How Harry Potter stars helped Edgar Wright create Last Night in Soho scene
The director takes us behind the curtain in this exclusive clip.
Edgar Wright’s trippy horror-fantasy movie Last Night in Soho was full of unusual visuals and stand-out moments – but what might surprise you is how many of them were achieved “live” on set, rather than simply added in later.
For example, in the numerous mirror scenes in the film – where a character walks past a mirror with the reflection of a different character, rather than themselves – there were often actors “in” the mirrors on parallel sets, allowing their performances to play alongside each other’s.
And in an exclusive new clip from behind-the-scenes of Last Night in Soho, RadioTimes.com can reveal how one such scene was brought to life – or rather, director Wright can.
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“There are a lot of mirror sequences in the movie – a lot of them are done ‘for real’ in the sense that it’s happening in-camera, and there isn’t a reliance on green screen and motion control,” Wright explains in the clip, which appears as part of a longer feature on the film’s DVD release.
“We use some of those effects in places, but I think people would be shocked to discover how much of it is actually happening.”
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For example, the first scene when Thomasin McKenzie’s Ellie steps into the 1960s-era Café de Paris, looking into a mirror to discover another woman – Anya Taylor-Joy’s Sandie – looking back at her. This was achieved with a double set, a moving mirror – and a familiar set of twins best known for the Harry Potter movies.
“Thomasin McKenzie descends the staircase into the Café de Paris, and meets a maitre d’ played by James Phelps,” Wright says. “You can see James Phelps’ reflection in a mirror.
“Then, the maitre d' walks in front of Thomasin McKenzie. At that point the mirror in the background is sliding away, to reveal a double set.”
On that identical set? Taylor-Joy as Sandie, accompanied by an identical maitre d' of her own – played by James Phelps’ identical twin brother Oliver. Previously, the pair played Fred and George Weasley over years of Potter films, and in Last Night in Soho they helped create a very different kind of movie magic.
“Now you have four performers who are choreographed doing the same thing, at the same time,” Wright concludes.
Altogether it’s a fascinating glimpse into a scene that some viewers might not have looked at twice – even though in reality, it was happening twice right in front of them.
Last Night in Soho is available on digital now and 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on 31st January. For more, check out our dedicated Fantasy page or our full TV Guide.
