The filmmakers behind the latest movie in the “X-Men” franchise created the uncanny valley but with a real person.
One scene in “Dark Phoenix” has a woman stepping away from her dinner party to tend to a barking dog. When she returns, she seems a bit … off. The color has drained from her face and she’s moving as if her own body is alien to her. That woman is played by Jessica Chastain, and her body has indeed been snatched by an alien named Smith, also played by Chastain.
Smith is the film’s primary villain, and a new addition to the “X-Men” movies. Her goal is to tap into, and usurp, the heightened superpowers that have turned Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) into a nearly unstoppable force. Smith is none too friendly to humanity in that pursuit.
The character has a look that is mildly off-kilter, like a trip into the uncanny valley, but using a human rather than a robot or computer-generated imagery to arrive there. The styling was minimal, but still involved a few thoughtful steps to get Chastain to this human-esque place. Below is a closer look at how.
Hair
Chastain’s light wig was inspired by some of Tilda Swinton’s screen looks.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox
Chastain’s light wig was inspired by some of Tilda Swinton’s screen looks.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox
The film’s writer and director, Simon Kinberg, said that Chastain wanted a look that went far in the opposite direction from her previous screen appearances. “We looked at stripping down, not just the pigment of her hair down to white, but actually stripping down almost all makeup,” he said in an interview. “She becomes this ghostly, and yet at the same time saintly looking character, depending on your perspective.”
Some of Tilda Swinton’s offbeat looks in movies were considered as inspiration. Chastain wore a light wig that helped in the transformation.
Eyes and Skin
The makeup was limited to a Korean BB cream to make Chastain paler.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox
The makeup was limited to a Korean BB cream to make Chastain paler.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox
Chastain worked with Linda Dowds, who has done her makeup for several films, including “Molly’s Game” and “Crimson Peak.” Dowds first considered using special contacts to give Chastain’s eyes an out-there look, but decided to forgo the lenses. Instead, she kept the makeup to a minimum, using just a Korean BB cream to make her paler. “It has a tiny bit of iridescence to it,” she said in a phone interview. “It lightens up the skin to give it a little bit of a glow and create something almost ethereal, but not anything too crazy.” The idea was to give “a little clue to something otherworldly, but not completely give it away.”
Lips
A tint, not lipstick, is the only hint of color on Chastain’s face.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox
A tint, not lipstick, is the only hint of color on Chastain’s face.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox
For Chastain’s lips, Dowds went with a tinted treatment rather than full-on lipstick. “In these lip tints, there’s some moisture and there’s a bit of color in them but they don’t flatten out the lips,” she said. That hint of lip color was the only signifier Dowds used to suggest life in Chastain’s face. Otherwise, it is a sea of paleness, with her eyebrows nearly fading away into the light skin.The filmmakers ruled out an all-white look as too alien.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox
A Vision in Black
Smith learns how to toggle between light and dark. She needs to seem as if she’s going to Jean to help save her, even when her intentions are more nefarious. That duality also speaks to the larger themes of the movie, which deal in these contrasts. To assist with this visually, the filmmakers paid special attention to Chastain’s costumes.
When Kinberg and Chastain first spoke of the look, he said, she was interested in the idea of her character being clinical, almost like a doctor. So in addition to the pale skin and white hair, she wanted to wear white. “We tested that,” Kinberg said, “and it all started to feel too clinical, too alien.”
“When we put her in black clothes,” he continued, “the juxtaposition made her feel slightly off, but not so much so that if you saw her walk into a bar you would think, well that’s an alien.”
Daniel Orlandi (“Logan”) oversaw the costuming for Chastain, who was dressed primarily in two black outfits. “The black helped make her skin almost translucent,” he said. “It created a chic look, and her silhouette became much stronger when we darkened everything.”
Orlandi decided on a long coat with a little movement. “We tried some blazers, but that just seemed kind of common,” he said. “We wanted her to not be common, but also not flamboyant.” The result is something that feels calming, while projecting a sense of menace at the same time.
As Jean Grey begins to unravel, so do the X-Men as they take on her alter-ego, Dark Phoenix. USA TODAY
Spoiler alert! The following story details a major plot point in the new X-Men movie “Dark Phoenix,” so beware if you haven’t seen it yet.
“Dark Phoenix” was pretty much non-stop roiling emotions for Sophie Turner as she filmed the epic breakdown of X-Men heroine Jean Grey. So much so that a running joke arose between Turner and director Simon Kinberg.
“He would be like, ‘All right, another intense climactic scene for the movie!’ And it would be every single day,” says Turner, 23. “I was constantly draining myself emotionally, but it was so exciting for me because it’s one of the first roles I’ve had where I didn’t just stand in the background, able to hang out and make jokes and (mess) around on set. It really put me to the test and I loved it.”
But one scene almost broke Turner.
Seriously. This is your last chance to bail out, because things are about to get super-spoilery.
Powerful telekinetic Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) becomes a pawn in a cosmic conflict when her abilities grow stronger and more unstable in the X-Men film “Dark Phoenix.” (Photo: DOANE GREGORY)
“Dark Phoenix” finds Jean being blown up during a space mission, but instead of dying, she’s possessed by a cosmic force that gives her god-like powers. Unfortunately, as addictive as these abilities are, this new entity inside her tears her apart, inside and out.
Jean was orphaned at a young age and taken in by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) after she survived a car accident that killed her parents. But she finds out that Xavier’s been lying and her dad is still alive, not wanting to have anything to do with her after blaming Jean for his wife’s death.
The X-woman goes to her old home to confront him, and she runs into Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and the X-Men who’ve traveled to find her before she does something rash. Mystique tries to calm her down, but feelings get out of hand and Jean unleashes a telekinetic blast that forcefully impales Mystique onto the business end of a bulldozer, killing her.
“It’s the catalyst for everything that happens in the movie,” says Turner, who was “hyperaware” of how important Lawrence’s fatal finale was. “There was a lot of buzz around the scene, and I didn’t take it lightly.”
Sophie Turner says her role as a conflicted Jean Grey in “Dark Phoenix” is “on a different level” than any she’s played before, including Sansa Stark. AP
The problem was, Turner didn’t sleep at all the night before because she was so worried about the scene, and the actress had trouble mentally getting into it during filming.
“It’s such a kind of emotionally hyped-up scene,” Turner says. “I was crying because I couldn’t get it, and then the minute I started to feel that kind of frustration and that anger, I realized, ‘This is what Jean is supposed to be feeling right now.’
“The fact that I couldn’t get the scene right made me get the scene right.”
Jennifer Lawrence, who stars as the blue-skinned shapeshifter Mystique in “Dark Phoenix,” co-starred with Sophie Turner in one of the film’s most pivotal scenes. (Photo: DOANE GREGORY)
Co-star Michael Fassbender was “really blown away” by Turner’s maturity and how she handled each shooting day, he says. “She really has to go to some pretty extreme places emotionally.” And Kinberg adds that actors would tell him how “incredible” she was: “Everybody knows she’s a great actress from ‘Game of Thrones,’ but she definitely surprised all of us.”
Headlining “Dark Phoenix” was “a daunting task,” Turner says, but she adored the support from Lawrence and others.
‘I felt like, ‘Well, I’m really going to (mess) this up because I have (freaking) Oscar winners and Oscar nominees all around me and they choose me to lead it? That girl from that TV show?’ ” Turner recalls. “To have them root for me was just the most special thing.
LOS ANGELES – After nearly 20 years and a dozen films, the current manifestation of X-Men movies is going out with a whimper.
Scorched by poor reviews, “Dark Phoenix” earned a franchise low of $33 million from 3,700 North American locations over the weekend for a second-place finish, according to studio estimates on Sunday. First place went instead to “The Secret Life of Pets 2.”
The sequel, featuring the voices of Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Harrison Ford in his first animated role, grossed an estimated $47.1 million in ticket sales. Although less than half of what the first film opened to in 2016, it’s still a major win for the studio, considering the production budget was around $80 million. Including international grosses, its global total is already sitting at $97 million.
“It’s a fantastic result,” says Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic theatrical distribution. “We couldn’t be more proud.”
Duke (left, voiced by Eric Stonestreet) and Max (Patton Oswalt) have a lot to learn from no-nonsense farm dog Rooster (Harrison Ford) in “The Secret Life of Pets 2.” (Photo: ILLUMINATION ENTERTAINMENT/UNIVERSAL PICTURES)
With decidedly less stellar results, “Dark Phoenix” trailed behind the talking animals. Directed by longtime X-Men scribe Simon Kinberg, it focuses on Jean Grey, who is played by Sophie Turner, fresh off of her “Game of Thrones” run as Sansa Stark. It also brings back James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence. It’s the de facto conclusion to the modern X-Men movies that started in 2000, and also the first major 20th Century Fox film to be released by Disney following the acquisition.
Listen to this week’s episode of USA TODAY’s podcast, The Mothership, to hear our Tech Reporter and Film Critic discuss whether X-Men’s “Dark Phoenix” will rise from its counterpart’s ashes.
But the quality wasn’t there and it scored even worse reviews overall than the widely disparaged “X-Men: Apocalypse.” Audiences who showed up seemed to concur with the critics, giving it a deadly B-minus on CinemaScore.
“It’s softer than we hoped,” says Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of theatrical distribution. “While the film didn’t open the way we wanted, we think the legacy of the X-Men series is important and it’s more important than how one film opens. We’re trying to keep it in perspective.”
Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey gets imbued with great power that tears her apart, inside and out, in the X-Men film “Dark Phoenix.” (Photo: 20TH CENTURY FOX)
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, notes even with the lackluster North American debut and reception, “Dark Phoenix” was No. 1 internationally with $107 million from 53 territories, including China. Globally, it earned $140 million.
“In the international marketplace, it seems like the spectacle and the brand wins out,” Dergarabedian says.
Also, the X-Men characters, which had been licensed to Fox, are now expected to be integrated with Disney’s stable of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Disney’s new extended “Aladdin” trailer is here for the live-action remake that hits theaters May 24.WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
Disney has another winner in its books in “Aladdin,” which coasted to third place in its third weekend with an additional $24.5 million. Globally, it has earned $604.9 million to date.
And the acclaimed Elton John biopic “Rocketman” rounded out the top five with $14 million.
Overall, the box office is healthy. The weekend is up 37% from last year when “Ocean’s 8” opened and the year-to-date deficit improved again. The year is now down 5.9%.
Of all the games to top the PlayStation Store download charts last month, we wouldn’t have predicted Minecraft. The ever popular build-em-up has been available on PS4 for nearly five years, so why has it topped both the North American and European charts? Well, the game was recently updated with a bunch of new items, so there’s that.
In fact, second place on both charts goes to an older game, too: Grand Theft Auto V. In Europe, Days Gone takes the bronze, while brutal fighter Mortal Kombat 11 takes third in the US. World War Z is also quite prominent, taking fourth and fifth positions on the respective charts.
As for PlayStation VR, it’s Sony’s Blood & Truth that’s the top seller in Europe. However, it’s beaten to first place in North America by Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted. Unsurprisingly, the newly released action title Dauntless takes the free-to-play chart.
Take a look at the North American and European charts through the respective links. Are you still chipping away at Minecraft on PS4? Don’t be a Creeper in the comments below.
The Xbox E3 2019 briefing took place today, as Microsoft hit the stage in Los Angeles to unveil its roadmap for the rest of this year and beyond. Xbox has already kicked off a notable sale in tandem with today’s event, but as expected, we saw a number of announcements and updates on the latest coming down the pipeline this year.
Xbox E3 2019 kicks-off with The Outworlds
Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division kicked off the Xbox E3 2019 event with an unveiling of The Outworlds. A dystopian FPS, this beautifully animated title started this year’s Xbox event with a bang. It is available for pre-order today and will ship on October 25, 2019.
Bleeding Edge from Microsoft’s Xbox Studios
Next up was the new combat-action brawler Bleeding Edge, which hit with jam-packed thriller detailing 4 on 4 gameplay that’s slightly reminiscent of Super Smash Brothers in its own way. It will hit Microsoft Game Pass on June 27th.
The creators of Minecraft are back
Ready for a new Minecraft title? One of the big early unveils of the Xbox E3 2019 presser was Minecraft Dungeons, a unique one versus all game that takes the visuals you know with a whole new take on the iconic game. There’s even some Zelda vibes here. Available in the spring of 2020, Minecraft Dungeons is possibly going to be an Xbox Game Pass-only release. More details are sure to come by the end of the year.
New Star Wars title in-route from EA
We’ll be getting another new Star Wars title this November, and we’re excited to see how the last few years have re-shaped EA’s approach to the series. Available for pre-order today and shipping in November, Jedi Fallen Order offers a fresh take on the iconic Star Wars lineup. It will release on November 15th with appearances by Rogue One characters and well-known Star Wars mainstays.
Remember the Blair Witch Project? It’s getting a game remake
We’re getting a Blair Witch Project reboot on August 30th, taking the ghost and zombie classic to the small screen with a classic FPS styling. Details were few and far between, but it will be available in Q3 with more to come later this summer.
Cyberpunk 2077 gets more details at Xbox E3 2019
The upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 was featured at the Xbox E3 2019 event after getting the same treatment last year. The upcoming role-playing title from CD Projekt set in a metropolis of the future got a special unveil from Keanu Reeves. Set some 57 years after the original Cyberpunk 2020, the latest version will be released on April 16th, 2020 and is available for pre-order today.
Xbox Game Pass
A few small updates for Xbox Game Pass were detailed today, including additions to its lineup: Batman Arkam Knight, Metro, Hollow Knight, and Borderlands The Handsome Collection. Otherwise, this bit of the Xbox E3 2019 briefing left quite a bit to be desired. Xbox Game Pass for PC officially launches today following last week’s unveiling. There will be 100 games available at launch, including Football Manager 2019 and Imperator Rome. The entire Halo Master Chief Collection will also be available at launch, with more titles to come after the open beta is over. It will be $9.99 per month at that time. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will bring both together on console and PC, along with an Xbox Live Gold for $14.99 monthly following a $1 trial launch discount.
New Xbox One Elite Controller
Our first batch of new hardware today was an update to the Xbox One Elite Controller, officially dubbed Series 2. It takes all of the best features from the original and adds a whole new level of customization, including customizable trigger locks, mechanical tension adjustments and a built-in rechargeable battery. A new docking system is also coming as well. It will be available for pre-order later today on the Xbox Store.
LEGO expansion coming to Forza Horizon 4
Xbox has done a stellar job of bringing expansions to its Forza games, and the latest is one you’re not going to want to miss. LEGO is coming to Forza Horizon 4 on June 13th with a new expansion pack announced today at the Xbox E3 2019 briefing. Based on what we saw from the quick video preview, this is going to be an add-on you won’t want to miss.
Project xCloud gets an update with October launch date
Project xCloud is coming in October as a means for Xbox gamers to enjoy their content and game progress wherever they prefer. It will support all Xbox One games at launch and is slated to include all backward compatible titles as well. Learn more in our announcement coverage.
Next-gen Xbox unveiled: Project Scarlett coming holiday 2020
Project Scarlett is the next gaming console coming from Xbox, but it’s sure to have a different name as you’d assume. A few of the notable specs detailed includes a new state of the art processor made with AMD that delivers performance that’s six times more powerful than Xbox One X. This includes 120 frames per second support with 8K capabilities supported by a Microsoft-exclusive solid-state drive. More details are expected in the spring of 2020.
New Halo announced at Xbox E3 2019
In typical Xbox fashion, we’ll be getting Project Scarlett in 2020 in tandem with a new Halo release. Phil Spencer noted that the original Xbox was announced 18 years ago alongside the first Halo entry, and its continuing that trend with Project Scarlett and Halo Infinite.
