Lily James spoke about filming the film "Cinderella" glass slipper and Richard Madden

How to waltz in chic outfits, not break glass slippers and what you need to do to meet the prince - about this HELLO! said actress Lily James, who played main role in Kenneth Branagh's film Cinderella.

The fate of Lily James is in many ways similar to the story of Cinderella. A young British actress, previously known only for her role as the eccentric Lady Rose in the popular costume series "Downton Abbey", she suddenly got to the "ball": she was cast in a major Hollywood project "Cinderella" and began acting alongside such stars as Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter. As part of the promotional tour for this film, Lily visited Moscow, where we were able to talk with the actress and find out from her how modern princesses live.

Lily James at the premiere of the film "Cinderella"

Lily, be honest: are Cinderella’s glass slippers really as comfortable as fairy godmother Helena Bonham Carter claims in the film?

To be honest, here she somewhat embellished the reality. (Laughs) They are actually made of Swarovski crystals and were too small for me. So we had to put them on me using computer graphics. And they are also wildly expensive, and in the scene with trying on the shoe, Richard (actor Richard Madden, who played the role of the prince - Ed.) scared the guards specially sent to the site to death when he began to twirl the shoe in his hands.

- You weren’t afraid to play like that famous heroine? After all, there are already so many versions of Cinderella.

At first, of course, I was very afraid. But I auditioned for so long and met with the director of the film, Kenneth Branagh, so many times that by the start of filming I was firmly convinced that I wanted and should play this role. Besides, when you know that you can get into the same project with Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter, the desire to work with them outweighs any fear.

Cate Blanchett
Cinderella's stepsisters played by Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShare

- As a child, you probably watched Disney cartoons. Did you want to become a princess?

I liked the dogs from the Disney cartoon "Lady and the Tramp" much more than princesses. In second place was Belle from Beauty and the Beast... If there was any heroine, looking at whom I said: “That’s who I want to be!” - then it's definitely her. And when I was nine years old, my grandmother made me a costume of another Disney princess, Jasmine, and I walked around the house like that. My brothers, seeing me in this outfit, began to tease me, we got into a fight, and I never wore that costume again.

Lily James as Cinderella

- How did you feel when you first wore blue on set? ball gown Cinderella?

It took my breath away. You see, until this moment we were filming scenes where I play the dirty Cinderella, an ordinary girl. And then I put on a dress and became a princess in an instant! The outfit played a decisive role in this transformation. By the way, it was incredibly heavy: I almost fell down the stairs while we were filming the scene at the ball. (Laughs.) What can we say about poor Richard - he also had to lift me up during our dance.

In addition to this dress, you have only two outfits in the film. Didn't you envy your stepmother and stepsisters, who had a much richer wardrobe?

I was so attached to my few outfits that I wasn’t too offended. Plus, unlike others, I didn’t have to get up at six in the morning and do hundreds of fittings. You see, Cinderella has its advantages too.

- You mentioned St.both brothers. You and them are the same difficult relationship, like Cinderella and her stepsisters?

What are you saying, they are much worse. (Laughs.) I'm kidding, of course, I adore the brothers. And after filming “Cinderella,” I realized my happiness: I would hardly have gotten along with my sisters. By the way, the brothers were with me at the Berlin Film Festival, where the world premiere of the film took place. They became the main beauties on the red carpet.

- Did they like “Cinderella”?

They are delighted, although after watching they laughed for a long time: “Lily, in real life You're not that cute at all."

Do you believe that modern world Is the Cinderella story possible? Can a girl without connections and fortune find herself a prince, if not on a white horse, then at least on a white Ferrari?

Nowadays, all princes walk around with bodyguards, so perhaps modern Cinderellas will have to learn martial arts to break through this cordon. (Laughs.) But seriously, I believe that people from different social strata can be together. And it’s not only about love, but also about attitude to life. An ordinary girl can have a lot in common with a prince in a white Ferrari. Especially if he is kind and smart.

Soon you will have to put on a ball gown again: your next project is the British series "War and Peace", where you play Natasha Rostova. Have you already started preparing for the role?

Yes, I went to St. Petersburg for a couple of weeks, and now we are filming everything at a studio in the UK. And, of course, I have already read the book. I remember Kenneth telling me about Tolstoy on the set: “You’ll be delighted!” - and he turned out to be right: this amazing story, I hope that I will be able to play it in such a way that I will not disappoint you.

Kenneth Branagh tells HELLO! about the making of the film "Cinderella":

Most audiences know me as the director of Shakespeare adaptations or films such as Thor and Frankenstein. Therefore, when they learned that I was going to film a fairy tale, many people told me: “Kenneth, why?” At first I myself did not believe that I would be able to make a film that was not tragic and too serious, but in the end we really got a fairy tale. We took some things from the version of Charles Perrault, some from the edition of the Brothers Grimm. The main difference in our story is that we did not create a modern guide “How to meet a prince at the ball.” Our Cinderella is very modern and can easily be happy and satisfied with herself without a prince.

By the way, we were looking for the actress for the role of Cinderella for the longest time. Few people needed it famous girl, which, on the one hand, could immediately win over the viewer, and on the other, cope with all the difficulties that are inevitable in such a large Hollywood project. Lily appeared as if out of nowhere: at first she wanted to play just one of the stepsisters, then the casting director invited her to audition for the main role, there were another audition, a second, a third... The process was grueling, but in the end we were definitely confident in our decision. Lily fits the description of Cinderella perfectly: she is charming, resourceful, has a great sense of humor and, most importantly, an abyss of patience."

Richard Madden, Lily James and Kenneth Branagh

The film is a remake of a Disney cartoon released 65 years ago in 1950. The film's plot is based on famous fairy tale about a girl who was oppressed by her evil stepmother and how she miraculously found her prince. The script for the new " Cinderella" (Cinderella) wrote Chris Weitz), who at one time received an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay (film “My Boy”, 2002).

In the movie "Cinderella" The film starred such famous American actors as: Lily James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Hayley Atwell, Derek Jacobi, Sophie McShera, Ben Chaplin, Stellan Skarsgård and others.

World premiere of the fairy tale film " Cinderella") took place on February 13, 2015. Premiere " Cinderella" (Cinderella) in Russia – March 6, 2015.

Contents of the film Cinderella / Cinderella

The ballroom of the royal palace is striking in its size: 46 meters long and 32 meters wide. The decor is no less impressive: marble floors; massive staircase; curtains that took more than 1,800 meters of fabric to sew; 17 huge chandeliers, custom-made in Italy; more than 3600 meters of turquoise velvet for wall upholstery; more than 16,000 artificial silk flowers, as well as 5,000 candles, each of which was handmade.

The performer of the role of the King, Derek Jacobi, is the owner of two knighthoods, which were given to him by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, only one more British actor twice received this honor - it was Sir Laurence Olivier. The film's director, Kenneth Branagh, was also knighted for his services to drama.

To create a dress for the Fairy Godmother from a costume designer Sandy Powell it took: 120 meters of fabric; 400 LEDs; thousands of Swarovski crystals. The width of the dress was almost 120 centimeters.

In the Disney feature film " Cinderella"sisters Anastasia and Drizella are always dressed in the same style, but different in color, dresses, just like in the animated masterpiece of the same name Disney.

Behind the shoulders of the production designer Dante Ferretti not only many awards and nominations in the category " Best work production designer" prestigious awards in the field of cinematography "Oscar" and BAFTA, but also works on designing sets for the most famous opera houses world: La Scala in Milan, Opera Bastille in Paris and Colon in Buenos Aires. In addition, Ferretti created stage sets for productions of Verdi's opera La Traviata, as well as Puccini's operas Tosca and La bohème.

Staging the ceremonial ballroom dance Cinderella and the Prince were entrusted to a Tony and Emmy award-winning choreographer Rob Ashford.

Cast and crew of the movie Cinderella

• Director: Kenneth Branagh.
• Screenwriters Stars: Aline Brosh McKenna, Chris Weitz.
• Producers Stars: David Barron, Simon Kinberg, Allison Shearmur and others.
• Operator: Haris Zambarloukos.
• Composer: Patrick Doyle.
• Artists Stars: Dante Ferretti, Anthony Caron-Delion, Gary Freeman and others.
• Editor: Martin Walsh.
• Cast Stars: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Hayley Atwell, Helena Bonham Carter, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Nonso Anozie, Sophie McShera and others.

On March 6, a new Disney fairy tale, Cinderella, will be released, based on the 1950 Disney cartoon. We counted how many meters of fabric and Swarovski crystals it took to turn Cinderella into a real fairy-tale princess.

It is clear that the main thing in the film is, of course, the story that there is nothing more important kind heart And true love. But dresses cannot be ignored either! We remember: Cinderella, of course, struck the prince with her beauty and kindness, but at the same time she was far from in rags. She had a real fairy godmother dress! And it’s one thing to imagine him in a cartoon, but quite another to dress Cinderella in a movie. So costume designer Sandy Powell had a hell of a task: a) to capitalize on a 50s cartoon; b) come up with something of your own; c) and for it all to be fabulous and blow us away. Sandy had to start work two years before filming, and her duties, in addition to all the outfits, included: a Cinderella ball gown with 12 layers, Wedding Dress and glass slippers. The ballgown alone took 550 hours to complete. We applaud!

Sandy made patterns based on illustrations from the classic fairy tale. “We decided to try to make some kind of fashionable women's suits of the forties of the twentieth century, which could have been worn in the nineteenth”, she explains. But let's get down to a detailed analysis!

Cinderella's ball gown

As you understand, it was impossible to miss here. It had to be something fantastic, magical, like a dress from a cartoon and at the same time unlike anything else. Ella had to look herself beautiful girl at the ball on the one hand, and on the other - to remain that simple girl whom everyone offends. This is what it looked like in the cartoon:

Let's make allowances for the fashion of the 50s and understand: Sandy Powell had some room to maneuver. The designer decided to leave blue as the key color, but combine it various shades and fabrics. As a result, more than 240 meters of fabric and 10,000 Swarovski crystals were used to sew Cinderella’s dress, and more than 4,800 meters of stitches were made. For the filming of the film, 9 absolutely identical dresses were made - just for every firefighter. And here is the result:

Believe me, Cinderella’s dress turned out truly magical! It sparkles, shimmers with all shades of blue (we bit our lips with envy!), and when Cinderella begins to dance, girls and boys gasp!

Sandy admits that she actually thought about other color options, went through everything she could, and realized: magic dress Cinderella cannot be red or yellow - only blue! But a monochromatic blue color will make us sad - that’s how the idea of ​​shades came about.

Sandy made the skirt from light silk and polyester, which she covered with a large crinoline. The fabric, in turn, was strewn with tiny crystals - 10 thousand, we remind you. The fairy godmother didn't waste time on trifles! “Can you imagine a Cinderella who doesn’t sparkle?”— the designer is surprised. Before this film, we personally imagined it, but now we don’t.

Of course, there was a corset - Powell was inspired by the structured silhouette of the 50s. However, the new dress looks more flowy and free - all because thin waist and a giant skirt. “The most important thing Cinderella does at the ball is dance and run away, so all the movements of the dress must be beautiful!” says Sandy. Oh yeah! Beautiful movements of the dress - Madame knows a lot about women's desires!

Powell abandoned all the accessories from the cartoon - long gloves, a black ribbon around the neck, etc., but put butterflies on Cinderella's bodice. “I wanted it to be like a haze. Cinderella was supposed to just stand and shine without any jewelry or decoration. She had to look very simple and innocent. It’s all about silhouette, color and movement.”

Not in the eyebrow, but in the eye. It turned out exactly as the designer intended. Here's a sketch and the result for comparison.

Cinderella's wedding dress

For some, this may be the most important dress in life, but for Cinderella it is the second most important dress. Although, of course, the importance of its beauty is undeniable. Here poor Sandy also had to dodge, because in the animated original there was this:

It was a challenge, Sandy complains. Imagine: you've just designed the coolest ballgown from the fairy godmother, and they tell you - now it's banana! give me a wedding! “I had to do something completely different and simple,- says the designer. — I wanted to achieve a euphemeral effect, so we made an extremely rigid bodice with a long train.”

Sandy came up with the idea to make the dress beige, with long sleeves, from organza and silk. There is a floral print on the train. The designer, thus, in every possible way emphasizes the kindness of Cinderella through her clothes. “I wanted her to remain humble and pure even as she became part of royal society.”

In the end, 16 people worked on the wedding dress, and it took a total of 550 hours. And after all this, Lily James, who played Cinderella, gets too close to the spotlight at a promotional photo shoot, and her dress catches fire. The shock of the designers is unimaginable! “It was a disaster! The entire top layer of the dress was burnt, it had to be restored again! — Sandy screams. “Nobody asked: ‘Is Lily okay?’, everyone was only worried about the dress, because only this one dress was made on time and on budget.”. Such passions flared up literally.

Fairy Godmother Dress

Sorry, but ignore the woman who staged Cinderella personal life, no way. “How to make a princess out of Cinderella? - Find the right godmother! - also has a place to be. Sandy Powell also put a lot of effort and effort into creating the dress:

— 120 meters of fabric;

— 400 LEDs;

- thousands of Swarovski crystals.

The width of the dress was almost 120 centimeters. Everything looked in the spirit of the 18th century - Victorian era, noble and brilliant fairy mothballs. Frankly speaking, the fairy did better for Cinderella than for herself.

Evil Stepmother Dress

This is the second woman who determined Cinderella’s fate - so let’s talk about her too. Moreover, they came up with absolutely amazing outfits for Cate Blanchett - every single one. Sandy Powell was inspired by 1940s fashion and divas such as Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford. The Stepmother wore an ominous black and green color scheme and Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. “Remember when you meet someone perfectly dressed, not a hair out of place, perfect makeup? There's always something scary about it, isn't there? Sandy laughs. — This is Anna Wintour's style. Everything is thought out, the man is like in armor".

All of Stepmother's outfits are amazing, but this green ball dress is the real deal!

Glass slippers

The challenge is stronger than all the dresses. How do you even make such shoes, what are they made of?! Sandy Powell broke her head. It’s easy for animators - they draw a glass slipper and rejoice.

Ms. Powell decided that she wanted the same thing, only cooler. Yes, yes, she also made the shoes crystal! Swarovski came to the rescue, making crystal shoes and decorating them with their own crystals. Sandy explains that she wanted to get not just glass slippers, but real magical shining specimens.

Lily James complained at a press conference in Moscow, and they didn’t fit her at all, so they only gave them to her to hold and took them away, because they were fussing over them no worse than over a wedding dress. So in the film, the actress actually wears different shoes, and all the crystals and crystals are later made using a computer.

However, Swarovski’s efforts were not in vain: their shoe was exhibited at all Cinderella premieres as a valuable exhibit. It is physically impossible to walk in it due to the high rise and lack of a platform. “But glass slippers are more of a fetish, right?”- Sandy reasons.

The exploits of Sandy Powell have inspired many designers to own works. In addition to Sandy, Disney also provided magical inspiration to the creators, having entered into partnership agreements with many of the fashion designers. So, the Russian office asked our best designers to come up with their own image of a modern Cinderella. One of the main fashion stores in Moscow, TSUM, has been involved in the project, where until March 31 you will be able to see Cinderella’s dresses in the windows according to 12 domestic versions fashion designers. We look at the sketches, get inspired and get creative ourselves.

A LA RUSSE Anastasia Romantsova

Alexander Arutyunov

Alexander Terekhov

Igor Chapurin and the CHAPURIN brand

Evgenia Linovich

Yulia Kalmanovich and the KALMANOVICH brand

LUBLU Kira Plastinina

Alisa and Yulia Ruban and the RUBAN brand

Alla Verber (TSUM)

Oleg Ovsiev and the VIVA VOX brand

Andrey Artemov and the Walk of Shame brand

KATYA DOBRYAKOVA

The shoe also became a source of inspiration - already for shoe designers. 11 masters of shoemaking presented the world with their versions of the crystal slipper, and, unlike the Swarovski fetish, these shoes can be worn! Cinderella's shoes took part in a special Disney exhibition: in our country, the works of nine out of eleven designers are exhibited at TsUM until March 23.

Alexandre Birman (Alexander Birman)

“I was inspired to create glass slippers classic beauty and femininity, which, in my opinion, unite Cinderella and the Alexandre Birman brand. I created new version my signature Johanna pumps. The graceful curve, silk and Swarovski crystals make this pair of shoes fashionable and romantic. I think these are the kind of shoes a modern princess could wear.”

Charlotte Olympia

"For me great joy and was honored to be asked by Disney to create their own version of the famous glass slippers. I worked on them with great pleasure and called them “If the shoe fits.” The transparent platform is made of plastic, which I often use in my models. The shoes are decorated with stars and crystals, as befits shoes designed for a princess."

Salvatore Ferragamo

“Shoes that can turn a woman into a princess and make her feel like she is walking on clouds are the dream of many. Modern fairy tale about Cinderella reveals to us in a new way the soft sensuality and strength of femininity. The shoe is literally made of air and light: the wedge-shaped heel, an iconic element of Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, is studded with Swarovski crystals and seems absolutely weightless,” Massimiliano Giornetti, creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo.

Jerome C. Rousseau (Jerome Rousseau)

“I was inspired by the scene when the clock strikes midnight - the most intense moment in the fairy tale of Cinderella. The result is rich sandals of blue color very high heels. The wide, clear webbing is reminiscent of the classic glass slipper, while the whimsical gold and silver trim adds a playful touch. I wanted to create shoes that would captivate the prince even more.”

Jimmy Choo (Jimmy Choo)

“Every girl dreams of feeling like Cinderella at least once in her life. This fairy tale awakens a love for shoes that we carry throughout our lives. Even as adults, we continue to feel the power of the miraculous transformation that so amazed us in childhood. I wanted to create a truly magical pair of shoes, alluring, with a classic feminine silhouette, capable of evoking those distant childhood emotions,” commented Sandra Choi, creative director of Jimmy Choo.

Nicholas Kirkwood (Nicholas Kirkwood)

“Cinderella is gentle and, at the same time, very strong in spirit heroine. This is especially noticeable in the scene of her magical transformation. The character of Cinderella inspired me to create glass slippers, the design of which is in tune with the magic of the film."

Paul Andrew

“Glass slippers are every girl’s dream. The tale of Cinderella inspired me to use the classic Paul Andrew shoe shape with a pointed toe. I decorated them with a scattering of Swarovski crystals. The clear vinyl created a crystalline effect, while the ivory suede helped add volume and rich texture to the shoes.”

Rene Caovilla

“The process of creating shoes awakens emotions and fulfills desires. This real passion And constant search inspiration that goes beyond the imagination. This is how dreams come true in our fairy tale.”

Stuart Weitzman (Stuart Weitzman)

“Cinderella in the new film is endlessly attractive. Translucent closed shoes, studded with jewels, reflect my vision of the heroine."

The model of the idol of all women and especially fans of the series “Sex in big city" Yes, yes - Manolo Blahnik also created his own Cinderella slipper, and we will show it to you now!

Another cult designer Christian Louboutin not only created his own version of the shoes, but also wore them on actress Lily James at the Hollywood premiere!

Cinderella in Louboutins - what could be more modern and desirable!

For the first time, the fabulous collection of all 11 shoes was shown as part of Berlin Film Festival, where Cinderella premiered. Select guests were able to enjoy the shoes in person and photograph them with their cameras.

In the spring of 2015, the film “Cinderella” will be released 65 years after the release of the cartoon based on this fairy tale from the Disney studio. Chief costume designer Sandy Powell (who, by the way, has won 3 Oscars for her work on costumes for film characters) took her inspiration from nineteenth-century and 1950s fashion.
Sandy Powell (according to her) wanted to make her costumes bold using bright colors, as if they were illustrations from a book, but at the same time they had to be suitable for each character.
When it came time to create a wedding dress for Cinderella, the designer decided that it was very important to make this dress different from fluffy dress, in which Cinderella appears at the ball. Instead of making the wedding dress even more original than the ball gown, Sandy Powell took the path of simplifying the design. She wanted to make something just sweet, ephemeral and beautiful. The resulting dress is light beige, long sleeved, made of silk and organza, and decorated with floral embroidery, meant to represent the simplicity of a princess. Cinderella wins the prince's heart with her innate kindness, and although she becomes part of the royal family, she is initially just a sweet and kind girl.

The father of a young girl named Ella, having become a widower, marries a second time, and soon Ella finds herself alone with greedy and envious new relatives - her stepmother Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drizella. From the mistress of the house, she turns into a servant, always stained with ash, for which she receives the nickname Cinderella from her grumpy stepsisters. Despite the misadventures that befell her, Cinderella does not despair, because even in the most difficult moments there is something that helps her think about good things: for example, a chance meeting on a forest path with a beautiful young man. Ella does not even imagine that she has met the prince himself, and that soon the Fairy Godmother will forever change her life for the better.

1 fact:

More than 240 meters of fabric and 10,000 Swarovski crystals were used to sew Cinderella's dress, and more than 4,800 meters of stitches were made. For the filming of the film, 9 absolutely identical dresses were made.

Fact 2:

Disney's Cinderella director Kenneth Branagh was nominated for five different Academy Award nominations: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best short feature film." In the history of the Oscars, only three other actors - Warren Beatty, John Huston and George Clooney - have been nominated in so many categories.

Fact 3:

See you at film set film “Cinderella”, actresses Lily James (Cinderella) and Sophie McShera (Drizella) took part in the filming of the popular British series “Downton Abbey”.

Fact 4:

The ballroom of the royal palace is striking in its size: 46 meters long and 32 meters wide. The decor is no less impressive: marble floors; massive staircase; curtains that took more than 1,800 meters of fabric to sew; 17 huge chandeliers, custom-made in Italy; more than 3600 meters of turquoise velvet for wall upholstery; more than 16,000 artificial silk flowers, as well as 5,000 candles, each of which was handmade.

Fact 5:

The performer of the role of the King, Derek Jacobi, is the owner of two knighthoods, which were awarded to him by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain; only one other British actor has received such an honor twice - it was Sir Laurence Olivier. The film's director, Kenneth Branagh, was also knighted for his services to drama.

Fact 6:

To create a dress for the Fairy Godmother, costume designer Sandy Powell took: 120 meters of fabric; 400 LEDs; thousands of Swarovski crystals. The width of the dress was almost 120 centimeters.

Fact 7:

Cate Blanchett, who plays the Stepmother, has received six Oscar nominations. She received four nominations for her successful portrayal of her characters on screen. real people: Elizabeth I in the film "Elizabeth"; Katharine Hepburn in the film "The Aviator"; Bob Dylan in I'm Not There and Sheba Hart in Diary of a Scandal.

Fact 8:

Filming in the Disney film “Cinderella” was the fourth for actor Derek Jacobi and director Kenneth Branagh. working together along with Hamlet, Henry V and To Die Again.

Fact 9:

In the Disney feature film Cinderella, sisters Anastasia and Drizella always wear dresses of the same style but different colors, just like in the Disney animated masterpiece of the same name.

10 fact:

Production designer Dante Ferretti has not only received many awards and nominations in the category “Best Production Design” of the prestigious Oscar and BAFTA cinema awards, but also worked on designing sets for the most famous opera houses in the world: La Scala in Milan, Opera Bastille in Paris and Colon in Buenos Aires. In addition, Ferretti created stage sets for productions of Verdi's opera La Traviata, as well as Puccini's operas Tosca and La bohème. And the staging of the formal ballroom dance of Cinderella and the Prince was entrusted to Tony and Emmy Award winner choreographer Rob Ashford.