Enchanting Emilia Clarke

May 22 2018

Press: Inside ‘Solo’: A ‘Star Wars’ Story’s Bumpy Ride to the Big Screen

Gallery Links:

PHOTOSHOOTS & OUTTAKES > 2018 Variety Magazine
MAGAZINES > 2018 > 2018 Variety Magazine – May
FILM PRODUCTIONS > Solo: A Star Wars Story > Behind the Scenes

VARIETY – The hackneyed industry catchphrase “creative differences” has been enlisted countless times over the decades to describe Hollywood productions gone amok, prompting a change in the director’s chair. The modern “Star Wars” series has not been immune: More than half of Lucasfilm’s recent efforts have suffered through episodes of filmmaker upheaval.

But the latest installment, “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” due out May 25, upstaged them all when the production veered off the rails so spectacularly that it forced filming to grind to a halt after four months. With mere weeks left on the shooting schedule, producer Kathleen Kennedy fired directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and hired veteran Ron Howard to right the ship.

Suddenly, the Oscar-winning director of 2001’s “A Beautiful Mind,” who along with his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer has overseen dozens of features, was tasked with the daunting job of overhauling the embattled franchise spinoff. Howard shot about 70% of “Solo,” thus earning him sole director credit on the movie, with Lord and Miller receiving executive producer acknowledgments. With the reshoots, the movie wound up costing more than $250 million.

“I didn’t witness any of the difficulties or where that disconnect was,” says Howard, who is 64. “But the one thing that I could bring to it was objectivity. I saw it as an opportunity.”

Filed under: Articles, Behind the Scenes, Magazine Scans, Photoshoots, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Video - no comments yet

May 21 2018

Press/Gallery: SiriusXM Town Hall with the Cast of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story”

EW – We had a lot of questions for Alden Ehrenreich when he showed up alongside stars Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, and Paul Bettany for a Solo: A Star Wars Story Town Hall that will air on SiriusXM’s Entertainment Weekly Radio (channel 105) on Thursday, May 24 at 6 p.m. But there was one question that mattered above all others: Who shot first?

We asked it simple and we asked it plain: Who shot first in Star Wars: A New Hope — Han Solo or Greedo? In the original 1977 theatrical run, it was Han who fired the first lethal blow while sitting across from the Rodian bounty hunter in the Tatooine Cantina.

When the Special Edition of the film came out in 1997, however, Han’s shot was only in response to a prior blast from Greedo (who also simultaneously displayed what can only be considered the worst aim in history). Then, it was changed again later with the two seeming to fire simultaneously (with Greedo maintaining his terrible aim).

“Han Shot First” has become a rallying cry for Star Wars fans who feel the change drastically altered what made the scoundrel Han Solo so appealing in the first place. So we asked the man who now plays him for his thoughts on the controversy. Sooooooo, who shot first?

Filed under: Appearances, Gallery, Interviews, Solo: A Star Wars Story - no comments yet

May 19 2018

Press: Emilia Clarke, on the Hollywood throne

The original article is in French and I just used Google to translate it so it might not be 100% correct.

THE PARISIAN WEEKEND. As she is currently shooting the latest episodes of the Game of Thrones series , the actress is on the new Star Wars saga . Meeting with a feminist who knows how to assert herself.

On the third floor of the chic New York Edition, in the heart of Manhattan. Pink complexion, luscious lips and eyebrows provided, a small silhouette of 1.57 meters advances towards us. British actress Emilia Clarke , 31, breaks the screen in Solo: A Star Wars Story . This tenth film stamped Star Wars , in theaters on May 23, focuses on the youth of Han Solo, cult character of the intergalactic saga.

His name may not tell you much. The actress is best known for playing, since 2011, Daenerys Targaryen (aka “Khaleesi” or “Mother of the Dragon”), one of the main roles of the medieval-fantasy series Game of Thrones .

For those who have never looked at it, booster shot. Daenerys, fallen heiress, reduced to slavery by a band of savages, will gradually free himself from his chains by taking the lead of an army of oppressed. The episodes follow one another and the young woman, a fine military strategist, asserts herself as a leader of men and dragons (yes, yes). His goal: to run for the famous Iron Throne.

“To embody this character, it really gave me confidence,” she says. Surrounded by her “court” – makeup artist, hairdresser, stylist and press officer ready to respond to any of her desires – Emilia Clarke, stern look, seems to have been impregnated with the imperial charisma of her double on the screen.

This natural brunette even sports, for a few months, immaculate blonde hair , like his character! But the Game of Thrones adventure will stop soon. The last episodes of the series are currently being watched and will be broadcast from April 2019.

Filed under: Articles, Gallery, Photoshoots - no comments yet

May 16 2018

Press: Emilia Clarke’s Dior Gown at Cannes Film Festival Took 250 Hours To Make

The photos of the couture piece being hand-made in the atelier are stunning.

HARPER’S BAZAAR – As A-listers flock to Cannes Film Festival, we’re being graced with more and more stunning red carpet moments.

The latest comes from Emilia Clarke, who wore a tulle Dior Couture gown to the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story yesterday. Designed by the fashion house’s artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, the custom couture gown was created especially for the Game of Thrones actress—and took over 250 hours to make by hand.

The tulle design featured an asymmetrical neckline with a delicate neck-strap and ruffled off-the-shoulder sleeves. Lending a behind-the-scenes look at how the gown came to be, Dior shared photos of the custom piece in creation at the fashion house’s atelier.

Filed under: Articles - no comments yet

May 16 2018

Press: Emilia Clarke on ‘Solo’ Director Shake-Up, ‘Game of Thrones’ Final Season

VARIETY – Solo: A Star Wars Story” was the rare Hollywood blockbuster that changed directors in mid-shoot.

With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, the filmmakers shuffle could have doomed the picture and resulted in lots of bad blood on the set. However, in an interview at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, where “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is about to screen, Emilia Clarke said that the shift from directors Chris Lord and Phil Miller to Ron Howard was “seamless.”

Howard, the Oscar-winning director of “A Beautiful Mind,” had no time to prep, Clarke said, but on his first day he immediately earned the trust of his cast and crew.

“He took us all in and listened to everyone,” said Clarke, adding, “He took us from this kind of ‘what are we doing’ to a place of such ease and comfort and fun.”

During an hour-long talk as part of the Kering Women in Motion talks, Clarke didn’t say what happened to lead to Lord and Miller’s firing, but the duo’s improvisation-heavy style was reportedly alienating some actors and led to clashes with LucasFilm head Kathleen Kennedy. She did allude to substantial re-shoots, saying that her response when she’d revisit certain scenes was, “Yes, thank goodness. I did not do that well.”

Although deathly afraid of “Solo” spoilers (she gripped the sides of her chair when asked), Clarke did tease that takes place in “a part of Star Wars that we have not spent a huge amount of time in before: the dark, shady, gangster underworld.”

Clarke flew to Cannes in the midst of shooting the final season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” the fantasy epic series that features her playing the steel-willed Daenerys Targaryen. She confessed that she’s not certain how all the palace intrigue and clashes for the Iron Throne will end.

Filed under: Interviews, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Video - no comments yet