Development and pre-production In February 2015, it was announced that
Robert Zemeckis was set to direct the film, then only known as an untitled
World War II romantic thriller, in which
Brad Pitt would star.
Steven Knight wrote the original screenplay. It had been a story he had first heard when he was 21 and had travelled with his girlfriend to
Texas to visit her family. Her aunt told him the story of how her brother had fallen for a French woman who became pregnant with his child. It was discovered she was a German spy, and, on orders from his superiors, the brother killed her. Knight had desired to make it into a film since that point. While researching for the film, he was never able to find any reference to the story, but did not rule out its accuracy. He shared the story with Pitt, and from there the production began developing. In June 2015,
Marion Cotillard was cast to play a spy along with Pitt, who fall in love during a mission to kill a German official.
Alan Silvestri, who has served frequently as composer for Zemeckis's films, was hired in October. In January 2016,
Jared Harris joined the film, with
Lizzy Caplan cast in March.
Filming (
Maspalomas Dunes pictured) were used to double for
Morocco.
Principal photography on the film began in February 2016 in
London, with the family home located on the corners of Christchurch Hill and Willow Road in
Hampstead.
Southwark was also used for filming, particularly at
Pullens Yard. To keep within budget, many of the film's scenes were shot in a former
Gillette factory as, according to VFX supervisor Kevin Baillie, most of the remaining studio space had been occupied by bigger
Star Wars and
Marvel films. Production designer Gary Freeman coordinated a construction schedule that allowed for the space used for filming a hospital courtyard scene to be redesigned for scenes involving a
Soho pub within the span of two days. Studio space at
Elstree Studios and
LH2 Studios were also used for the London shoot. Cinematographer
Don Burgess stated that all of the more complex scenes for the film were mapped out prior to filming using a style of
virtual cinematography, a technique they had used for 2004's
The Polar Express. Burgess and Zemeckis elected to break the film down into six specific visual appearances to match the changing tone and settings for the film. In May 2016 scenes set in
Casablanca were shot in
Gran Canaria,
Canary Islands. Freeman stated that filming in the Canary Islands happened as finding locations in Morocco proved a challenge due to the architecture of cities like Casablanca and
Tangiers changing significantly since the time period the film is set in. The airfield scenes were shot at
RAF Halton that was decorated to look like
RAF Hendon during World War II. For when his character spoke French in the film, Pitt worked with Cotillard to help develop his accent. Cotillard took
firearm training for the film, but was never fully comfortable holding the weapon. Filming of the assassination scene was interrupted when Cotillard "freaked out" while handling the weapon. To help with her discomfort, Zemeckis instructed her to put the lock on the
machine gun she would use.
Costume design Designer and frequent Zemeckis collaborator
Joanna Johnston provided the costume design on the film, and was given free rein by Zemeckis on the designs. Due to the quick process of the pre-production, little more than two weeks were available to Johnston for research. She described in an interview that she sought to give the costumes a polished, glossy look. For influence, Johnston paid visits to the
Imperial War Museum in London, a practice she had also done when working on other war set films such as
Saving Private Ryan,
Valkyrie and
War Horse; looked at the wardrobes of
Golden Age actresses
Lauren Bacall,
Barbara Stanwyck and
Katharine Hepburn, as well as the wardrobes utilized in the films
Casablanca and
Now, Voyager. Johnston shaped the style of the costumes around the characters, and particular focus was on Marianne, whose clothing altered with the development of the plot. "I wanted her to look very assured in the first part of the film, in Casablanca.", said Johnston, "I looked at a lot of French style and fashion plates from the time, and I made her look very clean and graphic. When she goes to London, she takes on a mantle of being a mother and wife, so I put her in warmer tones. But you never really know who she is." All of the outfits in the film were custom-made for the cast. The silver cross, worn by Brad Pitt in the film, was also custom-made by London-based jeweller Stephen Einhorn. Several versions of the costumes were made, with eight versions of a long green dress worn by Cotillard in the film being specifically noted.
Music The film was scored by Zemeckis' regular collaborator
Alan Silvestri in their 16th film together, ever since their collaboration with
Romancing the Stone (1984). The album consisted of 13 tracks from Silvestri's score released by
Sony Classical Records on November 11, 2016. Silvestri recorded the score at the Abbey Road Studios in London, after filming was wrapped. He did not allude to the period in the score, as "it was not an action score on any level," and while the film is about war, he did not need to play this as a World War II film. He augmented the 80-piece orchestra with electronic music throughout the film and reflected the period through newly recorded versions of 1940s classical songs played with gusto by London big bands. ==Release==