It truly is amazing what you can do with movie-making technology these days. One of the latest marvels as a result of that has to be the character of Madame Leota in Disney’s new Haunted Mansion movie. Played by Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis, the finished effect was a CGI feat of wonder; but there was a time that she was asked to try and shoot her role in a real crystal ball. Judging by what director Justin Simien had to say about that day, it sounds like that attempt was noble, but very claustrophobic.
The director of Disney’s latest theme park adaptation sat down with EW and discussed the very practical rig that was designed to potentially allow Curtis to film on set with her co-stars. And as you’ll read below, it was a process that was definitely not built for the long haul:
It absolutely was. It was certainly encased in a lot of motion detector cameras. There was a ball on set. I think we had it so that if Jamie wanted to get in this thing and suffocate in order to act off of the other actors, it was technically possible, but I don't think that lasted. … It was attempted and possible. And then we were kind of like, 'Yeah, no. We're just going to do it like this.
To be fair, the fact that the actress even tried this sort of method acting is something she deserves praise for. A crystal ball, with all of those cameras mounted on it, must have gotten real hot, real fast. Justin Simien even considered it one of the scariest things to happen on the set, and keep in mind Haunted Mansion’s cast did include Jared Leto playing the infamous “Hat Box Ghost.”
Thankfully, Ms. Curtis’ role wasn’t limited to just floating around in a crystal ball. Some flashback scenes actually show off Madame Leota in her human form, before becoming the spherical soothsayer we know her to be from this picture’s theme park equivalent. Jamie Lee Curtis showed off some Haunted Mansion costumes to prove that point, and it wasn’t hard to see why she ranked those threads as some of the most beautiful she’s ever worn.
As for how the 2023 Oscar winner interacted with her cast, Justin Simien did mention that Jamie Lee Curtis was still on set to play against her scene partners. It’s just that she didn’t do it while confined within an actual crystal ball rig. Which, to be honest, probably would have limited her emoting capabilities if it was used for the long run. Just imagine trying to shout proclamations of gloom and doom while in a very limiting glass enclosure. The thought makes my ears hurt out of sympathy.
You can see the finished product in theaters now, as Haunted Mansion is currently scaring up crowds at the movies, where you can see other entries on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases. However, if you also want to check out 2003’s previous adaptation of The Haunted Mansion, that’s something you can do at home with the powers of a Disney+ subscription.
