Wilderness creators on lead star Jenna Coleman, strikes and their love letter to Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift would possibly already be considerably ubiquitous in the intervening time because of her Eras tour, upcoming film and the 9 MTV VMA prizes she took dwelling this week, however she’s about to get much more consideration because of her observe being utilized in a brand new drama starring Jenna Coleman.
Her 2017 tune Look What You Made Me Do is the title observe for Wilderness – the story of a pair whose dream vacation rapidly sours amid deception and revenge – and in addition sums up the temper of the primary character Liv, who’s portrayed by Coleman.
Swift is without doubt one of the largest stars on the planet proper now which could make the method of utilizing considered one of her tracks sound difficult however the present’s creator Marnie Dickens informed Sky News’ Backstage podcast it was in actual fact “lovely”.
“I write all my commercial tracks into the script, so in this case, it’s Liv’s point of view, so it’s kind of like her playlist because I think music is a very good way to get behind whatever the character, whatever mask they put up, whatever you listen to in your AirPods, I think, is expressing your sort of emotional state,” she defined.
“So the track was in there in episode two anyway, and then Amazon were like, ‘you know, you can have somebody for the title track, who’s your dream?’ And obviously Taylor was the dream.”
Taylor Swift’s 2017 revenge anthem Look What You Made Me Do is the Wilderness title observe Pic: AP
“So I wrote a love letter to her saying why this song is perfect, why she’s perfect, and it worked… She gave her blessing.”
Wilderness is predicated on a e book and Dickens, whose earlier work consists of the sequence’ Gold Digger and Thirteen, says that whereas she appreciates being given a twisty thriller to write down from, she additionally cherished the setting of the drama.
“It’s a juicy relationship thriller which is very much in my wheelhouse but instantly it took it out of the domestic sphere,” she mentioned.
“So you had a pure kind of expansive story stage, which could be very thrilling as a result of typically in relationship dramas you suppose they’ll get very boxed in, kitchen sinky, after which there’s this superb feminine protagonist in Liv.
“And I guess the other thing was like, there’s this chance to play with this idea in the audience’s mind of like, What’s your darkest revenge fantasy? And we get to kind of have wish fulfilment watching it play out via our heroine.”
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The sequence director So Yong Kim says it was the revenge facet that drew her to the challenge.
“Oh, I had fantasies of killing off my husband before,” she laughed. “So I thought, ‘hey, this is great, it’s just right up my alley.”
Both Dickens and Yong Kim are extraordinarily complimentary about Coleman’s work on the present and on-screen presence.
With members of SAG-AFTRA on strike as a result of the US union hasn’t reached a take care of studios, Coleman and fellow forged members Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Ashley Benson cannot do the interviews and promo that they normally would when a brand new challenge comes out.
“I think I feel for them it’s.. I feel like Jenna and Oliver worked so hard, and the rest of the cast, we’ve got such an incredible ensemble cast, I feel like they should be celebrated,” mentioned Dickens.
“So that is a shame I think that they can’t be, but there’s a strike for a very good reason, and we’re very supportive of the strike.”
“Yeah, likewise, I support the strike, but I feel sad that we can’t celebrate with them,” mentioned Yong Kim.
Dickens – who’s British – says the impression of the walkouts in Hollywood is certainly being felt on this facet of the Atlantic.
“Speaking to So and to Cat our amazing DOP, you realise we’re not being hit anywhere near as hard as our colleagues and friends in LA and New York,” she defined.
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Jenna Coleman is unable to advertise the present amid the SAG-AFTRA strike Pic: Firebird Pictures / Prime Video
“But I think there is a slow down on the commissioning front and you are having to work harder to get green lights, so it’s tough.”
“[But] I think it’s tougher for the crews because there’s just fewer things filming, but hopefully it’s short-term pain, long term gain.”
When it got here to creating the present, the forged did not rehearse a lot, as an alternative Yong Kim had them write letters to 1 one other in character, and the forged and crew merely hung out collectively in an effort to construct relationships.
“We had Zoom calls with Marnie and Liz [Kilgariff – the other executive producer on the show] to go over particular scenes that were more complex,” she mentioned.
“But otherwise we just spent time having coffee and having meals, doing some journaling and doing a lot of just getting to know each other, building trust and friendship.”
But whereas optimistic relationships have been shaped off-screen, what we see on display screen is a narrative of revenge, poisonous relationships and the way complicated they are often.
Dickens hopes that is one thing the viewers takes away.
“I would want people to come away thinking revenge is a very fun thing to pursue, but it causes huge devastation across the series.
“So it is not that I would like the viewers to suppose twice about their very own revenge plans, however I suppose for me, if they arrive away, feeling that they’ve skilled Liv’s journey and that they perceive the issues that she’s performed, that will be an actual satisfying achievement, I feel.”
Wilderness is out on Prime Video now. Hear our assessment on the newest episode of Backstage, the movie and TV podcast from Sky News.