*click on pic to enlarge
**click on colored words for details and links
1- Actor Simon Callow was not a sure thing.
The unceasingly
sublime actor Simon Callow, who plays The Duke of Sandringham, initially refused
the part but then accepted it after he requested, and was allowed, to base his appearance
on The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.
It was not meant to be a smear on the character of The Duke, but rather the
actor’s penchant for ringlets and bows.
“There is
something about ringlets and bows that bring out the aristocrat in me...”
Callow is quoted as saying. The whiskers and red bow were removed for filming, with great
expense, with CGI technology.
The way The Duke skittered away from danger when Jamie's duel got real was a sheer genius move by Callow who was obviously channeling the lion in spirit as well as looks.
2- The time between seasons was much longer than initially planned.
These 2
photos, leaked out of Season 2 production, show the reason it came in grossly
over-budget and barely ready for the opener in April. It seems that
producer Ron Moore, in a rather Picasso-esque move, wanted this season to be
known as his 'Blue Period', so it was shot mainly
in blue, or with heavy use of blue accents. Many months were needed for dyeing
the materials for dresses, couches, drapes etc…to match. In their never ending
commitment to authenticity, the dye used was make on set by the women using the
same urine recipe as the ancients used (see #2 in the prequel to this blog piece:
15 Things You Didn’t About Outlander…kinda) and to maintain a ‘blue’ atmosphere,
Bobby Vinton’s 1963 hits ‘Blue On Blue’ and ‘Blue Velvet’ were piped into every
set and played on a loop between takes. All day. Every day.
Mr. Moore
changed his mind however, and re-shot the entire season when the lone local pub owner went on
holidays and with the subsequent closing of his doors and lack of beer in the
community, the urine supply for the dye went dry. Imported vats of beer could not
replicate the distinct local brewery ‘flavor’ needed to match the established dye and 'The Blue Period' dreams were abandoned.
3- Actor Tobias Menzies' agent may be Bebe Glazer from Frasier.
A fake Black Jack Randall (BJR) hand/forearm prop* had to be created to replace actor Tobias Menzies’ real arm when it became stiff and sore from hours of prolonged and uncomfortable usage during the process of this cover shoot. His wily agent advised him, for 'insurance purposes', to refuse further participation unless, of course, there was a pay increase. There wasn't.
*Replicas
can be bought in the ‘Deviant Sex Toy’ section of the Outlander Gift Store.
Shipping to the US and UK only.
4- Fowl play was afoot during filming.
A strict Yolktarian (much like a vegetarian but morally against the systematic and ruthless consumption
of unborn chickens), actress Laura Connelly (Jenny) needed assistance when she almost
fainted during an egg beating scene in the kitchen of the Lallybroch set. Law suits were avoided by Starz agreeing to court ordered sensitivity classes for the entire cast and crew.
5- Hannibal was here.
The material
used to make the ‘cast' for Jamie’s damaged left hand is actually the recycled
mask of Hannibal Lecter from Silence of
The Lambs, which was used for the specific purpose of becoming a trivia question
in a soon-to-be released official Outlander trivia board game, with the working
name thus far of Outbrander: The Laphroaig Whiskey & Scotland Tourism Board Trivia Game.
6- An unscripted flippyapeshit moment was caught and used on film.
Writers of
Outlander on Starz had to quickly write in a violent grief scene that was not
in the books when actor Graham McTavish went berserk during filming after
hearing that a comical sex scene he had in The Hobbit had been cut. A 6 minute
Dwarf on Dwarf action sequence called ‘Dwalin Does Dallas' that took 7 takes to
perfect was a rough go according to the actor:
“You try
doing a 34.5er [a dwarf sized half a 69er] over and over again in 28 pounds of prosthetics
and under those hot lights! Pure Hell…and for what?”
Running late
and unable to re-shoot, Starz producers simply dubbed in some quick dialogue
for Dougal (the inconsolable new widower) in the editing room and hoped fans wouldn’t
watch anyone's lips too closely.
In keeping with the quest for authenticity which is a hallmark of
Outlander Starz, dinner entrées included freshly baked ‘mewn briwsion bara
godi pidyn gafr’ (Welsh for ‘breaded erect goat penis’), a Welsh dish made
traditional over the centuries in various parts of Scotland. The lower parts.
8- Camaraderie was high during filming. Higher than a kite.
Actor Sam
Heughan was often found asleep in the hills surrounding the shooting sites
after partying all night with Caitriona Balfe and Graham McTavish. It got to be
such a predictable occurrence that Starz had to attach a GPS homing device to
his clothing (seen here being re-secured by a vigilant Starz staffer after Sam was located still asleep, just after dawn one morning).
9- Statistics matter to Starz.
The fact
that only one in every 750,000 Scots is over 5’2 feet tall is impressively represented
here in this crowd shot. Kudos to Starz for keeping it real.
10- Scotland has no trees.
The same 6
trees, single shrubbery and tree stump (brought in from a farm near Glasgow that rents them
to film companies and photographers) are used in every Highland outdoor shot.
They are multiplied with trick photography and CGI's for forest scenes etc…that need a
thicker looking landscape. They are permanently potted which makes them easy to
maneuver and place.
11- Outlander film locations have become a Time Traveler's mecca.
This picture
has gone viral over the internet as Starz producers swear that they did
NOT hire the extra wearing modern red striped clothing and sporting the era-busting buzz-cut seen here on set while filming. Time Traveler aficionados are adamant that this is proof
of Travelers being interested in our era, and Outlander. ‘Captain Stripes’, as
he is now refereed to, is being actively sought and notices around the world are asking that he please email his admirers at WeBelieve@takemeplease.com or call
them at 1-800-GOT-TIME or tweet them using @portalmortal2016
12- Pets are allowed on set.
Actress and
rare animal lover Laura Donnelly (Jenny) is seen here unhappily taking her pet
llama outdoors after another one of his nasty ‘accidents’ on set.
13- Armand the caterer and Caitriona Balfe became life-long friends while filming Season 2.
Dedicated method actor Caitriona Balfe gained a remarkable 64 pounds to add realism to her pregnancy in the story. She admitted that keeping the weight focused on her stomach and away from her face and the rest of her body was very difficult but manageable by following the Medieval Roman practice of ‘adipis suillae distributo’ which loosely translated means ‘lard distribution’ and basically instructs pregnant women to eat whatever they want, but only while hanging upside down. Scientists cannot explain the phenomenon. Filming had to be done out of sequence to allow Cait time to shed the extra poundage safely which she did in 2 weeks with yoga and cutting out bacon from her diet.
14- Outlander fans are not to be trifled with.
The partial spine of the first
Starz writer to change Diana’s story to suit his own without regard to the 'fansequences' of his actions is displayed in formaldehyde on set as a gruesome reminder to not
mess around with the hearts and minds of myriad women
of a certain age, who are young enough to fall in lust/love with Jamie but old enough to work a chainsaw. This
may or may not be true and could well be
just sensationalized PR stunt to gain media attention…but it IS a fact that all Outlander writers use a pseudonym (like
Mercy Crabcakes is a real name! pffft!) and wear prosthetic noses and wigs. The limps are fake too.
15- Military protocol was replicated to a T.
**PLEASE NOTE:
a) All of the above is pure
fiction and not in any way true (except for the Time Traveler, that is true).
b) If you believed any of it, I
want you to marry my ex.
c) If you are offended by any of
the aforementioned fictional writing, please accept my sincerest wishes for
the fleas of a thousand camels to infest your crotch*.
*I may or may not really
mean that.
**READ part 1 OF THIS BLOG PIECE: click here 15 THINGS YOU DIDNT KNOW ABOUT OUTLANDER...kinda
**READ part 1 OF THIS BLOG PIECE: click here 15 THINGS YOU DIDNT KNOW ABOUT OUTLANDER...kinda
UPDATE: Graham McTavish replied to my blog on Twitter! My day is made...LOVE that man! He says 'spooky' in regards to the cover of Simon as the Lion...but I wonder if he read his part of the blog? *snicker*
