Gabriel Maxwell
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All that nostalgia in the recent "First DYNASTY Memories" thread got me to look up some old listings and newspaper scans from the former Yugoslavia, where - as I already mentioned - DYNASTY had become a ratings-grabbing phenomenon in the mid 1980s.
One of the articles I came across is taken from a Croatian entertainment weekly magazine whose reporter got to spend a day on the set of DYNASTY in the fall of 1985, while the show was in the middle of their Krystle's doppelganger phase.
It's quite an interesting hour-by-hour peek behind the scenes of episode 128 ["The Quarrels"] and what it looked like to an outside observer.
I'm using Google to speed up the translation, but that also requires proof-reading, so I'll have to post this in 3 installments.
HALF A DAY FOR A SLICE OF DYNASTY
Behind the scenes of one of the most popular series...
What does shooting a 46-minute $1 million-dollar episode look like?
When done with a scene, the actors come across cordial and funny...
*******
What to do with a million dollars and a bunch of stars? Why, make DYNASTY, whose each episode is eagerly anticipated.
The factory is made of two large buildings, resembling a couple of boxes of concrete, each 60m long and 30m wide. Every single day there are 70 people working for up to 15 hours, creating a series that is ultimately sold in over 80 markets.
Warner Hollywood Studios 3, 4 and 5 are located in the two buildings. This dream factory is the home to DYNASTY. So, what does a single day of production of one of the most extravagant, most incredible and most watched TV series look like?
It's Friday, the second day of production of the 128th episode, yet another 46-minute segment that costs about $1 million and is titled "The Quarrels" (what else?).
The episode was prepared for months, written and re-written for weeks, then prepped to detail within a week and it is expected to be filmed in 7 days, that's about 7 minutes of the episode per day. The episode will then require an additional four weeks of post-production / getting ready to air.
This day is somewhat unusual because there are no women in the first scene being filmed. The actresses are given an additional 30 minutes for make-up, clothes and hair as opposed to men. This morning, their chairs are empty - the actresses were given the privilege of sleeping a little longer this morning, along with Second Assistant Director Connie-Garcia Singer who is usually there to let them in.
A total of 6 scenes will be filmed today.
Brock Broughton is the first to arrive. Three of the scenes will be filmed in the office of Blake Carrington, another one in the room next to it and the last one in a loft - the set is in studio 4. Brock's job is to decorate the scene with his team.
A Sofa for Alexis
07:00 Gordon Thomson who plays Adam Carrington, Blake's son is the first actor to arrive on the set. He immediately goes to the make-up room upstairs where he is greeted by Bob Sidell, a true master of his craft.
07:30 Thomson now ready for filming, rehearses a fairly simple scene of arriving in Blake's office.
08:00 Joan Collins arrives to the studio in her beige-colored Rolls Royce. She got up at 7am in order to leave her Beverly Hills mansion at 7:45. She is greeted by everyone, from the guard to the last technician, while she makes her way to make-up and dressing room, where she is expected by her secretary Judy Bryer.
The room is cluttered, but pleasant. There is an old sofa that Joan had flown in from London, an armchair, shelves and a closet. But the room is dominated by a vanity makeup table with a thousand pictures of Joan, her friends and family.
She quickly listens to messages that have arrived on the phone, then goes over her schedule for the day with Judy, puts on a white cape and heads for the make-up room where she is expected by Bob Sidell.
- Joan has one incredible advantage over other actresses. She has no misgivings about any of the roles. If she is supposed to play the role of a 60-year old woman, she asks that she be made-up that way. Only after the hair and make-up is done, does she transform into the character she plays - Bob Sidell says.
Within the next hour, Joan turns into Alexis. In the meantime, her on-screen husband Michael Nader arrives and comes over to the make-up room for a chat.
Are you quite finished?
9:30 The short scene with Gordon Thomson's arrival and his conversation with Blake is being filmed for a full 2 hours. Finally, everyone takes a break and gathers around the coffee machine. The air-conditioning is cranked up. The crew is redoing the set along the lines set by the director Kim Forman.
Suddenly, the atmosphere becomes tense. Joan Collins has arrived.
[to be continued...]
One of the articles I came across is taken from a Croatian entertainment weekly magazine whose reporter got to spend a day on the set of DYNASTY in the fall of 1985, while the show was in the middle of their Krystle's doppelganger phase.
It's quite an interesting hour-by-hour peek behind the scenes of episode 128 ["The Quarrels"] and what it looked like to an outside observer.
I'm using Google to speed up the translation, but that also requires proof-reading, so I'll have to post this in 3 installments.
HALF A DAY FOR A SLICE OF DYNASTY
Behind the scenes of one of the most popular series...
What does shooting a 46-minute $1 million-dollar episode look like?
When done with a scene, the actors come across cordial and funny...
*******
What to do with a million dollars and a bunch of stars? Why, make DYNASTY, whose each episode is eagerly anticipated.
The factory is made of two large buildings, resembling a couple of boxes of concrete, each 60m long and 30m wide. Every single day there are 70 people working for up to 15 hours, creating a series that is ultimately sold in over 80 markets.
Warner Hollywood Studios 3, 4 and 5 are located in the two buildings. This dream factory is the home to DYNASTY. So, what does a single day of production of one of the most extravagant, most incredible and most watched TV series look like?
It's Friday, the second day of production of the 128th episode, yet another 46-minute segment that costs about $1 million and is titled "The Quarrels" (what else?).
The episode was prepared for months, written and re-written for weeks, then prepped to detail within a week and it is expected to be filmed in 7 days, that's about 7 minutes of the episode per day. The episode will then require an additional four weeks of post-production / getting ready to air.
This day is somewhat unusual because there are no women in the first scene being filmed. The actresses are given an additional 30 minutes for make-up, clothes and hair as opposed to men. This morning, their chairs are empty - the actresses were given the privilege of sleeping a little longer this morning, along with Second Assistant Director Connie-Garcia Singer who is usually there to let them in.
A total of 6 scenes will be filmed today.
Brock Broughton is the first to arrive. Three of the scenes will be filmed in the office of Blake Carrington, another one in the room next to it and the last one in a loft - the set is in studio 4. Brock's job is to decorate the scene with his team.
A Sofa for Alexis
07:00 Gordon Thomson who plays Adam Carrington, Blake's son is the first actor to arrive on the set. He immediately goes to the make-up room upstairs where he is greeted by Bob Sidell, a true master of his craft.
07:30 Thomson now ready for filming, rehearses a fairly simple scene of arriving in Blake's office.
08:00 Joan Collins arrives to the studio in her beige-colored Rolls Royce. She got up at 7am in order to leave her Beverly Hills mansion at 7:45. She is greeted by everyone, from the guard to the last technician, while she makes her way to make-up and dressing room, where she is expected by her secretary Judy Bryer.
The room is cluttered, but pleasant. There is an old sofa that Joan had flown in from London, an armchair, shelves and a closet. But the room is dominated by a vanity makeup table with a thousand pictures of Joan, her friends and family.
She quickly listens to messages that have arrived on the phone, then goes over her schedule for the day with Judy, puts on a white cape and heads for the make-up room where she is expected by Bob Sidell.
- Joan has one incredible advantage over other actresses. She has no misgivings about any of the roles. If she is supposed to play the role of a 60-year old woman, she asks that she be made-up that way. Only after the hair and make-up is done, does she transform into the character she plays - Bob Sidell says.
Within the next hour, Joan turns into Alexis. In the meantime, her on-screen husband Michael Nader arrives and comes over to the make-up room for a chat.
Are you quite finished?
9:30 The short scene with Gordon Thomson's arrival and his conversation with Blake is being filmed for a full 2 hours. Finally, everyone takes a break and gathers around the coffee machine. The air-conditioning is cranked up. The crew is redoing the set along the lines set by the director Kim Forman.
Suddenly, the atmosphere becomes tense. Joan Collins has arrived.
[to be continued...]