Interview With "The Ugly Stepsister" Hair & Makeup Team

·24 min·2 clips

The hair and makeup team for 'The Ugly Stepsister' reveals how they reacted to making the Oscar shortlist.

This episode of The Next Best Picture Podcast features an interview with the hair and makeup team behind the film 'The Ugly Stepsister'. Host Emma Sassick speaks with hair and makeup designer Katherine Sauerberg and prosthetic makeup effects designer Thomas Fulberg. The interview begins with congratulations on the film's placement on the Oscar shortlist for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Sauerberg recalls first reading the script and feeling it was a brilliant idea, but doubting it would be produced in Scandinavia due to cost and cultural norms around horror and fantasy genres. She describes meeting director Emily and realizing the project was serious, which excited her due to the range of work from character design to ghost and puppet elements. The conversation explores the balance between the beautiful, fairy tale aspects of the Cinderella story and the gruesome prosthetic effects, emphasizing the goal of keeping the protagonist Elvira relatable. Fulberg explains the technical challenges of creating key effects like the eye surgery sequence, which involved merging a puppet lower face with the actor's upper face through VFX compositing, as using prosthetics directly on the actor was deemed too dangerous. He also details the toe-chopping scene, where a last-minute restriction on spraying blood at the castle location required them to film the effect separately in a studio and composite it. The team discusses director Emily's equal attention to both beauty and horror elements, and her stylized vision for gore effects. They reflect on the intense, daily challenges of the production, likening it to balancing a wedding cake through a crowd. The interview touches on their positive experience at the Academy bake-off in Los Angeles, where they found a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere among peers. The episode concludes with thoughts on potential Oscar nominations and gratitude for the recognition of their work.

As heard by us

A focused craft conversation on how The Ugly Stepsister's makeup effects chase lifelike discomfort.

The Next Best Picture Podcast frames its discussion of The Ugly Stepsister through the film's makeup and hairstyling shortlist placement, then settles into the design choices that shaped its more unsettling moments.

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Why you'd press play

You want to know how an eyelash sequence turns the stomach while staying precise about blood, realism, and that long thread.

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