast, around

a dozen actors dressed in

18th-century garb are crazily

beating the air with shovels

and axes. These folks are

playing French villagers

who, led by Luke Evans’ villainous Gaston,

have invaded the home of the Beast to kill our

hairy hero—only to find themselves under

attack by his staff of enchanted household

items. While the actors have to imagine the

presence of their assailants (they’ll be added

digitally later), fewer mental gymnastics are

required to believe that we are standing in an

actual castle hall. The space boasts columns,

candelabras, a harpsichord (the Stanley

Tucci-voiced character Cadenza), and a mas-

sive two-story staircase. It splits in two at its

midpoint and is guarded by two outsize

dragon sculptures that even Donald Trump

might describe as “a bit much.” “We’ve all just

been a-gasp every time we’ve walked on set,”

Evans says. “It just looks incredible. I think

the fans are going to love it.”

If they do, it will be in large part thanks

to production designer Sarah Greenwood

(Sherlock Holmes,Pride & Prejudice), who has

overseen the construction of the hall, the jaw-

dropping ballroom that occupies another

whole soundstage next door, and an entire

French village that has risen up out of the

English countryside a short golf-cart ride

away. The result is a fantasy world made

real—and in more ways than one. “We’re very

much set in the 1740s, when the original fairy

tale was written,” says Greenwood, referring

to French author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot

de Villeneuve’s 1740 storyLa Belle et la Bête.

“Sometimes ‘fairy tale’ can be so big and

nebulous that you don’t know what to latch

on to. This has a specific date.”

Director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) insisted

early on that the film’s look be rooted in a

POST-CURSE

BALLROOM

A jigsaw of frozen-looking latex

pieces were laid on the floor.

Icicles crafted from hardened

resins were applied by a team

of people from the film’s

landscaping department. “We

called them ‘frosties,’ ” says

Greenwood.

WOMEN OFBEAUTY

Casting director Lucy Bevan,

set decorator Katie Spencer,

costume designer Jacqueline

Durran, makeup and hair

designer Jenny Shircore, film

editor Virginia Katz, and produc-

tion designer Sarah Greenwood

34 EW.COM FEBRUARY 24/MARCH 3, 2017

EMMA

THOMPSON

Mrs. Potts

AUDRA

MCDONALD

Madame De Garderobe

GUGU

MBATHA-RAW

Plumette