Public Servant Lifestyle

Kate Beckinsale takes to the shadows as a vampish warrior, fighting a secret war with an ancient enemy.

Underworld

Move over Buffy, there's a new 'Slayer' in town - but hang on, she's a black leather clad child of the night herself? Goth anti-heroine chic anyone? Read on...

For centuries, two races have evolved hidden deeply within human culture – the aristocratic, sophisticated Vampires, and the brutal, feral Lycans (werewolves). To humanity, their existence is no more than a whisper of a myth. But to each other, they are the lifelong mortal rivals, sworn to wage a secret war until only one race is left standing.

Vamp

In the midst of this ongoing struggle, a Vampire warrior, Selene (played by Kate Beckinsale), discovers a Lycan plot to kidnap a young human doctor. After shadowing Michael (Scott Speedman) through the city, she forms an unprecedented bond with him, and when the Lycans make their next move, Selene is there to try to fend off their vicious assault.

As she races to save Michael and unravel the Lycan plot surrounding him, Selene discovers a secret that has terrifying repercussions for both tribes – a plot to awaken a new invincible species of predator that combines the strengths of both creatures and the weaknesses of neither, which threatens to tip the balance of power in favour of the werewolves, who have been on the losing end of the struggle for centuries.

Kate Beckinsale (Serendipity, The Last Days Of Disco, Pearl Harbour) and Scott Speedman (Dark Blue, television’s Felicity) star in this sweeping tale of deadly action, ruthless intrigue and forbidden love, all set against the backdrop of an ancient feud between the two tribes in a timeless, Gothic metropolis.

The tradition of vampires and werewolves in Hollywood goes back to the beginning of film, but Underworld takes the myths deeper. Unbeknownst to the humanity around them, Vampires and Lycans (werewolves) have been engaged in a centuries-long battle for dominance in hidden sectors of the city. "This isn’t drawn off a comic book or a novel," explains screenwriter Danny McBride. "This is from genre guys sitting together in a living room, wanting to create a universe, base it on science and bring vampires and werewolves into a new light."

One night while riding the subway, medical student Michael Corvin is caught in a fierce fire fight between the two mysterious 'gangs.' He is spotted by a striking and sophisticated woman, the vampire warrior Selene.

Pearl Harbour

Kate Beckinsale, who has garnered acclaim for diverse performances in films like Laurel Canyon, Serendipity and Pearl Harbour, takes on the intensely physical role of Selene, the sophisticated Vampire who is a top ranking member of the 'Death Dealers', an elite Vampire warrior class charged with hunting the Lycans into extinction. Selenes’ ferocity, says Beckinsale, is personal. "She's very much grounded as a character in the war," she says. "Her whole motivation is very emotional and involves having lost her whole family to the Lycans. In her job, she is committing constant revenge for that."

Neither side has ever had much use for people, preferring to avoid the dangers of close human contact. Her alarm raised, Selene informs the arrogant Vampire leader of the growing danger, but Kraven (Shane Brolly) dismisses the Lycans as no more than common street thugs and not a legitimate threat.

Disobeying orders to let it go, she steals away from Kraven’s estate to shadow Michael through the city. In spite of her centuries of paramilitary training, she finds herself becoming curiously interested in Michael – who, like all other humans, has no idea that Vampires or Lycans even exist. "Her personal crusade gets undermined when she meets Michael," says Beckinsale. "It's interesting to play a character who is off her feet a little bit, who suddenly has to think differently about things."

Scott Speedman, who recently starred in the film Dark Blue after a long-running role in the TV drama Felicity, stars as Michael Corvin. Speedman describes him as a loner who is new to the city. "Michael’s a guy who has suffered a great tragedy in his life," says Speedman. "His girlfriend has been killed in an accident. He’s decided to take off to a different world where nobody knows him."

Lycans

When the Lycans attack again, Selene takes on their most skilled fighters, but is unable to stop Michael from being bitten by the ruthless Lycan leader, Lucian (Michael Sheen). Sheen notes that Lucian is an ancient being that should not be underestimated. "He’s centuries old," says the actor. "He has a very long history and a whole mythology tied to his connection with the Vampires from many, many centuries before when werewolves were slaves to the Vampires. Lucian has a huge hatred of Viktor, the Vampire overlord, especially."

Selene believes that Lucian is organizing a werewolf army intent on revenge after years of persecution at the hands of the arrogant Vampires. In her desperation for an ally, Selene awakens the Vampire leader Viktor (played by Bill Nighy) from his five-hundred-years sleep. "He's reawakened a century too soon and is not too pleased about that," comments Bill Nighy.

"Bigger, better, stronger, faster"

"He thought they’d cleared up the werewolf trouble hundreds of years ago by killing everybody. But, in fact, that wasn't the case, and now the werewolves have regrouped and are threatening the vampire world."
Nighy describes Viktor as "bigger, better, stronger, quicker, faster, more powerful than anyone else, so it should be a breeze. Selene awakens him because she believes he is not only all-powerful, but the force of good in the story."

But neither of the warring clans is fully prepared for the next revelation: Michael has not stumbled into their secret war by pure accident. He has a secret connection to both the Lycans and Vampires.

The genesis for the film began during a conversation about werewolf movies between director Len Wiseman and his friend Kevin Grevioux, who is a co-writer and plays the role of Raze in the film. "If it’s the new werewolf film of the millennium, I want to see something different," says Wiseman.
Grevioux suggested creating a type of Romeo/Juliet story and instead of Montagues and Capulets, it would be werewolves and vampires. Further, his background in genetic engineering proved vital to the filmmakers’ new take on these age-old legends. "We wanted to use science as a base rather than mysticism, so I created a virus which was the reason that vampires and werewolves became what they had finally become."

Science Of The Supernatural

Wiseman adds that they eschewed the classic mystical associations of vampires with garlic and crosses. "I think if you take it down to a genetic state then you can really explain things," he says. "If it’s about a genetic anomaly that creates these species or you’re just dealing with a blood type that through the years has somehow been able to develop these species, then you can find ways to kill it. You can explore why silver affects this type of blood. Our vampires and werewolves are a little more grounded."

The filmmakers next enlisted screenwriter Danny McBride, who shares their love for the genre, to flesh out their ideas. "Danny really facilitated the process and got our ideas straight," says Grevioux.

From the outset, they were determined to have a gritty female central character whose arc would involve internal conflict. "To Danny and I it was refreshing to see a female in this role rather than a male," says Wiseman.
The project came to Lakeshore and was put together very quickly. As producer Gary Lucchesi points out, "Most of the time it takes two to three years to put a movie together, and this movie we put together in two to three months."

Wiseman’s ability to articulate exactly how he wanted to make this film impressed everyone at Lakeshore Entertainment. As Lucchesi explains, "Len is a very eloquent guy. He comes from the world of production design, which I found rather interesting. He had apprenticed with Roland Emmerich and had worked at (effects house) Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). He was very committed to the atmosphere of the movie and felt that in a movie like Underworld, atmosphere was going to be a top priority in achieving what he wanted on screen. Producer Richard Wright adds, "Len is a very focused and hardworking guy. He has a bright new sensibility as a director."

With Lakeshore’s history of working with first time feature directors, the support network was already in place for the movie. As producer Tom Rosenberg points out, "One of the things we at Lakeshore are most proud of is that we’ve given a number of first time feature directors a chance. We had a very successful relationship with Mark Pellington (The Mothman Prophecies) and have gone on to make three films with him; we have also recently worked with Paul McGuigan on Obsessed, so Len was a perfect fit." The next step was to find a cast that could give life to the characters the filmmakers created.

Kate Beckinsale had carved out a name in theatre and film but had not yet entered the genre. "Before Underworld, Kate was not somebody that you would expect to see running around toting a gun, wearing vampire teeth," says producer Wright.
"Kate didn’t want to take a look at this script based simply on the fact that it was a werewolf movie and she told us that she wasn’t interested," Wiseman says. "But her agent sent her the script anyway with all my drawings.!

"Cool And Interesting"

"Len had done these really fantastic drawings of Selene and the werewolves," Beckinsale remembers. "They were so cool and interesting and not old-fashioned gothic. They were really fresh and I thought ‘Wow! That’s interesting’ and I read the script. It’s not like a comic book where she does somersaults and isn’t a real character. She’s flesh and blood."

Beckinsale’s involvement helped paved the way for assembling a diverse cast of professionals. "Kate Beckinsale’s fantastic. We were very fortunate that she agreed to star in this movie, says Lucchesi. Wright agrees, "Kate coming on board really legitimized the film and elevated its perceived status. We have a phenomenal cast of very talented actors and I think we owe that in large part to Kate coming aboard first."

The filmmakers also welcomed her collaboration, particularly with the character of Seline. "She was very passionate about the project," says Wiseman. "All of her ideas really gelled with our ideas and some of the things just made it so much better. We all wanted to make the best movie possible, regardless of genre." Comments McBride, "Kate is razor-sharp in this movie and I think she’s going to blow people’s socks off. Her acting is astounding, she looks amazing and she’s doing a lot of these stunts herself. It is so out of the box from anything she’s ever done. She has just breathed life into Selene and yanked her off the page - played with her like putty and created a slick, cool, complicated character."

Wright goes on to explain what an arduous task the cast had in front of them. "This is not an easy movie to shoot, leastwise for Kate," he comments. "We have done all sorts of horrible things to her. We got her soaking wet, kept her outside in freezing cold weather and had her standing on top of an eight story building. But she’s been a trooper and she’s really soldiered through."

Kate Beckinsale

Beckinsale has nothing but praise for her experience making Underworld. "It’s been an incredibly passionate, fantastic experience making the film," she says. Adding "I think it’s been my favourite job so far, which is funny for me because I wasn’t expecting to feel safe and secure on this film - because I’m slightly off my game, you know? But the fact that I do is a real achievement of Len’s."

The next critical cast-member was Michael Corvin. Wiseman had seen Scott Speedman on the TV series Felicity and though he didn’t put that together with this film, it was the actor’s attitude toward the material that convinced the director. "Scott takes everything in this film seriously and wants it to be as real as possible," says Wiseman. Beckinsale concurs, "I think Len attracts people who are in it for the right reasons and Scott’s another one who really just wants to work and do a great job."

Working on Underworld was a great new experience for Speedman – not only a first with Wiseman but also the genre. "It’s exciting to work with first time directors because they’re not so set in their ways," he says. "Len seems very excited about what he’s doing and has a lot of passion for this project. I think that will be evident in the movie. No matter what’s going on and what pressures he’s under he seems like he’s really enjoying himself. He’s a great talent and has got a real sense of style and a vision of his own."

Werewolves!

As Michael transforms from human to werewolf, Speedman underwent arduous hours of prosthetic makeup application. "It took five hours to put it on and one night it took seven people an hour and a half to get it off," he recalls. "They were all preparing me to be bored and antsy, but it was actually a really interesting process to sit there and watch five people do this amazing work on your body."

Speedman wasn’t the only actor to undergo hours of makeup. British veteran actor Bill Nighy, who plays Vampire overlord Viktor, had a similar experience being transformed from a mummified state to fleshed out ‘human’ Vampire. "I had no idea what ‘prosthetic’ meant until I got here and it means pain, a lot of it," he comments wryly. "But you can’t hate them because they’re really groovy guys; they’re very nice and tremendously gifted at their jobs."

For the filmmakers Nighy was an ideal match for Viktor because of his ability to project a presence and sense of control. "Bill Nighy came in and I didn’t know anything about him," Wiseman remembers. "He sat down and read and it was the only experience I’ve had where I was taping somebody and got lost behind the camera. He became the Viktor that you think about when you write. That was incredibly exciting." Comments Lucchesi, "Bill Nighy was a sensational find. He really gave gravitas to the whole movie."

To play Lucian, the Lycan leader, the filmmakers enlisted stage actor Michael Sheen, who had recently performed four-year run in a London production of Amadeus in addition to appearing in The Four Feathers.

"From the very first time Michael came in to read, it was electrifying," comments screenwriter Danny McBride. "He brings exactly what we needed for Lucian, the weight, the control, and he’s a seasoned pro."

Rounding out the main cast is Shane Brolly as Kraven, the arrogant and emotional Vampire leader whose own bid for dominance plays a key role in the fate of both tribes. "It's the hardest part I've had to play because there's so much going on in his brain," says Brolly. "Plus, I shout in every scene. So, when you shout for twelve hours, I don't know about you, but I need an Advil and a glass of wine...or a glass of blood."

Action

Getting in shape for the physical roles of Vampires and Lycans demanded that Beckinsale and Speedman undergo weeks of intensive training in Los Angeles prior to rehearsal. "I don’t have an athletic background, I have a dance background which has its advantages and disadvantages," comments Beckinsale. "I have to remember not to point my toes when I’m landing from a jump." She also had to learn to adapt to the intricate wirework that would be used in the film. For one scene in particular, "I had to jump up, flip over in the air, shoot a werewolf and land. I’d been dreading it for months and then I only got to do it four times. I actually wanted to do it again."

To get in shape for the role Beckinsale trained with top stunt coordinators Brad Martin and Scott McElroy, whom she credits with helping her overcome her fear. "They completely inspire you with confidence," she reflects. "I think the most important thing is that you feel safe, because when you feel safe you are able to be daring. And these are really the best guys out there." Comments stunt coordinator Martin, "It took us a while to gain Kate’s trust and to get her to realize that everything was going to be ok. Once she was able to find confidence in herself, she realized that she had the ability to do it."

Daring

Speedman on the other hand was in his element with the extensive stunt work in Underworld. "He had never done gymnastics or fighting before but picked it all up amazingly quickly," says Martin. "By the end of our training we had him doing back flips, in and out of wires."

"The stunt team was amazing," Speedman adds. "I’ve never thrown a punch before in my life, but they got me into excellent physical shape and taught me how to punch and kick. I guess my favourite part was getting on the wires. That was pretty cool."

Nighy’s Viktor and Speedman’s Michael would undergo intense scenes of violence together throughout production. "Scott has not only had to slug it out with me in knee deep water for days but he’s had to do it whilst encased in prosthetic makeup and contact lenses that render him virtually blind," Nighy notes. "And unless you’ve done either of those two things, you don’t know what that means, but you have to trust me that it’s some achievement to get through."

Professionalism

Producer Wright adds that despite extraordinary physical demands on the actors, they executed their work with grace and professionalism. "Scott Speedman is a very hardworking and very long suffering actor," he says. "The guy has the constitution of a stallion and the patience of a saint. And as for Bill Nighy – I doubt he has ever been standing in 50° water while swinging a sword and getting bullets shot at him, after having sat through hours and hours of makeup...and yet he still delivered a terrific performance."

This high level of action shooting involved every actor, particularly Sheen. "Michael Sheen is yet another case of a man having to suffer through a tremendous amount of physical hardship in order to put together the performance," Wright notes. "He gets hit by a car and survives all manner of assassination attempts and comes through with flying colours."

She's Got The Look

To attain the look that would reflect the intense visualisations the filmmakers had for Underworld, Wiseman enlisted Academy Award nominated cinematographer, Tony Pierce-Roberts (Howard’s End).

"He had done some big Hollywood movies and a lot of Merchant-Ivory films but the film of his that I responded to was called The Trench, which surprised him," comments Wiseman. "The Trench was very dark and I’m really into dark visuals for a movie like this. I wanted a gritty, gothic comic book world and Tony really pulled that off. All the stuff I would show him as references, he really got and understood."

"Getting Tony was an important coup for us on this film because it brought us a certain level of production value," adds Wright. "Once he agreed to do the film people stopped looking at this as just another vampire movie but as a movie that really had a chance to transcend the genre and be something really special. He really legitimized the craft side of the project."

This quest for a unique world took the filmmakers to Eastern Europe, through which they travelled prior to deciding on Budapest. "Once I got to Budapest I knew that this was where the film needed to take place," remembers Wiseman. "It had the buildings we were looking for and all the interiors that you could never build on this kind of budget. And, it just had that feeling."

He adds, "I had a vision of what this movie was going to be in my head and as much as I tried to explain to everybody, it was only when we got to Budapest that they said ‘Oh, now I know the kind of movie you are trying to make.’"

"It’s a very elegant city; it reminds you a little bit of Paris. It has a lot of buildings that are architecturally interesting," notes Lucchesi. "It had a dark brooding sensibility that was perfect for us," Wright adds. "Budapest is a city dripping in history and the ancestral home of both vampires and werewolves as Transylvania used to be part of Hungary. There’s a certain mythical connection between Budapest and the type of film that this is. It was just too hard to resist."

Creature Feature

From the beginning the filmmakers wanted to differentiate the Vampires and Lycans of Underworld from the glut of digitally-created creatures in movies. "Len and I put together a reel early on to take into Lakeshore, where we showed some of Ridley Scott's Alien and Jim Cameron's Aliens," screenwriter McBride remembers. "And then we put that against a lot of movies that use strictly CGI (computer-generated images). What we were trying to say is - CGI is great for certain things - but, a lot of times, especially for creatures with hair, it tends not to work very well.

Going back to our core audience, the hardcore genre people that have grown up watching monster movies, we knew that we needed to have something that was tangible, something that you felt like you could reach out and touch - guys in incredible suits, with animatronic faces in conjunction with the wires, in order for it to be something special. We have the new and old and the best of both."

Patrick Tatopoulos has created some of the most memorable and intricate creature make ups and prosthetics in recent memory. Best known for his creation of Godzilla, Tatopoulos and his design team had previously worked with Wiseman when the director worked in the art department of that film as well as Stargate and Independence Day. Thus, he was a natural for Underworld. McBride points out "Len loves the passion Patrick has and the first time I met him, I immediately liked him."
Tatopoulos and his team created a large number of life-sized werewolf maquettes (reference sculptures) down to expertly carved pores, hair follicles and detail.

The prosthetic suits were then constructed utilizing special stilts created by prosthetic limb manufacturers. "To watch one of the werewolves walk in the room with the animatronic lips, tongues and eyes was pretty astounding," McBride remembers. "Patrick and Guy Himber, his right-hand man, were on the set making every detail, all of Bill Nighy's makeup, all elements perfect. "Those guys really put a lot of time in."

Tatopoulos designed Lycans that would have 25 axes of rotation to give them lifelike movement and the look of an entire new breed of werewolf. "When he started the first drawings of the werewolves, they were scary but they were cool and hip," McBride continues. "They were exactly what we wanted."

English actress Kate Beckinsale has captured attention on both sides of the Atlantic, most recently in the ensemble drama Laurel Canyon. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko, that film also features (Fargo, Blood Simple) Frances McDormand, Christian Bale and Alessandro Nivola.

In 2001, she starred opposite John Cusack in Peter Chelsom’s Serendipity for Miramax Films. That same year, Beckinsale also was seen in Disney's Pearl Harbour, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Beckinsale co-starred with Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Tom Sizemore. In addition, she appeared in the critically acclaimed film The Golden Bowl for Lions Gate Films, a Merchant Ivory production that starred Nick Nolte, Jeremy Northam and Uma Thurman.

Beckinsale previously co-starred with Claire Danes and Bill Pullman in the Jonathan Kaplan directed drama, Brokedown Palace, for Fox 2000.

She also appeared with Chloe Sevigny, Chris Eigeman, Jennifer Beals and Robert Sean Leonard in Whit Stillman’s early eighties ensemble drama, The Last Days of Disco, and in the British comedy Shooting Fish opposite Stuart Townsend and Dan Futterman.

Emma

Beckinsale played the title role of Emma from the same producer of their critically acclaimed production of Pride and Prejudice. Directed by Diarmuid Lawrence, the film featured an all-star British cast, including Mark Strong, Samantha Morton, Prunella Scales, Samantha Bond, Olivia Williams and James Hazeldine. The actress first gained notice in the United States as the fiery, take-charge heroine Flora Poste in John Schelsinger’s sleeper hit Cold Comfort Farm. The film, which was originally televised on the BBC, also starred Joanna Lumley, Sir Ian McKellen, Eileen Atkings and Rufus Sewell.

Her American film debut was in Kenneth Branagh’s critically acclaimed film Much Ado About Nothing with Emma Thompson, Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washington and Robert Sean Leonard. Additional film credits include Haunted opposite Aidan Quinn, Uncovered, Manuel Fleche’s Marie Louise and The Prince of Jutland from director Gabriel Axel. Beckinsale’s roles for television have included One Against the Wind, for Hallmark Films, Anna Lee and Rachel’s Dream.

On the stage, she has appeared in Clocks and Whistles, Sweetheart and the British national touring production of The Seagull.

Beckinsale recently completed filming Universal’s Van Helsing opposite Hugh Jackman. This gothic action film is written and directed by Stephen Sommers and is scheduled to be released in the Summer of 2004.

Underworld is out on DVD now.

More information available in DVD / Home Video