Behind the Scenes with Oscar-Nominated ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Design Team!

Vanity Fair recently interviewed production designer Stuart Craig and set dresser Anna Pinnock – leaders of the immensely talented design team behind Fantastic Beasts – on their Oscar-nominated work behind the scenes of the latest film to delve into J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world.

After 17 years on Potter, Stuart Craig is familiar with J.K. Rowling’s work, so had a deep understanding of how to create the kind of 1920’s New York that would be true to her imagination. When she said she wanted MACUSA to look like the Woolworth building, he understood:

“Gothic has become the style of the wizarding fraternity,” Craig explained, “so the Woolworth building was fitting because it was very, very beautifully carved in Gothic decoration.”

He also said the entrance to MACUSA was going to be a lot more dramatic than in the final production:

 “When you approach the main entrance of the Woolworth Building, which is a big Gothic arch, and you look right up into the point of that arch, there’s an owl carved in the stones and that [detail] for Jo Rowling must have cinched [the building as inspiration]. At one time, the script was written that the owl would actually come to life—it would animate, fly down and into the revolving doors and take visitors with it.”

The Goldstein’s apartment and Jacob’s humble abode were all created by Stuart Craig, involving research in New York to find ‘peculiar interior-design’ to suit the characters. Anna Pinnock explained:

“We did lots of research, and used the Library of Commerce and the Cooper Hewitt Library, which had some very interesting wallpapers that the graphics department manipulated for us, to give it just something extra,” said Pinnock. The goal, Pinnock explained, was to create livable spaces for everyday use with a magical twist.

“Given that the [Goldsteins] were kind of undercover, they had to conceal their magic, so we showed it in their apartment with very subtle details like the wizarding magazines, the mannequin with the magical mending, and the iron ironing a petticoat on its own,” said Pinnock. “We provided those things but then mechanical or visual effects would take over. I think the iron was a mechanical effect with a magnet underneath the ironing board.” 

Translating these amazing ideas into Leavesden Studios is the real challenge, but Craig’s team did this with apparent ease, building ‘three complex streets in a T pattern and to actual scale—unlike most film sets, which are cheated smaller’. He told Vanity Fair:

“One area had the tenement buildings of the Lower East Side, where Jacob lives,” explained Craig. “Another section is based on Tribeca, with the classical cast-iron details that you don’t see everywhere and are very appealing to anyone interested in architecture. At the top of the T, we built the bank where Newt first meets Jacob. . . . It was an immense undertaking, but it needed to be to show the characters moving through this great city.”

Rowling called Stuart Craig ‘an absolute genius’ in her production notes from her first visit on set, praising his ability to materialise her imaginary world for all to enjoy.

The Academy Awards will take place on February 26th at 7pm EST. Stuart Craig received a nomination for Best Production Design. Kubo With Two Strings – an animated film featuring Ralph Fiennes’s voice – is nominated for Best Visual Effects, and The Lobster – starring Fantastic Beasts’ Colin Farrell – is nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Read the full interview with Vanity Fair here!