"And really it was a wonderful tea. There was a nice brown egg, lightly boiled, for each of them, and then sardines on toast, and then buttered toast, and then toast with honey, and then a sugar-topped cake. And when Lucy was tired of eating, the Faun began to talk." ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’
Bottom Line: Dreadlocks on white people are truly scary.
In a recent Disney release, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, actress Tilda Swinton brings to life author C.S. Lewis's embodiment of sin and mysticism in the character of "The White Witch".
The Witch keeps Narnia in the dead of winter, but with "never any Christmases" as the Narnians complain.
Swinton's talent for portraying the Witch's crafty evilness was helped to the screen by the work of talented Makeup Designer and artist, Australian native Nikki Gooley.
Back in 1999, the film ‘Battlefield Earth’ was being prepped for pre-production, and my office was next door to the manager of the Film's director- Roger Christian.
The film had John Travolta cast as Terl, a "Psychlos" alien creature with a head full of natty dreads.
It was my first exposure to seeing a studio film being put together in the earliest of stages, with intense jockeying for key positions and casting discussions. It was a revolving door of meetings and observable gnashing of teeth most days.
One day I approached Christian. He had been educating all of us on the art of brewing a proper pot of tea, and had found a shop nearby in Beverly Hills called Paddington's Tea Room that sold a strong, loose black leaf by Fortnum and Masons.
It was during a casting conversation combined with a tea tutorial that I asked him if he had ever worked with Tilda Swinton, whose work I admired.
As only men possessing the wildly disparate U.K. accents can get away with here in the States, laying out declarative statements with omniscient authority, Christian simply stated, "Tilda is Godhead" (in a nutshell, divine nature).
Nikki Gooley
The Chronicles of Narnia .’
Nikki was responsible for creating the White Witch character. With a short pre-production period, Swinton shared her time with several different productions, and was awhirl in a fairly intense prep conceptualization with Nikki for this character.
"Initially I had had a few conversations with (Narnia) director Andrew Adamson. He had suggested black hair and red lips," said Gooley. A concept drawing of the Witch presented to Nikki looked a bit too predictable, and after a few creative meetings it was decided a mixture of reds would work better.
Gooley wanted to create a really translucent, wet look for her face.
Nikki Gooley and Tilda Swinton
Gooley tried air brushing product directly on Swinton, but she felt it took away some life, looking too "made up".
According to Gooley it was a challenge to not cross the line into a "Geisha" look. It became a matter of finding a makeup base that had a fairly thick consistency, without looking cake-y or dry.
"It was a mix of Bobbi Brown Smooth Skin Foundation mixed with a Shiseido Foundation stick. I bleached her eyebrows; put Arden's Eight Hour cream over the top of them and on her lips. Clear mascara, and while wet I put on white mascara fibers." explained Gooley.
"It was the result of conversations with Tilda that the whole dreadlock idea came about. I had a book on dreadlocks, and we were talking shapes, and tried a mixture of old wigs - one of them had dreads and it looked quite funky and white in color. The whole process had begun for her first look."
Nikki Gooley and Tilda Swinton
Nikki added, "Production designer Roger Ford was afraid they (dreadlocks) were too big, so then the whole "shrinking" idea for when she starts to lose her power was created."
The "Narnia" costume department, collaborating with Roger Ford, utilized an art department concept artist, Dorotka Sapinska, to create The Witch's “ice crown” made for Tilda, which initially proved to be quite uncomfortable and heavy.
Together Nikki and Dorotka designed a headpiece was made out of a flexible lightweight fabric that was pinned into Tilda's wig. In the climactic battle scene, Gooley used the same foundation with red MAC Paint and red mascara.
While Nikki was working in New Zealand on "Narnia", she also was part of the dynamic makeup team for ‘Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.’
"Sith" shot on Gooley's home turf of Australia, as well as England and several other locales.
Closely working with the special FX makeup artists on those two heavy "effects" movies, her collaboration with Howard Berger, Tami Lane and Dave Elsey (‘Star Wars’) proved to be a bit of a juggle.
Nikki explains, "When a makeup team is divided into two departments - Makeup & Hair and Prosthetics or Special FX Makeup - it can be rather difficult in the cross over with ideas and communication, but on ‘Narnia’ and ‘Star Wars’ it was a nice blend. The cross-overs with both Dave Elsey and Howard Berger were small; however, it always felt like it was a team effort. We were all on the same page."
Nikki's extensive film work is not limited to creatures and witches. In the 2002 movie ‘Ghost Ship’, her work was stylized and true to period.
Actress Francesca Rettondini, who played the raven haired torch singer, had amazing makeup, hair and styling.
"Making up Francesca was like making up Sophia Loren, I wanted to capture the sultry siren, the classic movie star look from the golden days of film. I used False lashes, and I got my hands on some great fashion books from the 40's and 50's, hoping that I could give the same textures to the makeup, and shapes to the hair. I think I even used an original Max Factor lipstick," confides Nikki.
In 1999 ‘The Matrix’ featured Nikki's work with Carrie Ann Moss. Moss had a wonderful icy finish to her skin, a very crisp palette.
Nikki said to create that cool precise look, "very little makeup was used on Carrie Anne for The Matrix, some Derma Palette on a few areas, but no total foundation, some cream blush and a sheer lipstick. I loved working on the first Matrix – It was ground breaking with new techniques. The story was so different."
Nikki's most recent work to hit the screens will be seen in the anticipated ‘Superman Returns’ , directed by Bryan Singer. The film features Brandon Routh as Superman / Clark Kent, and Kevin Spacey as arch-villain Lex Luthor.
"Superman was an interesting project. I wanted it to look timeless, real, but at the same time give it comic book sharpness. I had to organize the creation of hand painted blue contacts because Brandon's eyes are brown, and give him a "Super Hero" hairdo without looking like a wig."
"Superman" proved to be an entirely new experience for Nikki. The film was shot by cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel with Panavision's most advanced Genesis digital camera system.
"There was a lot of discussion about his curl (hair), movement versus none, and giving him a healthy glow without looking like he had been to a solarium. The added dimension was it was shot on this new Genesis HD camera," said Nikki. Continuing her thoughts on the buzz today regarding hi def resolution challenges, she added, "I am old fashioned, in the sense of loving film and the texture it gives. More and more is shot on HD now. You have to become best friends with the director of photography! Makeup-wise I have found less is more, but lighting is so important - especially with wigs and prosthetics."
Nikki has been listed in credits both as a hair stylist and a makeup artist, designer and supervisor. When asked which craft was more preferred, Nikki said, "I like both hair and makeup, but I do believe what ever you have trained with first is usually the strongest. I believe that practically for me that is makeup, but I love to de-construct hair, putting the whole package together."
Having the opportunity, again, to poke around a top artist's kit, I had to ask her the "What are Nikki's favorite things?" question.
"My products change all the time, but I do love MAC Cosmetics Face and Body, and some of the primers that are around, and Crème de la Mer.”
If she were to advise anyone what they should have on hand for a basic "face", "For the woman who has no idea of what to wear, I would suggest a dusting of MAC Studio Fix, a dash of color on the cheeks, try Stila Cheek color, sharpen the eyebrows with a pencil and add a splash of gloss on the lips - try MAC Lip Conditioner – hint of color but not too much. I would never leave town without my eyebrow pencil & lash curler!” shared Nikki.
Nikki Gooley is currently in New Zealand working on the film ‘The Waterhorse’ directed by Jay Russell, starring Ben Chaplin and Emily Watson. The film is based on the Dick King-Smith novel about a lonely young boy who discovers a mysterious egg that hatches a legendary Scottish sea creature.
Peter Jackson’s WETA workshop and digital will be responsible for the creature effects. Walden Media (Narnia) and Ecosse films are producing.
Skincare and Makeup Product review:
After Heba Thorisdottir shared some of her product recommends, I had to investigate for myself (see "Beauty & the Beast "Blondes do have more fun"). The Arcona line of skincare (www.arcona.com ) has been a most welcome change for me.
In the two weeks that I have been using the basic five products for morning and night, my skin has never looked better. I look forward to trying their salon services offered locally too.
The stand out - must have items, are their cleansing bars (it's not soap!), Magic White Ice, Golden Grain Gommage, Gentle Solution, and the amazing "Desert Mist"- a skin life preserver for men and women, which I recommended today to the Script Supervisor on director Michael Bay's ‘Transformers’ movie, their production offices set up for three weeks at a remote air force base in New Mexico: average temperature in the shade: 124 degrees Fahrenheit.
More huzzahs go to Julie Hewett, (www.juliehewett.net ). Fanning the flames of my ongoing lipstick fetish, I received three lipsticks and matching liners, a stand-out rich matte deep red for dressier moments," Cocoa Noir", and a sheerer, moist, rich deep blue-red called 'Film Noir".
With the current crop of movies-‘Notorious Bettie Page’ and ‘The Black Dahlia’ coming soon, you will want these stunning reds in your vamp arsenal. "Nude Noir", the last of the three, is a fleshy, neutral, soft red that anyone can wear, more daytime. Hewett's mineral "Ora" powder is ethereal, a perfect amount of real coverage for those with skin that wants very little on it during the day.
I was also on the hunt for a good liquid base for those times a more finished face was needed.
I purchased two of the lighter shades in the "Ultra Foundation" line by Canada-based FACE Atelier ( www.faceatelier.com ), their highly touted liquid foundation in shades Ivory and Wheat.
My instincts were correct-I was a custom blend of both colors, and could not be happier with the wear, look and feel of it.
Summer movies are upon us. Robin Williams takes Bungling Dad mantle from Chevy Chase in feature film ‘RV.’
Magnolia Home Entertainment releases an under the wire, must-see DVD: ‘The World's Fastest Indian’ starring Anthony Hopkins.
Another DVD to see, "Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party", director and D.P. Robert Brinkmann brings the collective stories of actor Stephen Tobolowsky onscreen.
Tobolowsky poignantly asks the question "what happens to a flame when you blow it out?", and charms viewers with his intimate monologue and celebratory birthday party recounting the wondrous, moving, miraculous and dangerous twists he has experienced in his life.
Narnia fans alert: Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is scheduled to begin production in the Fall. (editor’s note – latest news has the production being delayed until 2007)
Legendary Cinematographer Gordon Willis, who director Woody Allen still refers to "as the best cameraman in the world" turns 75 this May.
Allen begins his pre-production in London this June, working with Scarlett Johansson once again.
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