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Arts And Crafts
KEEPINGITINTHEFAMILY
SPECIAL EFFECTS WIZARD CHRIS CORBOULD TALKS TO ANWAR BRETT
When Chris Corbould decided to enter the film business he was follow- ing in a family tradition started by his uncle, Colin Chilvers. A respected special effects supervisor on such ground- breaking films as Superman – for which he won an Oscar – Chilvers encouraged his nephew’s interest in the craft that puts the magic into movies.
And, after assisting Chilvers on the sci-fi tale Saturn 3, Corbould realised where his future lay. “I left school after my ‘O’ levels fully intending to go back in the new term and go on to further education. I was going to be a scientist.
“But during the summer holidays I worked with Colin. I’d watch the little tests he’d do, be on set when he’d do his explosions and see his various mechanical rigs. I pretty much got the buzz from that. So I left school and started in the industry.”
Double BAFTA nominee Corbould – whose three brothers, Neil (twice a BAFTA winner), Ian and Paul, are also involved in the field of sfx – has built a highly impressive filmography of his own since making his debut as a special effects technician in 1983 on Krull. These days he is special effects supervi- sor on some of the biggest movies made in the UK, and has recently worked on such films as GoldenEye, The Mummy, The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies and 102 Dalmatians.
Most recently, he has been working on a project for which he has particu- larly high hopes, the film version of the cult video game Tomb Raider. “It’s real- ly exciting,” he beams, his enthusiasm undimmed by the success he has met in recent years. “I’m lucky enough to be in
One represented an underground temple designed to match the film’s location shoot in Cambodia, in which Lara Croft (embodied on screen by Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie) encoun- ters her arch enemy Manfred Powell, played by Iain Glen.
But the effect that Corbould is most pleased with is a massive, fully opera- tional orrery, occupying a separate area of the soundstage. A fully working representation of the solar system, it will form the backdrop to one of Tomb Raider’s most spectacular sequences.
“That was something we had been working on pretty much from when we started on the film,” he adds. “I think it was the biggest challenge. There was a slight hesitancy among some members of the crew whether we would pull it
a position where people offer me jobs, but this is one that I actively sought.
“I thought it was an exciting genre film, with a terrific action heroine at the heart of it. As soon as I heard they were making the film I went out and bought the game and became got total- ly obsessed with it. It was bizarre. The film I was working on was
almost coming second to me
coming back to the office and
playing on Tomb Raider. My
desire to do the film really
stemmed from that.
“I could see the potential for some really wild special effects. Some of the things
we’ve been doing, some of the sets we’ve been building, even down to some of the camera rigs that we’ve made spe- cially to achieve some of the shots are amazing. It’s a contrast to the realism of a Bond film, say. And the director Simon West had a lot of original ideas, with fan- tastic camera angles and weird effects.”
Working in close conjunc- tion with stunt co-ordinator Simon Crane, Corbould has dreamed up some epic action set pieces. Based at Pinewood Studios the film could boast several impressive sets, some of which were constructed on the enormous 007 soundstage.
off, so it was great when we got it up and running and filmed on it. I stood back and said ‘that’s fantastic’.
“We worked out the mechanics of it, then built it, and obviously construc- tion worked with us to dress it. But that’s something I’m really proud of on the film.”
Tomb Raider is a movie that a lot of people have high hopes for, Corbould included, and if it does live up to expectations he should receive his fair share of the credit.
“With what Simon West has got out of us and the digital people, I think it has the makings of a really huge film. Angelina has been really easy to work with, both with her stunts and with our stuff. And she looks great, she has a real aura about her on the screen. I think the film will be absolutely stunning.” ■
Photos: Chris Corbould; Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider; on the Tomb Raider set
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