“A Kick in the System”: Watch the Crazy Making of The Substance

“A Kick in the System”: Watch the Crazy Making of The Substance

MUBI shares behind the scenes of the subversive The Substance, a film thought out to the millimeter by the French director.

Those who want to learn more about the body horror who turned Cannes upside down (and won the screenplay prize) will be able to enjoy this video available on the MUBI Youtube channel, where Coralie Fargeat looks back on the key moments of filming.

After Revengeher first film released in 2018, the director questioned herself about what she really wanted to do. As she transitioned into middle age, she felt it was the time to address the lack of consideration towards women of a certain age. “I really wanted to kick the system.”she explains. “The idea was to say: wake up, things have to change”.

The making-of reveals the enormous involvement behind this film carried by the actresses Demi Moore (who won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy for the film!) And Margaret Qualley. “I worked in great detail”she confides. Before the filming of The SubstanceCoralie Fargeat thought out each shot, each frame, using very precise storyboards. An organization that made it possible to create custom prostheses with Pierre Olivier Persin, a makeup artist specializing in special effects.

A heavy task, since the director refused to use computer-generated images for the film’s many effects. The bodies had to be able to be manipulated: “As soon as I started writing the film, I knew that I wanted, that I needed all the special effects to be done for real. Because the film is about flesh and blood.”

We then discover behind the scenes of the famous scene where Demi Moore splits herself in two along her spine, just after administering the substance. Of 100% handmade using techniques invented on the spot, according to the needs of the sequence. A work of art that the director particularly enjoyed accomplishing.

Fargeat also discusses the creation of the “Lab”a sort of laboratory of “mad professor”used to film all sequences without actors, in a small group. This includes close-ups of food, prosthetics, and even the very first scene with the egg. “That’s also what I like about cinema. I like to experiment, I like to get my hands dirty and do things myself”.

Contrary to what one might believe, The Substance was filmed in the south of Francebetween Cannes and Antibes. A way for Coralie Fargeat to work on symbols, in order to create a Hollywood that meets her desires. In short, the ambitious filming of The Substance was a real challenge, the secrets of which MUBI reveals to us… The Substance which attracted 550,000 spectators in France and was a hit in the USA) will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 13, with undoubtedly this making of and many other surprises.

Margaret Qualley took ‘a year to physically recover’ from The Substance

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