Against the backdrop of this meticulously imagined world, a gleefully physical adventure unfolds as a sheltered princess of ‘Mirror Mirror’ learns to adapt to life outside the palace walls. From her woodland hosts, Snow White begins to learn to stand up for herself in stirring action sequences. As always, director Tarsem Singh was concerned with authenticity. “I wanted actual physical fighting with real weapons and real aggression,” says Singh. “But more than anything, I wanted the actors to actually take part in the adventurous parts of this film.”

The film’s stars underwent months of intensive training for grueling action scenes involving swordplay, acrobatics, high-speed horseback riding and more. “It was five days a week, almost six hours a day of sword fighting,” says Armie Hammer. “And I had the blisters and the calluses to prove it.

I learned how to do a back flip with a sword in my hand, and a front flip with a sword in my hand, and a side flip and a vortex flip—all things that I never knew how to do before. I was always excited to see what we were going to be doing next. My favorite thing was riding the horses right on the soundstage at a full gallop.”

Lily Collins adds, “There was a lot of fight training in this film. We did sword fighting and fencing and wrestling and acrobatics and then physical training. We worked out in the gym, we ran, we lifted weights. It was really intense.”

Fight coordinator Jean Frenette taught the actors the basics of combat, step by arduous step. “There’s a progression to it,” he says. “It’s like boot camp in the beginning. The process of repetition helps the actors build up their confidence and skill level over time. We want them to treat it seriously but we don’t want them to over-train and burn out. It’s a lot like preparing an athlete for a competition.”

Stunt coordinator Marc Desourdy adds, “Lily and Armie were fantastic. They’re so coordinated and so talented. They learn very quickly. Lily was very keen on doing all of her own stunts. We put her to work doing flips and acrobatics. And we did the same with Armie. When you see them close-up, sword fighting, it’s all them.”

In the end, the work paid off in action sequences that appear effortless, says Goldmann. “Watching them on film, it’s easy to forget all the work that went into it. Lily and Armie rehearsed and trained, and rehearsed and trained. They put in the time so that when we shot these sequences, they came out perfectly.”

One of Singh’s cunning innovations resulted in a series of action scenes that require complex preparation and physical daring. Since the Dwarfs had been thrown out of the village because of their size, he thought, they might likely become fixated on their height. Trying to compensate for their stature, Mirror Mirror’s little men commit their robberies on stilts. Desourdy tracked down a group of daredevil stilt walkers in Toulouse, France, to train the actors to fight on stilts.

“They were amazing,” he says. “They taught our guys to walk, run and jump with stilts. The stunts that are performed on the stilts are absolutely sensational and unlike anything you’ve seen before. The audience is in for a treat.”

Image Courtesy of Mirror Mirror

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It will come as no surprise to anyone who has seen director Tarsem Singh’s earlier work that ‘Mirror Mirror’ is an extraordinary visual feast. Built on massive sound stages in Montreal, the settings include a haunting snowbound forest, a rustic and richly detailed cabin inside a hollow tree, a gloriously over-the top Great Hall for the Queen’s elaborate and expensive fetes and a seemingly infinite palace bedroom in which to hatch her nefarious schemes.

Complementing the fantastical locations are the film’s sumptuous costumes, hair and makeup, which leapfrog from century to century, incorporating both authentic historical detail and complete fantasy.

As executive producer Kevin Misher says, “Tarsem brings a blend of poetry, magic and visual flare to every film he works on. He incorporates a vast spectrum of influences from Eastern architecture to Western culture and everything in between.”

Production design was at the core of the film from the very beginning of the creative process, according to Singh. “When conceptualizing ‘Mirror Mirror’, I remembered a Russian film I’d seen called Ivan’s Childhood. There’s a romantic scene in that movie that takes place in a silver birch forest. I immediately thought that if I could have a similar set designed it could define the tone of this film.”

Singh explains his passion for visual detail this way, “Physically constructing an alternate reality is a beautiful experience. I want to create the world that the characters live in, so that the actors have a better understanding of how they should be portrayed. It was a real joy creating the world that these characters live in.”

Production designer Tom Foden, cinematographer Brendan Galvin and costume designer Eiko Ishioka have all collaborated with Singh on three earlier films. This longstanding artistic partnership was a keystone in the success of the production design, says producer Bernie Goldmann. “Tom and Tarsem have developed a way of working together to really define the look of the movie. Tom provided us with a great foundation for both the magic and the emotion we envisioned. He’s an incredible designer who helped us build characters with his work.

“Watching the sets take shape over time blew me away,” he continues. “I was always aware that I might never see a set like that again. It was really old fashioned moviemaking and it felt like we were making a Warner Bros.’ movie from the ’30s or ’40s. The level of detail and craftsmanship was unbelievable. It’s over-the-top opulent.”

Rather than depend on special effects to create the vast universe of ‘Mirror Mirror’, the filmmakers opted for practical sets whenever possible. “We certainly use green screen and wonderful visual effects in the film,” says Singh. “However, I also wanted to make the actors’ surroundings as visceral and real as possible.

That’s why the sets had to be oversized.” The production design was unlike any Julia Roberts had seen before. “The sets are sensational,” she marvels. “The Magical Cottage, where the Queen meets with her alter ego, is beautiful and the Great Hall, where we did a lot of the party scenes, is mind-blowing. When you see the space filled up with all these people dressed in wild outfits, it’s really something. They don’t make many movies like this anymore.”

Hammer, too, says the sets were bigger and bolder than he could ever have imagined. “The Queen’s bedroom was bigger than most amphitheaters,” he says. “The whole atmosphere is so grand that you are able to suspend your disbelief. The scale is so enormous that it’s almost difficult to comprehend. People are going to walk into this film and see something truly unique.”

Image Courtesy of Mirror Mirror

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Departing from the original tale, the filmmakers of the new interpretation of the Grimm Brothers’ Snow White, ‘Mirror Mirror’, added a crucial character to the Queen’s court: Brighton, her faithful but bumbling servant. “Brighton fills the role of the huntsman from the old stories,” says producer Bernie Goldmann. “It’s a very complex part. He’s the person who decides whether Snow lives or dies, but he is also the Queen’s sidekick. As we looked at different actors against Julia [Roberts], that started to really define what the movie would be.”

Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Nathan Lane plays Brighton, turning the role into a comedic tour de force. “Nathan also helped influence so many of the other performances in the movie,” says Goldmann. “He’s a wonderfully skilled comic actor and so generous. He was really present for the characters he interacts with.”

As the Queen’s long-suffering and much-abused servant, Brighton tries his best to please her, says Lane. “But he’s a constant disappointment to her. It’s a bit like what I imagine being Faye Dunaway’s assistant is like. But fortunately, comedy ensues.” Lane gives his reasons for accepting the role with characteristic brio. “I said yes to the part because of the outfit,” he says. “It was the opportunity to look like the late Shirley Booth that compelled me to play Brighton.”

Actually, he says, he jumped at the chance to work with Roberts. The pair met doing a benefit for Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp several years earlier. “I just thought we would have fun together,” says Lane. “The character is kind of like the one she played in My Best Friend’s Wedding, only much meaner. She’s not a nice person, but villains are always the best parts. If you’re going to play the evil Queen, part of the fun is playing someone who doesn’t seem to have a conscience. And she looks fabulous in those stunning costumes.”

The relationship between Lane and Roberts became one of the comedic centerpieces of the movie. “Together they created a sense of playfulness within the evil they are plotting,” says producer Kevin Misher. “They are the villains for the adults, but also the comic foil for the kids. The part was originally conceived as a fairly small character, but with an actor of Nathan’s talents, it became a star turn.”

After being abandoned in the woods by Brighton, Snow White finds herself surrounded by a bickering band of outlaws, none of whom stands as high as her chin. Tarsem Singh has reinvented the familiar roster of hi-ho-ing miners as a quarrelsome gang of bandits who have turned to crime after being forced to flee their comfortable lives in the village.

“The Queen, who’s interested in outer beauty, has exiled them because they don’t fit her physical ideal,” says Goldmann. “That detail adds to the narrative by contributing emotional depth to the characters and making them relatable.”

Image Courtesy of Mirror Mirror

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