Latest news with #Brändström
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' director Charlotte Brändström on Gandalf's ‘big reveal' and which scene required ‘the most prep'
Working on an expansive series like Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, director-producer Charlotte Brändström knew she had to "take things one by one, and build up." As she tells Gold Derby, "It's a very technical show, so you do what you always do: you go into scripts and you focus on stories and then you get into it. It doesn't feel like something absolutely huge, and at the same time, it was huge because of the scale and the different worlds and the characters. There was a lot to do." Brändström will be submitting the Season 2 finale, "Shadow and Flame," for Emmy consideration in her directing category. "Among the episodes that I directed, it was the one that was the most diverse," she explains. "It was the most big-scale and cinematic. It had big scenes, and it also had very intimate character moments. That always drives the series. Whatever scale you're working on, it's always the characters that take over at some point." More from GoldDerby Guest acting Emmy odds: See how Kaitlyn Dever, Jeffrey Wright, Martin Scorsese, Bryan Cranston, and other hopefuls stack up TV directors roundtable: 'American Primeval,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' 'Paradise' 'Paradise' directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on the 'chaos' of crafting 'the world coming to an end' The Swedish-French filmmaker states that the sacrifice King Durin (Peter Mullan) makes at the start of the episode is an "incredible moment" and one that "wasn't easy" to direct. While the demon creature, the Balrog, was the creation of visual effects, "At the same time, I had to direct actors in a very emotional moment, because there was the disappearance of King Durin. It was one of the most exciting moments in the whole episode for me." The confirmation that the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is actually Gandalf takes place in the finale. "Since it's such a big moment that the audience was waiting for, I tried to make it as simple as possible when his name came up. So, not to do something too big, neither with the reaction of the actor or cinematically. I just wanted it to be a simple character moment, because it's such a big reveal, Brändström says, noting it was "a reveal that people expected." The sword fight between Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) required "the most prep of everything in the episode," the director divulges. "I first had to research to find the style for the sword fight, and to make it all so personal and epic at the same time. There was no real VFX moment in the whole scene — all of the effects were done in-camera. The most complicated part was probably all of the makeup changes." Creating "tension" between the two enemies was paramount, because it was "their first confrontation in the whole season." The character that Brändström identifies with the most is Disa (Sophia Nomvete), the strong-willed wife of Prince Durin (Owain Arthur). "I love Disa because she believes in tradition," she notes. "But at the same time, she's never afraid of renewing herself, which is how I see life." "A lot of work" goes into making sure all of the characters and storylines on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are properly cared for. "Once you get into it, you have to prepare a lot, and then on the day, you have to leave room for some improvisation," Brändström tells us. "You need to keep the worlds apart, and you go back and forth a lot. There are obviously a lot of parallel stories, but it's not the first time I've done that." The team on the show "remains grounded" in order to ensure that author J.R.R. Tolkien's vision is respected. There are no "weird effects," and all of the magic has to "come from natural elements, like smoke and fire and dust and mud." Brändström adds, "His writing is very much about character and destiny, so it was about small character moments, and to never forget to keep it real and grounded and sincere." Also in our exclusive video interview, Brändström talks about what prop she would want to take home with her, she delves into why she loves directing genre projects so much, and she teases what she can about Season 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. This article and video are presented by Prime Video. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby TV directors roundtable: 'American Primeval,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' 'Paradise' 'Paradise' directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on the 'chaos' of crafting 'the world coming to an end' 'American Primeval' director Peter Berg on crafting an 'adventure story' with a 'dysfunctional family' in the wild west Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I'm Obsessed With The Last Two Episodes Of The Rings Of Power, And Now There's A Related Reason To Get Excited For Season 3
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's been months since Rings of Power's Season 2 finale was watched by those with an Amazon Prime subscription. Now, finally, the wheels on Season 3 of this Lord of the Rings prequel are turning! On top of that, it's been confirmed that production is set to start in the spring and some excellent directors are signed up to lead the adventure. This includes the director who made the final two episodes of Season 2, which has increased my excitement for this junior installment tenfold. If you know anything about the behind-the-scenes team of Rings of Power, you know Charlotte Brändström is one of its superstars. She's directed some of the show's biggest episodes – including last season's epic penultimate episode and finale – and it's been confirmed by Prime Video that she's returning for Season 3 as a director and executive producer. Across this incredible Prime Video show's two seasons, Brändström has helmed many of the most vital episodes. After directing two installments in Season 1, she stepped up in Season 2, taking the lead on five episodes, including the penultimate 'Doomed to Die' and the finale, 'Shadow and Flame.' To this day, I still think about that epic shape-shifty fight between Galadriel and Sauron, Celebrimbor's death, Sauron crying, the reveal that The Stranger is Gandalf, Adar's death, King Durin's death and the battle that lasted for episodes. Brändström led the charge on all these moments and more, which not only brought Season 2 to an epic conclusion but set up Season 3 perfectly. Knowing she'll be a force behind these new episodes after seeing her remarkable work on those last two installments specifically is thrilling. Not to mention, on top of Rings of Power, Brändström has worked on shows like Shōgun and The Witcher, making her a force to be reckoned with in the world of action television. However, her involvement isn't the only big news. Alongside Brändström, Sanaa Hamri and Stefan Schwartz will also be directing episodes in Season 3. Notably, Hamri is no stranger to Middle-earth, as she directed Episodes 4, 5 and 6 last season. She's also well-versed in the fantasy realm having worked on The Wheel of Time. Meanwhile, Schwartz will make his Rings of Power debut this season. That's exhilarating because he has worked on some incredible shows before this, including The Boys, The Americans and The Walking Dead. As someone who was truly, truly obsessed with Season 2 of Rings of Power specifically, this update makes me very happy. Every episode was so epic and packed with important stories, and with veteran directors and new talent leading Season 3, I think we're in for something special. At the moment, Rings of Power Season 3 is in pre-production with plans to start filming in the spring. So, new episodes likely will not air on the 2025 TV schedule, but it seems likely they'll come in 2026. I have a feeling it will be worth the wait too, considering the fellowship leading the upcoming episodes has proven they are more than up for this adventure.
