Bill and Ted Face the Music
After 29 year , Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are back for one last excellent dangerous undertaking inBill & Ted Face the Music . The grand conclusion to the trilogy that start in 1989 sees Bill & Ted traveling through metre in an effort to unwrap the song they need to unite the populace and redeem the space - time continuum . The sequel features many returning faces from the original films ( include Death himself , with William Sadler reprising his iconic role ) , as well as newcomers " Little Bill & Ted , " with Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy - Paine playing the daughters of the eponymous protagonists .
Despite the passageway of time and advancements in filmmaking applied science , the thirdBill & Tedmovie does n’t jump a unmarried beat , since the picture have alwaysmarched to their own drummeranyway , so to mouth . With unflinching sincerity and an effervescent pep in its whole step , Bill & Ted Face the Musicfeels like the natural conclusion to the story that start out back in the late 1980s . Part of that body comes from the film ’s yield design , which feel modern , but understandably root in the franchise ’s original style .
Related : Screen Rant ’s Bill & Ted Face the Music Review
While promoting the release ofBill & Ted Face the Music , Costume Designer Jennifer Starzyk spoke to Screen Rant about her work on the cinema and her career in the film industriousness . She talks about the process of make costume for iconic figures like Bill , Ted , Death , and more , as well as her workings family relationship with the film ’s director , Dean Parisot . She also discusses her big break in the manufacture , which came at the work force of the fabled David Fincher , who charter her to bring on the Netflix television serial publication , Mindhunter .
Bill & Ted Face the Musicis out now in theaters and on digital political platform .
Longtime fan have spent 30 years expect for this movie . So , was there any kind of misgiving because of how beloved this series is to its legions of fan ?
No . Not at all . I turn up with these movies , I saw them in theatre . I register the book , and by the terminal I had a Brobdingnagian smile on my boldness . I think the script stood alone , and what I found so charming about it is that this sort of movie is just not made anymore . You either have jumbo films or you have these little photographic film that are trying to compete in the bigger market . And I got to know Chris Solomon and Ed Matheson . They always had this third installment in their mind . It was n’t something that was pushed out for marketing or this and that . This was it . They always had this go bad on .
It ’s the variety of movie where , yeah , it ’s a funniness with outrageous antics and far - flung aesthesia , but it ’s so solemn , and it has so much soul and honestly to its sway and drum roll stem . How do you figure out how heightened you may get without traverse a line into being cockamamie , if that ’s the correct word ?
That was in spades discussion number one . You desire a lot of eye candy on the screen , which is a good challenge . It ’s basically a one - costume movie , even though they go to the future and the past . But it ’s a one - costume movie , and that costume require to say everything . It also needs to be pleasing to the oculus for the audience to find out for the duration of an integral movie . I had a good deal of images on my imagination circuit card , and we had some very quick discussions with Keanu and Alex . And Dean , the director , had said , " Nobody ’s going to know Bill & Ted more than Keanu and Alex , so I put off to them . "
And what did they have to say ?
Right off the bat , the first thing they enjoin was , " I do n’t want to face silly . " They both recognize time has top in existent lifetime and for the pic character , so let ’s not disregard that . They both really want to get comfortable with what that main costume feeling was going to be . So any really fun , zany , outre ideas stop up being push towards when they visit themselves in the hereafter , and then we settled on their main looking .
When it comes to Alex and Keanu , do you work with them to design the look ? Do they defer to your judgment ? Do you give them options to prefer from ? What ’s that collaboration like ?
It was thoroughgoing collaboration . I obviously bestow my idea to the board , first as a sounding display board to jump off of . It ’s always leisurely for people to say what they do n’t wish if they have n’t really quite reckon out what they do like . That was very helpful . They both had different processes . For Alex , he emphatically had a strong image of what he have it off Bill was endure to jade . It was n’t going to be some immense roundabout way from what you had seen in the past . For Keanu , I think he , at first , was in John Wick style . He had just come up off the motion picture and was going to go off to do a giant press outing for weeks . So he was still thinking about it , even though he had years to think about it ! I mean this film has been in unconscious process since 2012 . But he was like , " I do n’t know , maybe I ’ll wear something wild like a kilt or a suit ! "
That would have been a surprisal !
I think he did n’t lie with quite where to go with it . Of of course , everybody was like , " Kilt ! Kilt ! " Everybody was so excited about that approximation . But when it come down to it , he was like , " I need to feel comfortable and I would be more well-fixed in some edition of a case . " For him , he was slightly inspire by Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips , who is actually a very successful rock’n’roll wiz , and their characters are not successful rock stars , so we kind of settled on a translation of what that lawsuit would be . Maybe he put on a suit because he was going to couple ’s therapy that daybreak . Whatever the backstory was , we did n’t really do a deep dive into it . We just sort of go with what he was well-fixed with and built that into his lineament .
I intend of it as something someone bought him as kind of a way to poke at him into being more of a grown - up .
Yes ! That was definitely one of the theories around it . Like , hey , this cue me of this ! This prompt me of … possibly he decease to Macy ’s to get it , or a thrift computer memory .
You do n’t want me to separate you that you nailed it . I ’ve seen the film and I loved it . It was everything I wanted , it did n’t miss a beat .
Fantastic ! I ca n’t wait to see it , so I ’m glad you say that !
Wait , you did n’t see it yet ? It ’s your movie !
You know , I had reached out and with Covid and stuff , I lie with they were doing other viewing , but I decided to wait to see the final labor , at that sentence .
Fair enough . I do n’t need to spoil too much regarding the historical figure who show up , but can you talk in general about designing them ? Was being historically accurate a anteriority , or was it more about using shorthand to give the interview the sense that they ’re seem at someone from an " old timey " time period ?
Great question , and a niggling number of both . I sense that , in this day and age , speak of the audience ’s eye , you are extremely wonted to seeing " to the last thread detail accurate " period films and TV shows . If you ’re going to do a automaton , your eye is accustomed to seeing these expectant Marvel and DC thing . Within our movie , how are you run short to accomplish that with the time and budget allotted ? For me , the independent aspect was to keep it very loose , very effervescent . Like you said , it ’s just a very honeyed , sincere picture . I wanted it to be all those adjectives you would habituate . look back on the historic flesh , there ’s reference to what they were hold out , but I in spades took some leeway to have a little fun and play with what they could do with those precise costume . There ’s elements of all these characters that are just a smidge over - the - top and we have sport with that , push it just a piffling bit . But they ’re honest to who they ’re supposed to be depict .
You hint at the robot . Does you work as costume designer stretch to who I see as the hugger-mugger MVP of the movie , Dennis Caleb McCoy ?
The robot was already under design before I came on . To make those thing , it ’s so time - consume . They were still finishing it middling much when they were put it on Anthony ( Carrigan ) . So they had to have that underway before they hired the rest of the crew . Those designs were already in discussion , so I ca n’t take credit for that . But in the last , it was fun . And so different . He stands out in the film . And I frikkin ' love that Anthony played the character . He ’s just perfect .
These movies , even the quotation - unquote " mid - range " movies are still such massive machines . Like , what ’s the overlap between costume and special effects and hair and makeup and even acting , since character can be delimitate by the clothes they wear .
Absolutely . It was a unlike timeline of prep . usually , I would be more Byzantine in that process , but it was n’t like that on this one . But I was altogether fine with that , because at that time , I only had so many weeks to do what I needed to do . So I was like , " Okay , everybody ’s happy with that , the producer have signed off , I ’m gon na do this . "
We ’ve got a returning champion , Death . It seems simple enough to a secular , veracious ? " Give him a bleak gown , close of taradiddle , NEXT ! " But I imagine it ’s probably a bit more complicated than that , right ?
He ’s a very beloved quality . William dead loves playing that fiber , and I wanted to make certain it was n’t something introductory . Especially because black , on camera , can just melt . in Bogus Journey , you do n’t even know if there ’s levels to that getup . So I definitely used textile that I wanted to look like it was hard textured , like it was overly worn or a footling scorched . And distressed leather . It was … I cerebrate it was three layer . It was extremely hot when we were take , and he wears extremely high platform , also . So William had to get into these six - in , like , Munster political platform . It was really fun . Because he has such an phylogenetic relation for that character , that fitting was very of import to sleep together that he felt right in the costume . The 2nd he put it on , he just started doing his Death again , act like Death . He was like , " This is it , I feel wonderful . " That mean a lot to me .
I got to babble out to William last week about it , and he definitely love that role .
It ’s a proud fictitious character for him , which is wonderful .
I do n’t desire to overlook " Little Bill & Ted . " You could be reductive and go , " Let ’s just do the old Bill & Ted , but a gender swop edition . " But you clearly did n’t do that and the moving picture is all the ripe for it .
Yes , definitely . First of all , I love them so much . You know , they should embody their fathers , since they are the daughters . After we fall on Keanu and Alex ’s look , you ’re sort of like , " Let ’s channel that effervescence and violation into their girl . " For them , they are mortal , and they ’re super smart and way-out . They ’re euphony nerds and all this other stuff . It was very well-situated to have instinctual fecundation . It was like putting on thing that make you happy and not care what other hoi polloi think . That was the summons . I register them board and ideas , and it was fun with prints and bright colors , and layers . It was eclectic and genderless and it was very easy to have that come to life . They also did their fittings together . All of my fitting with Keanu and Alex were together . And all my fittings with Sam and Brigette were together . I remember that ’s the unspoiled room to do trying on for citizenry who are sharing screentime . It was actually really easy , like , " Here ’s my ideas , " and they came in and it was sort of like kids playing dress - up . They were like , " Can I try on this with it ? " And I was like , " YES ! " Everything was very instinctual and organic , which I guess do across perfect for their fictional character .
You ’ve been around the closure , you ’ve been in closet and costume for a while now , but you ’ve only of late , I guess , been the " section point , " is the term .
Yes .
Do you still enjoy , or do you have the time to do thing like actually sewing and get your hands contaminating in terms of crafting these costumes , or do you have to designate that responsibility to do the design act yourself ?
Yes . Well , I think that ’s also the behind - the - scenes of costume departments that multitude may not be aware of in ecumenical … Even hoi polloi who are producing the crews ! There are so many level in costumes , and I by all odds … If you call it " working your means up " or whatever it is , I ’ve been doing this for 20 years . It fill so much to get costume done . I ’m just going to put out a blanket statement here , some people think , " I ’ve put on clothes , " so they kind of roll in the hay what it require . But normally it ’s nothing even close to that . There ’s a lot of constituent and character - driven thought process to it . And when it comes to making the actual clothes , cutting and stitchery , you ’re hiring master who in reality make finished apparel for a living . So that is a dissimilar Seth of hoi polloi and set of accomplishment already . And along with aging and distressing the apparel so nothing looks brand newfangled . Some shows , you ’ll want to have something correctly off the stand , or correctly off the hanger that ’s going to look trade name fresh . But a raft of times , citizenry usually wear things over and over again , or if the character postulate to be highly dysphoric , that ’s a squad of people ferment on that to make the clothing appear like it ’s been worn . Sometimes sometimes it does n’t require 30 backwash in the laundry . It ’s somebody ’s endowment to make it look that manner .
I see , so what was your trajectory in this business ?
For me , I had done a lot of mostly prep work , but those other things like stitchery and distressing , more qualified people were doing that . The transition for me was very soft . It was something I always had as a finish . It was just the timing . It was always the timing . I was always very patriotic . If I get a job whirl , I never take it ; I would always finish the job I was on . And then , finally , I had an offering too good to pass up , which was to meet with David Fincher . And I was like , " Yeah , okay ! " I dropped everything for that ! Davi Fincher pull through my life history , and he cognize that .
So if he ever calls you for a favor , you ’re there ?
Yeah . It could probably be anything . Yes . To have your genuine first design job be for David , is like … I ca n’t even describe the level of iron heel camp . For such an exacting director .
I ’ve only seen the first season of that show , but Holt McCallany is one of my best-loved actors , I adore him .
I ca n’t conceive he did n’t get nominated for an Emmy ! I do n’t read how that show gets turn a loss in the shambling , but specially him . I think he ’s perfect for that character . I love him so much , too . He crack me up . But speaking of directors , there ’s Dean Parisot , who I also loved working with . He knew how to press everyone along . He ’s been working with this project for many year , too . He conducted it . He would always do this gesture , like , " bring me something , " and he mean " More . More . More . " Like , if I landed on something , he ’d go , " Okay , what ’s next ? " He was very excited and extremely enthusiastic . He knew to give mass the space to do their jobs , and he desire to be creative . He ’s a very artistic person and he appreciates people ’s space and talent to do that .
plain , the condition behind the release of the movie , in terms of what ’s go on in the humanity right now are a little different from what you would ordinarily ask from the Hollywood movie political machine . You ’re not having the red rug parties that you would be customary to and that you ’ve for certain take in , so how are you yield yourself a victory lap now that the movie ’s finally coming out ?
( Laughs ) That ’s really curious . The supervisory program I ordinarily work with , her shibboleth is , " Just remember what it ’s going to face like at the ArcLight ! " She always likes to say that . It ’s to check that we do n’t dismiss any point , basically . And here I am , consider about how we ’re not getting to see it at the ArcLight . But I guess they ’ve all made the right decisiveness . This movie is heartfelt and silly and fun and lighthearted . It has the safe tagline : " Be excellent to each other . " and " Music Unites . " It ’s everything 2020 ask at the moment . So expel it this way is absolutely right . And if you ’re in LA , I ’ve already done it and I ’m lead to do it this weekend , there are driving force - ins . you’re able to see it on the big covert , and it does guarantee find out it on a big CRT screen . And who bang , there ’s all sorts of rumors about when it ’s going to be safe to go to the theater and what ’s going to happen next . I would n’t count on anything this year , though . But yeah , there always is that 2d part of completing a labor , which is watching with mass , reuniting with everyone you worked with . We ’re miss all that , but I ’m beaming it ’s being released and I just hope citizenry enjoy and look on it this weekend and in the week to arrive .
And beyond !
Next : Listen to an Exclusive Track from the Bill & Ted confront the Music Soundtrack
