Stellan Skarsgard on 'Dragon Tattoo,' Not Pleased with 'The Avengers' and the 'Good Will Hunting' Scarf

You will find certain stars that you simply meet throughout interview periods that are not worried about "remaining on message." Stellan Skarsgard is just one of individuals stars. For instance: Skarsgard freely confesses that he isn't pleased with his role in 'The Avengers.' Plus there is his relationship together with his boy, Alexander, of 'True Blood' fame: "I never help my children and that i never encourage them and that i never provide them with any advice." So, yes, that's interesting. Stellan Skarsgard does appear pleased with his role as Martin Vanger -- the brother of the girl who disappeared in 1966 -- in David Fincher's version of 'The Girl Using the Dragon Tattoo.' Within this pretty wide-raging discussion, Skarsgard talks freely and freely about his ideas on Enya's presence throughout a pivotal scene, the origin material for 'Dragon Tattoo,' his unfulfilling role in 'The Avengers,' his early operate in 'The Search for Red-colored October,' and the scarf in 'Good Will Hunting.' I am happy that Enya's not playing at this time. Yeah! After I questioned your boy, Alexander, for 'Melancholia,' he'd Pink Floyd playing within the room. He really loves Pink Floyd... Yeah. And it is much better than Enya. Was Enya really playing when you were filming, or was that put in later? It had been a concept from David Fincher, I believe, to simply switch it on in the end have there been. And That I was like [sarcastically], "Yes! It's fantastic." Since it is. It's brilliant. It will play well for your scene. Yeah, it will, does not it? Was that scene as intense to film in internet marketing would be to watch? I can not imagine you will find laughs aplenty gong on. Between your goes laugh. You switch off and on. None people are actually Method stars, we do not get to be the figures. Therefore we had an enjoyable experience doing the work. But throughout the takes, obviously, it's very intense. That which was your opinion from the Swedish version? I believed it was very good. Now I believe it's muddled -- I can not say that which was in that one and that which was for the reason that one. I believe this version has characteristics that the first did not have. Certainly. Like what? It is a David Fincher movie. It's produced by among the best company directors on the planet and it is compiled by among the best authors on the planet [Steve Zaillian]. I believe that the connection between your two leading figures is much better in that one of computer is at the first. But it is also two different assumes exactly the same material, so there is no real reason for saying who's winning. Being an actor, can there be frustration whenever a movie that you are was remade? You'd it take place -- Al Pacino changed you in 'Insomnia.' No. I love Pacino. Well, I actually do, too. [Laughs] But everyone see what world you are residing in. Why it's remade? People don't wish to read subtitles. That's one reason. And when somebody great will it -- 'Insomnia' ended with a good director [Christopher Nolan] -- i quickly do not have anything against it. They are attempting to make another version of something that's good so more and more people can easily see it. It's one factor whether it's a Bergman film, produced by an excellent auteur in Europe along with a Hollywood studio states, "Well, which was a awesome film. Let us remake it and take off everything that's offensive and employ a generic director to get it done.Inch Then, it simply shows the stupidity from the studio because then they are making something completely different. But, within this situation, aside from the 2 primary figures, it is a pretty generic crime story. But it is now adopted by an auteur director in the usa -- because Fincher is definitely an auteur. So, everybody's happy about this. Well, I understand the director from the first film isn't happy about this. I guess that's understandable from his perspective. I am not too protective by what I have done. That is apparent using what you stated about 'Insomnia.' I had been proud simply because they clearly loved things i did. Thanks. Perhaps you have read 'The Girl using the Dragon Tattoo'? No, I've not browse the book. I've not either. My girlfriend has and she's mixed onto it. Yeah, my girlfriend is, too. I am talking about my spouse, she's explained everything about this, so ... and that i trust her. Here there exists a large Hollywood production being shot in Sweden, which does not happen frequently. Would you've been pissed should you were not contacted? No, because I do not go being an insult if individuals don't approach me about stuff that I enjoy do. Casting a movie, you could have the finest stars inside a film also it does not work. It is a combination of all the elements. Again, there's not lots of American productions that occur in Sweden. Should you were not considered, you would not think, seriously, the number of well-known, respected Swedish stars exist employed in the U.S.? I'd most likely be considered a little upset if he'd have cast a Russian actor who had been really bad within the role. It requires a great deal to offend me. Why Russian? I'm not sure. While he could not be Swedish. And when Pacino might have tried it, I could have been fine by using it. If had arrived at Sweden, I'd have cooked for him. Well, he's taken roles of your stuff before. I believe Pacino should re-do all my roles. Even 'Good Will Hunting'? [Laughing] 'Good Will Hunting'... I am likely to say, I am unsure that certain works too. I am likely to disagree along with you on that certain. OK, maybe not every them. Would you watch 'True Blood' regularly? No, no. I watch it occasionally. Occasionally. I do not abide by it. I do not have enough time for your. I do not abide by it regularly, however i do watch it now and then to determine where it is going. It is extremely well crafted. And i believe Alexander is getting an enjoyable experience doing the work. He explained his story about how exactly he found visit you and also he ended up in 'Zoolander.' [Laughs and shakes mind] Yeah. I wasn't even involved with it. Because, as I have stated, I never help my children and that i never encourage them and that i never provide them with any advice. It's their careers and they've to really make it themselves. So he most likely met my agent and that is the way it happened -- and all of a sudden he's burning in a service station. Your 'Smoke Jumpers' character on 'Entourage': was that actually according to Werner Herzog or have there been other influences happening there? It wasn't Herzog whatsoever. This is the perception, though. Yeah, I understand, while he was known as "Verner." But it is nothing like Herzog. And what I am doing there's like a long time of expertise of various company directors put into one. But it is just for fun. I am not likely to title them. I understand Werner Herzog and he isn't like this whatsoever. However the obsessive side from it is general -- all company directors are control freaks and incredibly obsessive. I recieve the sensation that company directors as kids, every one has were built with a childhood with little connection with other kids. They built their very own reality plus they continue doing it. It is a funny breed, company directors. I have never heard it put this way before. A minimum of the great ones. Obviously you've generic company directors which are just kind of mechanics. You are in 'The Avengers.' Mm-hm. OK, now Personally i think bad getting that up. No, number.. obviously I'm. But not so much. There's lots of folks 'The Avengers' And That I was thinking, How on the planet will you get all individuals superheroes inside a movie and fit them and have a tale that really progresses? And, also you need to satisfy lots of stars with a minimum of reasonable material. Have you feel satisfied? No. Not necessarily. But I am not among the superheroes. However, you were built with a large role in 'Thor.' Yeah, but here it is a small role. I've normal clothes and just appear briefly because individuals with funny costumes -- that's the core from it. But, Joss Whedon, it is a fantastic pure mechanical try to develop a story because of so many heroes that really works. I believe the script labored. What it will likely be if this arrives, I can not tell. And today both Kenneth Branagh and Patty Jenkins are out because the director of 'Thor 2.' I question what is going to happen there? I've no clue. I understood Branagh wouldn't, I did not think so. I do not think he'd do a different one. The concept right from the start was that it hadn't been serial to him. It had been one factor. Also it would be a very specific story where both mobile phone industry's were introduced. The Shakespearean turf ... but he was great dealing with and i believe the end result was excellent. When they requested you, what type of director can you want? I believe what Marvel continues to be very wise with, they have been picking excellent company directors -- not always experts on visual effects and large movie-making. What they desire are company directors who're good with figures and stars. It is simply as with the very first 'Pirates from the Caribbean' film: It isn't what Disney wanted. They attempted to fireplace both Gore Verbinski and The Actor-brad Pitt. Gore Verbinski's take was he focused on the stars and gave them space -- and also the audience loves it. What remember regarding your experience around the group of 'The Search for Red-colored October'? It had been my first large studio production and that i is at awe after i drove with the Melrose gate at Vital the very first time. But, also, I did not comprehend it. Since it is this type of small role and they are investing a lot money flying me top class from Sweden and set me up inside a luxury hotel for 2 days for your little role. And they known as me before we began shooting and stated, "Hey, we would like you to get it done in Russian." And That I stated, "You are kidding? You have 100s of excellent Russian stars in La. Hire someone else." And So I did not need to do it in Russian. At this time there is a Russian actor giving a job interview saying, "As lengthy because they did not cast a Swedish actor for your part, I wouldn't happen to be upset." Yeah! "Now, take a look at me, I am depriving still!" Personally i think that you simply set a shawl-putting on trend together with your character in 'Good Will Hunting.' Next movie, everybody began putting on jewelry like this. There have been many people that were not impressed with that scarf. Why? I'm not sure! I believed it was really awesome, too. I am not kidding, I believe you began a trend. "Why have you got that silly scarf?" Because professors aren't all tweed. It wasn't my idea, it had been the costume designer's idea. However it was totally consistent with mine since the first factor I stated was, "I am a college professor -- no tweed." Which was an ailment because I needed a rock 'n roll professor greater than a tweed professor. I would like a professor that fucks his students. And That I first got it! But it is true, the jewelry have grown to be extremely popular. I had been just putting on it loosely having a jacket, you realize. But it is additionally a little Italian, is not it? Whenever you shot that, did you possess an concept that it might be the success it switched to be? No. No clue. Somebody requested me, "What's happening, Stellan?" I stated, "I am shooting a little film with a few very first time authors. It is a small, independent film." Also it was. However everybody first viewed it. Everybody first viewed it. However it had some great elements. Not just a very, excellent script by Matt and Ben, they'd a really, excellent director [Gus Van Sant]. And Robin Williams plus some great stars. And Matt was great inside it. And Ben, too. Which was this type of great shoot And shooting with Gus ... he's so timid. So discrete. You begin shooting and following the first take, he's like [whispering], "Let us try it again.Inch And you're doing so over and over. And also you seem like you are doing the work again not while he wasn't pleased with it, but while he loved it a lot he really wants to view it again. Therefore we grew to become the much more bold and the much more bold. Not to mention Robin Williams he just chimes to something crazy after which he goes down another path and begins improvising things. He will get a lot material, so he is able to create what he wants in the scene. Are you aware what else it had? A very great scarf. Along with a excellent scarf! I did not realize that this scarf would turn that into such a millionaire. You are able to contact Mike Ryan on Twitter [Photo: Getty] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

U.K.'s Funnel 5 sees ad gold gold coin rise 28%

LONDON -- U.K. terrestrial web Funnel 5 is predicted to link up record advertising growth this year. Its success is due to overeating U.S. imports, acquiring "Government,Inch together with a smart, multi-platform ad sales strategy Under its new owner, Richard Desmond, who paid out 103.5 million ($161 million) for your web inside the summer season of 2010, the once ailing Funnel 5 is positioned to think about greater than $543 million in ad gold gold coin this season, up 28% each year. This is actually the finest ad consume the broadcaster's 14 years on air, throughout the network's previous owner, pan-European giant RTL had not successful to exhibit Funnel 5 in to a financial success. Desmond has cut back and, most significantly, offered innovative ad deals to entrepreneurs across his U.K. TV, print an online-based interests, such as the Daily Express and OK! magazine. Ad sales topper Nick Bampton, a classic Viacom U.K. professional who grew to become an associate of Funnel 5 this past year, mentioned: "Funnel 5 just recorded an unequalled year of advertising growth after getting in new revenue from right overall.Inch He added: "Positioning the broadcaster incorporated inside a wider group sell while using magazines and newspapers has permitted us to own bigger conversations wonderful our major entrepreneurs." "Government,Inch which Funnel 5 bought in April following several days of discussions with Endemol, has aided strengthen the web's recognition while using under-35s, much desired from entrepreneurs. But Funnel 5 still produces numerous its finest audiences for Hollywood movies and U.S. fare like "The Mentalist" as well as the "CSI" franchise, plus Oz imports "Home and Away" and "Neighbours." Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Occupy Wall Street Protests the Set of Law & Order: SVU

Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mariska Hargitay Occupy Wall Street has now occupied the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Members of the movement gathered late Thursday night in NY's Foley Square, where the NBC procedural known for "ripping from the headlines" was reportedly recreating the scene of Occupy Wall Street's former camp in Zucotti Park. Scoop: Law & Order: SVU swears in Kevin Pollak for guest spot "Law & Order was using this as a backdrop for some salacious story," a member of the Occupy Wall Street press team told The Huffington Post. "People did it in the spirit of absurdity and fun, and we like to come together in public space and share ideas and show our vision through our action. ... We're doing that tonight with a good bit of jest and big fat smiles on our faces."NBC declined to comment, but executive producer Warren Leight responded to the events on Twitter. "Saddened by last night's events," he tweeted. "We understand OWS emotions run high, and also protestors' fear of having their images and historyco-opted by corporate media. The irony here is the scene we couldn't shoot portrayed OWS in a sympathetic lightand many of the union writers, crew and set builders who worked on prepping the scene are supportive of the movement." According to MSNBC, no arrests were made and production quickly began breaking down the set. See video from the incident:

First Look inside The Hammer Vault, the Coffee-Table Tribute to a Horror Institution

I’ve spent the last few days transfixed by The Hammer Vault, Marcus Hearn’s new tour through the history and archives of the infamous genre maestros at Hammer Films. It’s got everything — from the stories behind the celebrated creature features of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing to remembrances of the risible pseudo-PSA Never Take Sweets From a Stranger to a rummage through such unmade Hammer fare like When the Earth Cracked Open and the awesome Zeppelin vs Pterodactyls (seriously). And while its official January release date won’t necessarily help you for the holidays, it’s worth earmarking a line in the early 2012 budget for any horror, fantasy and B-movie devotees in your life. CORRECTION: The publisher writes to say that it will be out for the holidays! Hallelujah! Below, Movieline has rounded up an exclusive (if tiny) sampling of the history you can expect to find in The Hammer Vault (out Dec. 20 via Titan Books). Latter-day Hammer offerings like Let Me In are featured as well, but for sheer, exhilarating nostalgia’s sake, it’s tough to beat Cushing’s script notes or Raquel Welch in all her One Million Years BC glory. Check it out… · Christopher Lee, fully made up as the Creature (The Curse of Frankenstein), examines a reel of film in the projection room. · In December 1965, Hammer placed this full-page advertisement in a Daily Cinema supplement: · In this annotated script page from The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Peter Cushing questions the speech where his character, Lorrimer Van Helsing, describes Dracula’s “mortal dread of silver.” The most poignant note on this page simply reads “Helen,” the name of Cushing’s late wife. · Acrylic artwork for a flyer that stressed the links between Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell and Hammer’s traditional Gothic horrors. [Artwork from The Hammer Vault, Marcus Hearn and Hammer Film Productions Limited as joint owners 2011.]

Guy Ritchie And Lionel Wigram Join The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros is making a deal with Guy Ritchie and his new partner Lionel Wigram to come aboard The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the film that Steven Soderbergh left just recently over budget and difficulty with casting after George Clooney dropped out. Based on the classic TV show, the film has a script by Scott Z. Burns. Ritchie and Wigram are forming a shingle together after making the Sherlock Holmes films. The intention is for Ritchie to direct the film. This would be the first project under the new shingle for the British director and producer, who open Sherlock Holmes: Game Of Shadows on December 16. The film premieres in the UK tonight. Soderbergh has set his sights on The Bitter Pill, a thriller that Summit will put into production next year, after this week closing a deal that calls for a green light commitment on the Burns-scripted thriller.

Erin Andrews Sues for $10 Million Over 2008 Hotel Peephole Incident

NEWYORK - Yahoo said Thursday it would launch the Yahoo Comedy Channel with a slate of original comedy video content featuring such comedians as Mike O'Brien, lead writer on Saturday Night Live, and Seth Morris (No Strings Attached, Step Brothers) in the company's latest sign of commitment to the premium content space.our editor recommendsYahoo Building NY StudioYahoo Shutters Four Entertainment Blogs The channel will launch with a Bill Maher stand-up performanceentitled CrazyStupidPolitics: Bill Maher Live from Silicon Valley, available exclusively on Yahoo.The performance, which the firm said will be the first-ever, live, free broadcast online, will take place on Feb. 23, 2012 at the San Jose Performing Arts Center. The comedy news comes off the heels of Yahoo's launch of a women-focused programming slate, which had nearly 10 million streams in its first month. Yahoo, which has been exploring its options, said it is the top destination online for comedy with 1 billion streams of its original programming to-date. "Bill Maher's special is a groundbreaking event, not only for Yahoo and Bill but for the Internet as the first-ever, live, free broadcast online," said Erin McPherson, vp & head of Video at Yahoo. We are focusing on fresh, original voices like Bill and our other original programs with the Yahoo! Comedy Channel to continue to provide our consumers and advertisers with the best premium content on the Web." "I'm excited to be doing something new in bringing a live stand up show to a web giant like Yahoo," said Maher. "It is my goal to make people say "Oh no he di'nt" in every medium on earth." Yahoo's production partners in the comedy channel include Funny or Die, Broadway Video, Electus, David Morgasen and Principato-Young, among others.Among its planned programming are: - Funny Or Die Presents First Dates with Toby Harris: Starring Seth Morris, the LA-based series shows ill-fated first dates with the always single Toby Harris. "Each episode centers around a different woman and issue that will leave the audience bickering amongst themselves who was right and who was wrong, and how they would have handled it better," Yahoo said. - 7 Minutes in Heaven: Hosted by Mike O'Brien, the show invites celebrities into his closet for an intimate conversation. - Sketchy: A weekly video series featuring comedy shorts written, directed and starring Principato-Young Entertainment, whose roster includes Ed Helms, Justin Long, Anthony Anderson, Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Rachel Harris, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer and others. - Hackerazzi: From Morgasen, the director known for viral videos like the "David Blaine Street Magic" spoofs and "Obama-McCain Dance-off," as well as work on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The show attaches celebrity heads to actors to reach comedic effects. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics Yahoo

MythBusters Mistake Transmits Cannonball Through House, Van

First Released: December 7, 2011 12:08 PM EST Credit: Getty Images Caption Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman attend The Paley Center for Medias A Night Time using the Discovery Channels MythBusters on June 13, 2011 in Beverly HillsDUBLIN, Calif. -- A stunt for that Television show MythBusters sent an errant cannonball via a California familys house and right into a parked minivan a couple of hundred ft away. Producers for that Discovery Funnel show fired the cannonball Tuesday in the Alameda County Sheriffs Department explosive device range behind the Santa Rita Jail if this misfired. Sheriffs spokesperson J.D. Nelson told the Contra Costa Occasions that nobody was hurt and also the houses citizens didnt even awaken before the dust was settled literally on the top of these. Nelson, who is another consultant for that show, stated producers used the cannon they built in the range a lot more than 50 occasions without incident. The cannonball was supposed to undergo a couple of water-filled barrels along with a concrete wall. Rather, it passed within the barrels, with the wall, after which required a really unfortunate bounce that sent the ball skyward, Nelson stated. About 700 ft away, it returned while watching Dublin home, then tore with the door and out a wall on the rear of the home. The projectile then returned at least one time many entered the street before damaging the window and dashboard from the minivan, where it found relaxation. We'd some tremendous misfortune plus some tremendous best of luck for the reason that nobody was hurt, Nelson stated. Jasbir Gill, who is the owner of the minivan, stated he and the children had just become home. Its frightening, Gill stated. I had been within the van 5 minutes before happened. Nelson stated he would never know the precise size, speed or weight from the cannonball. The show, based on the Discovery Funnel website, mixes scientific method with gleeful curiosity and common-fashioned resourcefulness to produce (its) own signature type of explosive experimentation. Copyright 2011 through the Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

'The Artist,' 'War Horse' Among Contenders Nominated for Satellite Awards

This article appears in the Dec. 9 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.our editor recommendsThe Making of Steven Spielberg's 'War Horse'From 'The Artist' to 'War Horse,' 23 Awards Contenders That Prominently Feature Animals (Photos)'War Horse': Newest Trailer Heavy on Orchestration, Heartstring Pulling (Video)'War Horse' Star Jeremy Irvine to Play Young Colin Firth in 'The Railway Man' (Exclusive)Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson: The Titans Behind 'The Adventures of Tintin' In October 2010, Steven Spielberg fell in a hole. "I was walking in a trench with my viewfinder and the crew following me, and all of a sudden I disappeared," recalls the director of the time when he was shooting War Horse just outside London. "It was a hole dug for explosive charges, and a storm had washed away the warning cones and filled it up. I was totally under ice water. I threw my hands over my head, and two big grips pulled me out." Now, 13 months after wrapping his World War I epic, Spielberg can laugh about "the murder hole." But that was only one of the challenges involved in bringing his movie to the screen, along with fighting freezing weather, dealing with an army of 5,800 extras and about 300 horses, and turning to filmmaker Peter Jackson for crucial wartime artifacts from his private collection -- all within a 63-day shoot and with an exceptionally tight $70 million budget ($65 million after tax breaks). PHOTOS: The Making of 'War Horse' Spielberg first heard about War Horse in the summer of 2009. That's when his longtime producer Kathleen Kennedy mentioned the West End adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel, which centers on a British horse named Joey that we follow from birth through four years of war. During that time, he is enlisted by the army, captured by Germans and hidden by French farmers, all while being trailed by Albert, the young Englishman who raised him. When Kennedy spoke of the project, Spielberg was on the scoring stage for The Adventures of Tintin. Having finished 31 days of motion-capture work, he was in a yearlong holding pattern until animation was completed and he could return to the film. To his surprise, he discovered that the book's movie rights had not been optioned, so Kennedy flew to England, where she had breakfast with Morpurgo, then hired Billy Elliot scribe Lee Hall to craft an initial draft. COVER STORY: Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson -- The Titans Behind 'Tintin' "What was irresistible for me had nothing to do with global war," says Spielberg. "It was how Joey linked disparate characters together and the length to which Albert went to find him." After working briefly with Hall, Spielberg moved on to a second writer, Four Weddings and a Funeral's Richard Curtis, in an attempt to bring the screenplay closer to the book. Curtis was nervous: He'd met Spielberg only once before, at France's César Awards in 1995, when the presenter declared Spielberg's Schindler's List a masterpiece and said, "If any other film wins, it will be a disgrace to the honor of France" -- only for Four Weddings to pick up the best foreign film trophy. PHOTOS: Steven Spielberg on Set But Spielberg was more interested in the new picture, and he was clear it should focus on the horse -- like the novel, the movie was to be told from the horse's point of view -- rather than intercutting that story with the boy's. Curtis became convinced this would work when he read the book aloud to his 14-year-old daughter while she was in bed, awaiting an operation. "I found it hard to read the last 10 pages to her because they were so emotional," he recalls, declining to say more about the operation. "I thought immediately, 'If it works in the book, we can do it in the film.' " PHOTOS: 'The Adventures of Tintin' Now he moved fast, whipping through more than a dozen drafts in three months while conducting two-hour telephone conversations with Spielberg. On one occasion, he had to hide in a hospital medicine cabinet while discussing the script, "surrounded by syringes and pills, because I couldn't talk in my daughter's room." As he wrote, a research team plowed through troves of artifacts at England's Imperial War Museum, frequently copying photos that would be used to stage scenes. Spielberg was fascinated by their discoveries. "I was not prepared for how many millions of horses perished during the Great War -- it was over 4 million," he says. "And it wasn't all in close combat; a lot was just through malnutrition and mistreatment. But don't forget that the Humane Society was born out of the First World War, and it was a huge turning point in technological warfare that supplanted the horse once and forever." PHOTOS: 23 Awards Contenders Featuring Animals In addition to the material his researchers found, Spielberg drew on an unexpected source: his Tintin producer Jackson, who collects war memorabilia. "He's even got about 15 working biplanes, which we didn't need," marvels Spielberg. "He sent about three cargo containers to the U.K., free of charge. He pretty much lent me his entire World War I collection." As all of that fell into place, a critical matter loomed: finding the right actor to play Albert, who ages from 15 to 21. "I looked for months and months," says Spielberg. "I was running out of hope, then Jeremy Irvine came in toward the last third of the casting process." There was one snag: The 20-year-old Irvine's most extensive acting experience had been playing a tree in the chorus of the Royal Shakespeare Company. "I had a couple of months of going in to audition two or three times a week, sometimes doing videotape and knowing it would be shown to Steven," he says. "It was quite intense." Weeks after his first audition, adds Irvine: "I got a call at about 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., saying, 'Can you meet Steven for tea in a hotel in London tomorrow morning?' I did what any actor would do: I freaked out." He won the role regardless, and shooting commenced Aug. 6, 2010, in Dartmoor, in the south of England. Production designer Rick Carter had searched for British locations that would be convincing, such as the bucolic farm where Joey's story begins and the no-man's-land where the war is fought. A crew of 750 worked ferociously so each location would be ready when filming took place. Operations revolved around seven locales, ranging from the untamed moors of Dartmoor to a derelict airfield in Surrey, England (where land could be dug up to look like a battlefield) to the Duke of Wellington's storied estate west of London. Each had its share of difficulties. In Dartmoor, a nature preserve, the land couldn't be touched. "We had to put down netting and bring the dirt in and plant what looked like rocks and dig into that," says Carter. The appalling weather created some "nail-biting situations," he adds. Right before the shoot, a terrific storm blew away part of a thatched roof on Albert's farmhouse -- in actuality, made of Styrofoam. "We had to have a crew repaint it every day because it was falling apart," Carter notes. For one shot, in which men and horses emerge like ghosts from a field of reeds, the plants were moved from another part of the country and set in place individually. "There was a marsh somewhere in the south of London still in bloom; we went there and paid a farmer to cut his whole field down, then we put the reeds in Styrofoam." Even the 250 yards of trenches Carter dug, which might seem a simple task but involved laying down an infrastructure to keep them in place and allow tracking shots, required six weeks of preparation alone. "It was like a construction site, with 20 Caterpillars running around," he says. Creating clothing for the men who would inhabit those locations was no easier. "[Costume supervisor] Dave Crossman would trawl through eBay, seeing what we could get -- the hardware and the insignias," says costume designer Joanna Johnston, a longtime Spielberg collaborator. Beyond the beauty of the uniforms, she was surprised at the real-life parallels she discovered with the movie. "The great-grandfather of a girl who worked with us was a milkman whose horse was taken during the war -- and amazingly, the horse made it back," she says. As far as the present horses were concerned, Kennedy brought one huge advantage: Having produced 2003's Seabiscuit, she knew the ins and outs of working with equines. "That was one of the biggest departments on the film, with 200 to 300 people," she says of the animal unit. "You'd sometimes have as many as 180 to 280 horses in a scene. You'd have groomers and drivers to haul the horses and the feed, people to set up portable barns, vets and everyone else who handled the tack and the horses' makeup." Fourteen horses in all played Joey, the most prominent being one named Finder, which had starred in Seabiscuit. "We had bought horses for Seabiscuit, then we sold them -- and Bobby Lovgren, our lead trainer, bought Finder," says Kennedy. "He turned out to be one of the best horses Bobby had ever worked with, so he brought Finder with him to England." Except for one notable shot in which the horse stumbles and falls into a trench, most of the work was done without CGI effects. That added pressure to the shoot, as did the ever-changing British weather. "It was unbelievably rainy and cold," says Kennedy. "Even when you had your wellies on, sometimes you'd just take a step and one would be left stuck in the mud. It was freezing and raining, but then there would be these amazing skies and the whole crew would stop and gaze out at the landscape because it was so beautiful." Moments like these vanished during the hardest part of filming, when the trench warfare took place. "As soon as your big woolen uniform gets wet, the weight is unbelievable," says Irvine, "and you'd be running across no-man's-land, right through the mud and dirt. There were sequences where explosions would take place next to me and three or four stuntmen would fly through the air -- and then there'd be other scenes where you're just soaking wet. I got trench foot [a medical condition contracted through lengthy contact with dampness]. The soldiers used to get it all the time. And then there were the rats." Several dozen rodents were released into the trenches with the actors, much to their horror. But the rats were even more of a nightmare for the producers. "When you put mud on a rat, it immediately starts to clean itself. We could never keep them covered in mud," says Kennedy with a laugh. Shooting wrapped Oct. 27, 2010, following five days of studio work. Audiences will see the finished movie when Disney releases it domestically on Christmas Day through its distribution pact with DreamWorks, which financed the film through its partnership with Reliance Entertainment. (The picture unfurls internationally starting Dec. 26 in Australia.) The U.S. opening comes four days after the Dec. 21 North American release of Tintin, which already has proved an international blockbuster. In some ways, War Horse is more important for DreamWorks -- Tintin, a joint venture between Sony and Paramount, wasn't financed by the company. The former's success is critical for the studio, which has had some recent disappointments along with one megahit, The Help. Spielberg says he'll cherish the memories of making the film -- the tenderness of working with the horses, the miracle of the sunsets and the chance to bring history to life -- despite all the obstacles he encountered. "The thing about filming is, [almost] everything goes wrong," he says. "It's using the parts that go right in the finished film that counts." PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery The Making of Steven Spielberg's 'War Horse' Related Topics Steven Spielberg International Kathleen Kennedy War Horse Awards Season Preview Books Books to Film