Hansel & Gretel: The witch hunters, movie by Tommy Wirkola, production notes

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Description

A legendary fairy tale transforms -- taking a dark, twisting turn down a new path into fun, fast-paced action and sly, sinister modern thrills -- in the rollicking action-horror adventure Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Sujets

• Hänsel et Gretel
• Tommy Wirkola

Informations

• Publié par: Fil_Divertissement
• Publié le: 28 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 54
• Langue: English

Extrait

HANSEL & GRETEL: The witch Hunters

Productions Notes

͞Me aŶd ŵLJ sisteƌ? We haǀe a past.͟

- Hansel

A legendary fairy tale transforms -- taking a dark, twisting turn down a new path into fun, fast-paced action and sly, sinister modern thrills -- in the rollicking action-horror adventure Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. The story picks up 15 years after siblings Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) hatched their escape from a child-snatching witch, who changed their lives forever . . . and gave them a taste for blood. Now they have come of age as fierce, formidably skilled bounty hunters 100% dedicated to tracking and terminating witches in every dark forest -- hell-bent on retribution. But as the notorious Blood Moon approaches and a familiar wooded town faces a nightmare for its iŶŶoĐeŶt ĐhildƌeŶ, HaŶsel & Gƌetel eŶĐouŶteƌ aŶ eǀil ďeLJoŶd aŶLJ ǁitĐh theLJ͛ǀe eǀeƌ huŶted –an evil that could hold the secret to their frightening past.

Paramount Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures present a Gary Sanchez production starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen and Peter Stormare, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. The film is written and directed by Tommy Wirkola. The producers are Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick and Beau Flynn; and the executive producers are Denis L. Stewart, Chris Henchy and Tripp Vinson. Bringing the visually mesmerizing world of Hansel & Gretel to life is a behind-the-scenes team that includes director of photography Michael Bonvillain (Cloverfield), production designer Stephen Scott (Hellboy, Hellboy 2), editor Jim Page (Disturbia), costume designer Marlene Stewart (Real Steel, Tropic Thunder), Music by Atli Örvasson, Executive Music Producer Hans Zimmer and visual effects supervisor Jon Farhat (Book of Eli, Wanted).

WHEN FAIRY TALES GROW UP–AND GET EVEN

Children around the world have long had their bones chilled by the classic fairy tale of Hansel & Gretel, the brother and sister lost in the woods, then ensnared by an icy-hearted witch who cooks aŶd eats ĐhildƌeŶ. At the stoƌLJ͛s eŶd, the duo foil the ǁitĐh͛s ĐaŶŶiďalistiĐ ĐlutĐhes . . . ďut ǁhat happeŶed to theŵ Ŷedžt? That͛s ǁhat ǁƌiteƌ/diƌeĐtoƌ ToŵŵLJ Wiƌkola͛s HaŶsel & Gƌetel: WitĐh Hunters dares to imagine, tackling the question in all its scary, funny and suspenseful potential. Joining their story as the adult siblings emerge as the most lethal witch hunters ever to stalk the woods, the film turns an ancient fable into a no-holds-barred epic of modern action and adventure.

Wirkola, who first came to renown with the eye-popping zombie comedy Dead Snow in his native Norway, has been waiting all his life to revisit a tale that first mortified him as a very young boy. He never could shake its impact, or the lingering image of hungry, hideous, horrifying witches lying in ǁait foƌ huŵaŶ iŶŶoĐeŶts. TheŶ, oŶe daLJ he ďegaŶ to iŵagiŶe a ͞ǁheƌe aƌe theLJ Ŷoǁ͟ sĐeŶaƌio foƌ perhaps the most famous siblings in all of fabledom. A vision of Hansel & Gretel–all grown up and irreverently battle-toughened–as vigilantes of the supernatural kind came into his mind.

͞The stoƌLJ of HaŶsel & Gƌetel has ďeeŶ paƌt of ŵe siŶĐe I ǁas a LJouŶg kid,͟ Wiƌkola edžplaiŶs, ͞I haǀe a strong memory from my childhood of just how dark and gruesome their tale was and I wondered what would have happened to the two of them when they grew up? They had this dark past and this intense hatred of witches. So as I thought about it, it made sense to me that of course they would be fated to become great witch hunteƌs.͟

Immediately, Wirkola saw the makings of a visually ferocious, humor-laced and action-packed experience for 21st Century audiences raised on the tale. As he began writing, he determined he would stay true to the spirit of the original German folk legend -- first published back in 1812 by the famed unearthly tale-collectors, The Brothers Grimm -- but put no limits on his imagination from there.

͞I ǁaŶted the ǀiďe of the oƌigiŶal faiƌLJ tale but I also wanted to spice it with all the things I love most in movies– ĐoŵedLJ, hoƌƌoƌ aŶd gƌaphiĐ aĐtioŶ.͟ he suŵŵaƌizes. ͞A gƌuesoŵe auƌa was always there in the original tale, but I brought it to the forefront, while injecting humor. And the story is still about this really strong bond between brother and sister–the way Hansel & Gretel are driven to stick together, no matter what it takes, as theLJ ĐoŶfƌoŶt eǀil.͟

When Wirkola pitched the idea to producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick and Chris HeŶĐhLJ, theLJ ǁeƌe iŶstaŶtlLJ ŵagŶetized. ͞His pitĐh ǁas edžaĐtlLJ ǁhat LJou͛d iŵagiŶe fƌoŵ the title,͟ ƌeĐalls MessiĐk. ͞HaŶsel & Gƌetel haǀe Đoŵe of age ǁith a ďig ďeef agaiŶst ǁitĐhes. Noǁ, theLJ͛ƌe

bounty hunters. So if your town has a witch plague and the kids have gone missing, you call Hansel & Gƌetel.͟

fused with the gƌittLJ, Đutthƌoat aĐtioŶ audieŶĐes haǀe Đoŵe to Đƌaǀe iŶ ouƌ tiŵes. ͞We ǁaŶted it to feel like this could be happening 300 years ago but at the same time, there is a modern spin on all the aĐtioŶ, ĐhaƌaĐteƌs aŶd ǁeapoŶƌLJ,͟ Wiƌkola edžplaiŶs. ͞It ǁasa fun way to make a classical world feel fresh. We took things that you have seen in all kinds of fairy tales before–and then put a little ďit of a Ŷeǁ tǁist oŶ eaĐh of theŵ.͟

MessiĐk oďseƌǀes: ͞What͛s gƌeat aďout the stLJle of the ŵoǀie is that LJou doŶ͛tthiŶk ͚I͛ŵ iŶ ϭϴ5Ϭs oƌ ϭϳϯϬs FƌaŶĐe.͛ You thiŶk, ͚I aŵ ĐoŵpletelLJ iŶ a faiƌLJ tale uŶiǀeƌse.͛͟

That͛s edžaĐtlLJ ǁhat Wiƌkola ǁas afteƌ: a faiƌLJ tale uŶiǀeƌse that has shape-shifted into something so fast aŶd fuƌious it gƌaďs Ϯϭst CeŶtuƌLJ filŵgoeƌs. ͞What I hope is that Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters giǀes audieŶĐes soŵethiŶg that is out of the oƌdiŶaƌLJ, ǁith a ǁild eŶeƌgLJ LJou doŶ͛t see iŶ ŵost aĐtioŶ ŵoǀies,͟ Wiƌkola ĐoŶĐludes. ͞Most of all, I ǁaŶted it to ďe edžĐitiŶg aŶd fuŶ.͟

HANSEL & GRETEL REBOOTED

To take Hansel & Gretel out of the annals of legend and into visceral, contemporary action, Tommy Wirkola knew he would need to find two strong personalities who could morph these characters from legend to real life. The search for a contemporary ideal of how Hansel & Gretel might have turned out–after being raised on dreams of vengeance against the foul wickedness of witches–led to the pairing of Jeremy Renner, Oscar®-nominated for his searing action role as an Iraq War bomb expert in The Hurt Locker and rising British actress Gemma Arterton, whose allure came to the fore when she joined the iconic circle of Bond Girls in Quantum of Solace.

‘eŶŶeƌ Đould Ŷot ƌesist the sheeƌ fuŶ of the ĐoŶĐept. ͞WheŶ I ƌead the sĐƌipt, ŵLJ fiƌst thought ǁas ͚I ĐaŶ͛t ďelieǀe this hasŶ͛t ďeeŶ doŶe LJet.͛ It͛s suĐh a gƌeat idea ǁith so ŵuĐh poteŶtial,͟ he saLJs. ͞I loved that what Tommy wrote left so much room for character and I thought it would be exciting to edžploƌe aŶ aŵaziŶg ďƌotheƌ aŶd sisteƌ ďoŶd iŶside a faŶtastiĐal ǁoƌld.͟

He also fouŶd hiŵself ǁƌapped up iŶ ǁhat ďeĐoŵes HaŶsel͛s guidiŶg philosophLJ. ͞He aŶd Gƌetel haǀe goŶe thƌough aŶ aŵaziŶg tƌagedLJ,͟ ‘eŶŶeƌ oďseƌǀes. ͞TheLJ doŶ͛t haǀe paƌeŶts, ǁitĐhes haǀe tƌied to eat theŵ aŶd ǁhat HaŶsel has takeŶ aǁaLJ is that LJou͛ǀe got to take your personal anger and paiŶ aŶd do soŵethiŶg good ǁith it.͟

That philosophy has left Hansel with a dry wit and a devastating way with the weapons needed to go after hard-to-kill witches. For Renner, that meant preparing for some of the most intensive action he͛s doŶe LJet, aŶd he espeĐiallLJ eŶjoLJed Wiƌkola͛s take oŶ hoǁ haƌd-fought and harrowing each of HaŶsel & Gƌetel͛s ďattle is agaiŶst suĐh ŵagiĐallLJ eŵpoǁeƌed eŶeŵies.

͞Theƌe͛s a lot of ƌeallLJ aƌduous aĐtioŶ iŶ the filŵ,͟ ‘eŶŶeƌ Ŷotes. ͞OŶe of thedifference in this big movie is that while usually heroes win all their battles, Hansel & Gretel get their butts kicked numerous times. So in a way we had to face getting beat up every day! But we also had a great time. Tommy brought an incredible tone to the whole thing, a mix of serious and funny that I think gives the filŵ the ƋualitLJ of a ƌeal adǀeŶtuƌe.͟

AƌteƌtoŶ, too, ǁas dƌaǁŶ to the tǁists of the stoƌLJ. ͞I loǀe the oƌigiŶal faiƌLJ tale aŶd this staƌts theƌe, theŶ ŵakes a ƌeal depaƌtuƌe,͟ she saLJs. ͞The film joins up with Hansel & Gretel in the midst of their faŵe as ǁitĐh huŶteƌs. But it͛s also a tiŵe ǁheŶ theLJ͛ƌe staƌtiŶg to ǁoŶdeƌ ǁho theLJ aƌe aŶd ǁhLJ these terrible things happened to them–ǁhiĐh leads theŵ iŶto a ǀeƌLJ teŶse situatioŶ.͟

Amid all the snowballing tension, Arterton loved the brother-sister dynamic that always stays at the heaƌt of the aĐtioŶ, Ŷo ŵatteƌ hoǁ edžtƌeŵe thiŶgs get. ͞The siďliŶg ƌelatioŶship is suĐh a gƌeat oŶe to edžploƌe,͟ aLJes AƌteƌtoŶ. ͞HaŶsel & Gƌetel haǀe this uŶstoppaďle ďoŶd ďut theLJ͛ƌe also so diffeƌeŶt fƌoŵ eaĐh otheƌ. “he͛s the ďƌaiŶs of the opeƌatioŶ. He͛s the ďƌaǁŶ. He͛s the jokeƌ aŶd the shoǁ-off. “he͛s ŵoƌe the ǁatĐheƌ, the ƌeseaƌĐheƌ, the oŶe ǁho tƌies to ƌeallLJ uŶdeƌstaŶd ǁitĐhĐƌaft. TheLJ haǀe to each play totheiƌ stƌeŶgths.͟

On set, Renner and Arterton uncovered a natural rapport that made the sibling closeness– and rivalry–feel ƌeal. “aLJs AƌteƌtoŶ of ‘eŶŶeƌ: ͞JeƌeŵLJ is so aŵaziŶg at aĐtioŶ, ďut at the saŵe tiŵe he also has a lot of sensitivity when needed. He ďƌiŶgs a lot of fuŶ to theiƌ ƌelatioŶship.͟

IŶ tuƌŶ, ‘eŶŶeƌ saLJs of AƌteƌtoŶ: ͞Geŵŵa is a ƌeal geŵ. We ǁeƌe luĐkLJ to fiŶd heƌ ďeĐause Ŷot oŶlLJ do she aŶd I look a ďit alike, ďut she ďƌiŶgs a ǁoŶdeƌful depth to Gƌetel.͟

Both Renner and Arterton worked closely with stunt coordinator (and second unit director) David Leitch to train for roles that draw on the whole pantheon of modern action-comedies as well the ages-old faiƌLJ tale tƌaditioŶ. Notes LeitĐh: ͞The aĐtioŶ iŶ the filŵ is haƌd, fast aŶd, aďoǀe all, fun. I love that kind of Jackie Chan hybrid of comedy and action. Tommy gave us a completely open door to find our action style ---so it ďeĐaŵe aďout fiŶdiŶg huŵoƌ aŶd defiŶiŶg these ĐhaƌaĐteƌs.͟

Hansel and Gretel each display their individuality in theiƌ uŶiƋue fightiŶg stLJles. ͞HaŶsel is the kiŶd of guLJ ǁho leaps ďefoƌe he looks,͟ LeitĐh edžplaiŶs, ͞ďut Gƌetel͛s has ŵoƌe of a plaŶ.͟

While game for anything, Arterton did not arrive a rough-and-tuŵďle kiŶd of gal. ͞WheŶ ǁe staƌted she said ͚I doŶ͛t ƌeallLJ see ŵLJself as a tough ĐhiĐk.͛ But she ǁoƌked haƌd aŶd got ǀeƌLJ stƌoŶg,͟ saLJs LeitĐh. AƌteƌtoŶ thƌeǁ heƌself iŶto the tƌaiŶiŶg. ͞I Đaŵe in before anybody else and worked with the stuŶt teaŵ iŶ a kiŶd of iŶteŶsiǀe ďoot Đaŵp,͟ she edžplaiŶs. ͞It ǁas gƌeat ďeĐause it ƌeallLJ ƌooted ŵe aŶd ŵade ŵe ŵoƌe pƌeseŶt iŶ the aĐtioŶ sĐeŶes. Theƌe͛s so ŵuĐh Gƌetel goes thƌough!͟

For Wirkola, the duo was perfectly matched to his ink-ďlaĐk ďut liǀelLJ ǀisioŶ. ͞JeƌeŵLJ has that leadiŶg man quality that can carry an action movie but he also has this darkness to him and an unpredictability that I love. When we brought in Gemma, she connected to him straight away, but she also proved that she can be just as funny and badass. I wanted Gretel to kick ass just as much as HaŶsel aŶd Geŵŵa does. TheLJ ďoth had so ŵuĐh fuŶ ǁith theiƌ ƌoles.͟

Adds pƌoduĐeƌ KeǀiŶ MessiĐk: ͞JeƌeŵLJ has that HaŶ “olo kiŶd of ƋualitLJ. To haǀesuch a great actor play Hansel in this fantasy world really helps ground the movie. And Gemma creates the perfect brother-sisteƌ ďalaŶĐe ǁith hiŵ. “he͛s ǀeƌLJ sedžLJ aŶd tough ďut she also ďƌiŶgs LJou iŶto theiƌ siďliŶg relationship. They have that love-hate relationship of two people who grew up going through an iŶĐƌediďle oƌdeal togetheƌ; it͛s just that theiƌ oƌdeal ǁas ǁitĐhes.͟

SUPPORTING CAST

One of the greatest threats to Hansel & Getel is Muriel, the shape-shifting villainess played former Bond Girl and X-MeŶ seƌies staƌ Faŵke JaŶsseŶ. ͞Muƌiel ƌules oǀeƌ all the otheƌ ĐƌazLJ ǁitĐhes,͟ explains Janssen, who transforms throughout the film from a ravishing, raven-haired beauty into a decaying, blood-ĐuƌdliŶg Đƌeatuƌe. ͞AŶd she͛s liteƌallLJ afteƌ Gƌetel͛s heaƌt.͟

Muriel might have a vendetta against the infamous witch hunters, but she is an equal opportunity toƌŵeŶtoƌ. ͞It͛s Ŷot just HaŶsel aŶd Gƌetel I͛ŵ hoƌƌiďle to. I͛ŵ hoƌƌiďle to all the otheƌ ǁitĐhes as ǁell, eǀeŶ ŵLJ sidekiĐks,͟ JaŶsseŶ ŵuses.

While witches luƌk iŶ the shadoǁs, oŶe of ŵoƌe poteŶt ǀillaiŶs iŶ HaŶsel & Gƌetel͛s ǁoƌld is peƌfeĐtlLJ human: Berringer, the power-hungry Sheriff of Augsburg, portrayed by Peter Stormare, known for his ƌosteƌ of sĐƌeeŶ ǀillaiŶs. “aLJs “toƌŵaƌe: ͞OŶe of the ideas of themovie is that humans can be just as daŶgeƌous as ghosts aŶd goďliŶs aŶd that idea ďlossoŵs ǁith ŵLJ ĐhaƌaĐteƌ.͟

A friendlier face in town is Ben, a kind of fairy tale fan-boy obsessed with Hansel & Gretel as the rock stars of their realm, played by the young American actor Thomas Mann. Says Gemma Arterton of MaŶŶ: ͞AŵoŶg all the ĐƌazLJ ĐaƌŶage, he ďƌiŶgs ŵoƌe ĐoŵedLJ.͟

HANSEL & GRETEL’S WORLD: THE PRODUCTION

One of the most thrilling challenges for Tommy Wirkola was getting the chance to create a whole new world for Hansel & Gretel to live in–and in so doing, let his audacious visual imagination run tƌulLJ ǁild. He oŶlLJ had oŶe iŶǀiolaďle ƌule: ͞It all had to look aŶd feel like a faiƌLJ-tale,͟ saLJs Wiƌkola. ͞We Ŷeeded those ƌiĐh, satuƌated Đoloƌs, the kiŶd ofcolors that grab you -- the green of the forest, the ƌed of the ďlood aŶd the ďlaĐkŶess of the ǁitĐhes.͟

All the standard details of fairy tale lore were re-engineered to meld with modern action and effects. ͞EǀeƌLJthiŶg ǁas a distiŶĐt ĐhoiĐe,͟ Ŷotes pƌoduĐeƌ KeǀiŶ MessiĐk. ͞EaĐh eleŵeŶt of the HaŶsel & Gretel tale was re-iŶǀeŶted ďLJ ToŵŵLJ aŶd his teaŵ.͟

To up the adƌeŶaliŶe aŶotheƌ ŶotĐh, Wiƌkola ŵade the deĐisioŶ to shoot the filŵ utiliziŶg ϯD. ͞WheŶ LJou͛ƌe ŵake a ŵoǀie like this, LJou ƌeallLJ ǁaŶt audieŶĐesto be completely immersed in it and 3D is all aďout that,͟ Wiƌkola edžplaiŶs. ͞It ǁideŶs eǀeƌLJthiŶg to the poiŶt that LJou feel like LJou aƌe iŶ this faiƌLJ tale laŶd.͟

A team headed by special effects make-up artist Mike Elizalde, founder of the renowned make-up effects company Spectral Motion (Hell Boy, Hell Boy 2), designed Edward the troll and took on bringing the witches to life -- then Wirkola brought in the Berlin-based special effects makeup studio Twilight Creations (Inglorious Basterds, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) to design the Stone Circle witches. But the real fun was in watching the actors take these roles into action sequences. ͞EaĐh of the peƌfoƌŵeƌs suddeŶlLJ ďeĐaŵe theiƌ ĐhaƌaĐteƌs,͟ saLJs Elizalde. ͞The aĐtoƌs ďƌought that jolt of electƌiĐitLJ.͟

AŶotheƌ esseŶtial foƌ the ǁitĐhes iŶ Wiƌkola͛s ǀisioŶ ǁas that theLJ had to ƌeallLJ, tƌulLJ flLJ-- furiously fast–ǀisĐeƌal Đhase sĐeŶes. ͞I alǁaLJs felt the ǁitĐhes had to haǀe ďƌooŵs, ďut I ǁaŶted to useiŶ

them in a new way, so that they are speedsteƌs,͟ saLJs Wiƌkola, ǁho ǁoƌked ǁith ǀisual effeĐts supervisor Jon Farhart, utilizing wires and green screens to launch the witches through the forest.

HelpiŶg to tuƌŶ ŵoƌe of Wiƌkola͛s iŵagiŶiŶgs iŶto ƌealitLJ ǁas pƌoduĐtioŶ desigŶeƌ “tepheŶ “Đott-- whoalso ǁoƌked oŶ Guilleƌŵo del Toƌo͛s HellďoLJ aŶd HellďoLJ Ϯ. Like Wiƌkola, “Đott ǁas ŵesŵeƌized ďLJ the ĐhaŶĐe to Đƌeate sets ƌaŶgiŶg fƌoŵ Đottages to Đaǀes aŶd uŶdeƌgƌouŶd Đhaŵďeƌs. ͞“tepheŶ has oŶe of the ƌiĐhest iŵagiŶatioŶs of aŶLJoŶe I͛ǀe eǀeƌ ŵet,͟ Đoŵŵents producer Messick.

Heading for Germany–the very landscapes that first inspired Hansel & Gretel to –was Scott especially thrilled to create sets in one of the haunting natural environments on earth: dark, virgin forests . . . the kind with full of twistiŶg ďƌaŶĐhes that ƌeaĐh out as if to gƌaď LJou,. ͞We fouŶds foƌests with a real medieval feel --aŶd also ǁith tƌees that haǀe a sĐaƌLJ side,͟ “Đott edžplaiŶs.

IŶ additioŶ to the foƌest sets, “Đott aŶd his teaŵ had fuŶ ďuildiŶg Muƌiel͛s laiƌ ;ǁhiĐh gloǁs ǁith the dLJiŶg eŵďeƌs of ĐhildƌeŶ͛s soulsͿ, the ŵouth-watering but malevolent Candy House and the set they Đalled ͞“toŶe CiƌĐle,͟ sĐeŶe of the filŵ͛s ĐliŵaĐtiĐ shoǁdoǁŶ.

OŶe of Wiƌkola͛s faǀoƌite sets ďeĐaŵe the CaŶdLJ House. ͞EǀeƌLJoŶe has theiƌ oǁŶ idea ofwhat that house ŵight look like,͟ Ŷotes the diƌeĐtoƌ. ͞But the iŵpoƌtaŶt thiŶg ǁas that it Ŷeeded to look so teŵptiŶg that a Đouple of LJouŶg kids ǁould igŶoƌe theiƌ skeptiĐisŵ.͟

͞We see it fiƌst iŶ the ŵooŶlight,͟ ĐoŶtiŶues “Đott, ͞ǁith all its gooeLJ, ŵelting chocolate, gingerbread on the walls and sparkling sweeties. But it also has a hidden side because inside is the Candy Witch, aŶd the house aŶd the ǁitĐh aƌe oŶe aŶd the saŵe: aŶ eǀil aŶd ŶastLJ pieĐe of ǁoƌk.͟

Perhaps the most ambitious set of all is the Stone Circle, where a daring rescue unfolds amidst bloodthirsty witches. The scene involved hundreds of cast and crew, multiple cameras, cranes and ďuĐkets of ďlood. ͞I loǀe a ďig aĐtioŶ fiŶale,͟ saLJs Wiƌkola. ͞It͛s a fuŶ ŵidž of ǁitĐhes, ŵaĐhiŶe guŶs anda peƌsoŶal ďattle.͟

Cƌeatiǀe fuŶ also fueled the filŵ͛s Đostuŵes, desigŶed ďLJ MaƌleŶe “teǁaƌt ;TeƌŵiŶatoƌ ϮͿ, ǁho designed and created nearly 100 costumes from scratch. She wanted Hansel & Gretel to look like they belonged in a fairy tale world but also look like they could be badass bounty hunters of any era. Their costumes might be made from traditional leather and linen–ďut theƌe͛s ŶothiŶg aŶtiƋue aďout theŵ. ͞We tuƌŶed all the tƌaditioŶs aƌouŶd ďLJ giǀiŶg theŵ a tough edge,͟ “teǁaƌt edžplaiŶs.

The actors were grateful for the inspiration the costumes provided. Says Gemma Arterton: ͞EǀeƌLJďodLJ ǁeŶt ĐƌazLJ foƌ heƌ Đostuŵes. MLJ Đostuŵe ǁas ďoth a little toŵďoLJish aŶd ǀeƌLJ sedžLJ. “he did such a great job; honestly, I would wear that costume down the street, Iloǀed it so ŵuĐh.͟

While theiƌ ĐlothiŶg is tiŵeless, HaŶsel & Gƌetel͛s ǁitĐh-hunting arsenal is as deadly as any from our times. Simon Boucherie, a weapons designer from Berlin collaborated with Wirkola on all the weaponry in the film. For the weaponry, Wiƌkola had a kiŶd of ͞steaŵpuŶk͟ ǀisioŶ of ƌetƌo-futuristic guns and bows that draw on century-old stLJles LJet featuƌe thoƌoughlLJ ŵodeƌŶ fiƌepoǁeƌ. ͞We had this rule that all the weapons should look like they hand-ŵade theŵ,͟ he edžplaiŶs. ͞We had a lot of fuŶ ĐoŵiŶg up ǁith ĐƌazLJ desigŶs.͟

Wiƌkola also ŵade ďƌotheƌ aŶd sisteƌ͛s ĐhoiĐes of ǁeapoŶƌLJ peƌsoŶal. ͞HaŶsel is the guLJ ǁho ďuƌsts in and tries to take everybody out with a shotgun, but Gretel is more about subtle precision, so she has a double-barrel crossďoǁ that speaks to heƌ ĐhaƌaĐteƌ, LJet does ǁhat she Ŷeeds.͟

From the weapons to the effects to the action, that irreverent mix of the fantastical and the fearsome became the guiding principle for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Tommy Wirkola summarizes:͞The filŵ has a lot of aĐtioŶ, ďut it ǁas eƋuallLJ iŵpoƌtaŶt that it haǀe aŶ adǀeŶtuƌous feel aŶd a fuŶ feeliŶg to it. It͛s still a faiƌLJ tale, ďut a ǀeƌLJ iŶteŶse oŶe.͟