New clip, details from 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' set visit

benjamin-walker-anthony-mackie-abraham-lincoln-vampire-hunter
Mackie & Walker, courtesy 20th Century Fox
The folks over at Collider were fortunate enough to pay a visit to the New Orleans set of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter last summer, and they returned with a lot of goods. You should head over and check out some of their videos from the visit, but here are some takeaway points about the movie (after the jump).

But first, check out this new clip that features Abe (Benjamin Walker) and William Johnson (Anthony Mackie) catching a crazy train:



What did Collider learn about the movie from their set visit:

  • The movie is following the Marvel roadmap by having the film be as realistic as possible but they’re adding one fantastical element: vampires.
  • The movie will blend real world locations in New Orleans with CG set extensions to make it look period specific.
  • While some actors land roles by auditioning on tape or reading for a director, the producers came to see Ben Walker in a play before they approached him for the role.
  • Timur Bekmambetov had Walker watch John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln for preparation.
  • They developed Walker’s look in the movie as Lincoln though a progression of masks that are modeled after actual casts taken of Abraham Lincoln throughout his life as well as his death mask.
  • Lincoln incorporates a variety of fighting styles to wield his axe, which he learns from a vampire named Henry Sturgess (played by Dominic Cooper), who is a master assassin.
  • The vampire killings will be very grounded in reality.
  • Oscar winning makeup designer Greg Cannom designed the look of the vampires and there will be different looking vampires throughout the films.
  • Walker is wearing a prosthetics designed by Cannom throughout the course of the movie. His nose and ears are fake, and has Lincoln ages it becomes 15 smaller pieces that come together. He also wears contacts. His hair is his own, though.
  • The movie is going to feature narration from his journal.
  • Burton, Producer Jim Lemly, and Bekmambetov actually started work on the movie before Seth Grahame-Smith had finished writing the book. They heard about it from a book proposal in an email.
  • Seth Grahame-Smith adapted the book himself.
  • While preparing for the role, Ben Walker delivered the Gettysburg Address to the director and producer.
  • Timur chose to film in New Orleans because the Civil War took place there. He says you can still feel the history and drama of it even though it took place 150 years ago.
  • Most of the action sequences were animated prior to shooting so that the actors could visualize that the director is attempting to create.
  • Much of the Cooper’s costume is made to make him appear timeless, with bits that look not only as if they are from all over the world, but also from hundreds of years in the past.
  • Cooper’s character lives in a huge, crumbling mansion and he’ll have a flashback sequence to tell his origin.
  • The film covers the years between 1820 to 1865 with locations ranging all across the country, from Illinois and Kentucky and Louisiana to Washington DC.
  • There was a lot of research done into the actual cabins built by Abe Lincoln, they tried to copy a lot of the details into the set piece.
  • They wanted to make the sets and accurate as possible so there was a lot of research put in to the time period surrounding them. Each department had their own researchers and they had to make sure that the pieces they were making were absolutely correct.
  • Lincoln’s coat was a key point for the costume designers (Varvara Avdyushko and Carlo Poggioli) as they were trying to make something that fit the iconic image, but also be suited to fighting vampires in. The fabric for the coat was made in Italy. The coat also has a special compartment to hide his axe.
  • Many costume pieces in the movie were replicas of the original pieces that were wore by the historical figures; such as Mary’s jewelry.
  • They had a lot of civil war re-enactors come to be extras in the movie and they used a lot of their own costumes