Wicked is already a smash hit at the global box office and it seems poised to be a strong contender during the coming awards season. Case in point, it's already nominated for Golden Globes and will likely be in the running for multiple Oscars. Speaking of The Academy Awards, the film is likely to be a strong contender for the makeup award specifically, especially when you consider all the work that went into turning Cynthia Erivo green.
Wicked brought Erivo’s Elphaba to life, green skin and all. She really looks incredible. Director Jon M. Chu recently spoke with CinemaBlend's Reelblend podcast about the work that went into making the green look right. It certainly wasn’t as simple as painting the actress’ face, because making it look like face paint was exactly what they didn’t want. Chu explained…
How do you snake it not look like face paint? I mean, ultimately, that was the thing. In a close-up, if it looks like she’s in a costume, then how are we feeling anything?
Elphaba had to look like she was green, not simply that she’d been made green, otherwise her character wouldn’t feel real. And since Elphaba is who Wicked is ultimately about, the audience had to be able to relate to her as a character.
But there was more to coming up with the makeup than simply finding a look that came across as real, because it had to look real under a variety of circumstances. Another area where Wicked excels is in its production design, and with all the bright colors and warm lighting, the green had to be something that didn’t wash out in the wrong light, unless they wanted it to. Chu continued…
In every lighting situation, when does green actually go away? Oh, in that pink warmer light, the green goes away. And so when do we want to use that? How do we use that as a tool for us? Or do we avoid it completely?
Chu mentions the green went away in warm pink light, and since Ariana Grande’s Glinda was all about pink, we can guess that was something of a clash. This would mean that, in cases of putting Elphaba in that pink light, they would need to make changes to the light, or the makeup, if they didn’t want the green to get washed out.
Cynthia Erivo spent hours in the makeup chair to get her Wicked look done right. It does appear the work has been appreciated. The movie is a huge hit and fans are eagerly awaiting next year's Wicked sequel.
Check out Chu’s full comments below.
Wicked seems to be a strong contender for the Oscars in both makeup and production design. The movie also has a plan in case both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are nominated for acting awards. It could be a very good awards season for Wicked, starting in just a couple of weeks, and that's because of all the hard work and detail that went into crafting every element of this film.
