The World’s A Stage: Revelations
Xena Magazine’s set reporter since the magazine launched back in October 1999, Kate Barker, has had the enviable task of reporting on the show’s production ever since. In mid-March, however, she stepped onto the Xena soundstage for the final time to watch the historic filming of the last episode, A Friend in Need…
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 21
“I guess it’s no secret now,” says executive producer Rob Tapert, director of this particular Xena episode.
Tapert is actually referring to the fact that this double episode is set in Japan, but by the time you read this, all the secrets of the episode will have been revealed. To the studio and the actors, it’s all over, but our heroes’ fate won’t be known until 18 June, just days before this magazine hits the newsstands.
Tapert, taking time off from directing A Friend in Need, can’t tell us anything more about the episode than what we can gain from snippets of watching the action on the set, as the show’s producers and distributors have made a conscious decision to keep the events top secret in order to prevent the fans from having the plot spoiled for them in advance.
Before reporting on the filming of this climactic finale, let’s take a look at what possible plot points have been revealed to find out if any of these predictions and mysteries have actually come to light…
Right up until its screening, rumours about the events of the final Xena episode had reached every corner of the world’s Xena fan base. Some media reports told of a supposed “insider” at Pacific Renaissance who unsuccessfully tried to sell a story that the final episode would see Xena killed at the hands of Samurai warriors. The setting may have been right, but Renaissance would neither confirm nor deny this particular speculation, giving the enigmatic comment that scripts and storylines constantly alter during the production of a series.
This was also the official answer to more further rumours, including the much-publicised (and much played up to) point of contention as to whether Xena and Gabrielle are actually lovers. With fans worldwide keen to have the issue of the subtext finally made clear once and for all, especially in light of the inconclusive ending of You Are There, there was speculation in the press that this would be resolved.
Although fans the world over have been more than a little disappointed at the announcement of the show’s demise, Lawless has not been shy in saying she needs a break from the show. The actress has been quoted as saying that she won’t miss the very physically demanding aspects of Xena, such as filming in the New Zealand winter and doing “drowning action” in particularly cold water. Lawless has also commented on the fact that after finishing Xena, she wants to take advantage of her time and energy and devote herself to her family and community.
It’s no rumour, however, that Lawless has loved being a part of Xena, and that she has been “overwhelmed at this awesome experience.” Right up until the end, Lawless wouldn’t reveal anything about the final two-parter, except to say that she wanted Xena and Gabrielle “to go out on a glorious note.”
Lawless’ co-star and colleague Renee O’Connor was also looking forward to a future career, despite her sadness at the show’s end given how much of a positive influence it has had on her life and career. “It’s been wonderful,” she told Xena Magazine a few months ago (in Issue 19). Given her recent announcement that she is expecting a child later this year, however, it’s understandable that the actor now has things other than Xena on her mind…
Despite being sworn to secrecy about the storyline of the finale, O’Connor has been keen to talk about her own thoughts and feelings about the show’s demise in recent interviews, including her own demise in recent interviews, including her own desire for the resolution of the characters’ story arc. “I’d like to see [them] grow old together,” she told Xena Magazine, adding that she’d like to see that they are, in the end, “extremely happy.”
Well, the episode has now aired, and the truth is out there. So, without further ado, let’s go behind the scenes on the nail-biting conclusion of Xena and Gabrielle’s journey and find out just how much of this has come true…
It’s 9am on the morning of Tuesday 13 March, and - wearing my official visitor’s badge - I’m led by my Renaissance guide through a maze of studios to a very enclosed set in the middle of a large and otherwise empty studio. Gone are the remnants of other sets that might have been here before, waiting to be used in future productions. Hardly any evidence remains of how monumental this production has been…
As usual, there’s a lot of bustle and activity as the crew move around to set up the various camera angles and shots. This is quite obviously an Asian setting, yet it’s nothing at all like the sets of Chin used in the show’s fourth, fifth and sixth seasons.
The set is stunning: ‘man-made’ sunlight streams in through ornately patterned windows; Chinese lanterns highlight other forms of the light; and a huge, intricately decorated sculpture of a dragon adds a touch of magic to this amazing place. Also contributing to the atmosphere - literally - is the presence of smoke, which accentuates the lighting and creates a very aesthetically pleasing image on screen. As one of the lighting crew points out, to see the effects of the great lighting there needs to be something for it to shine through.
This particular scene from A Friend in Need features, amongst other people, a nasty villain complete with Fu Manchu-style moustache and combination Samurai/Ninja guards. But before you jump to the conclusion that that rumour about Xena being killed by a Samurai warrior is about to come true, I can assure you that this particular bad guy doesn’t look like much of a match for the Warrior Princess.
At this point, the extras playing the guards are sitting back behind the cameras watching the goins-on with immense interest. While the crew continues tweaking the set, the guards are having finishing touches added to their costumes, such as their head coverings being literally sewn into their ponytails to make certain that they don’t slip off during the upcoming fight scene. Then there are their leather masks (which are also being tied into their head scarves), gauntlets and even the odd staple pressed in to keep the whole thing together.
One of the members of the wardrobe department is walking around with a bunch of polaroids hanging from her belt. Like those in Second Unit who need snapshots of sets that have been destroyed, wardrobe and make-up need photographs to enable them to remember how every character should look in order to be able to dress and make them up exactly the same way for their upcoming scenes.
For the filming of this part of the fight sequence, the guards will be standing on some oriental-style carpets which are cleverly concealing something which will help break their falls during the action. “We always arrange any carpets or floor rugs like this,” says Tapert during a break in shooting, “so that we can hide mattresses under them for the stunt guys.”
Sound mixer Graham Morris adds with a smile, “It improves the sound quality, too.”
With the mattresses in place, it’s time for Xena to get in a little more rehearsal with her latest adversary; Tapert suggests to Lawless that she practise the fight with the guards, who also happen to be stuntees.
“Okay boys,” Lawless smiles, walking over. “Teach me the fight.”
After camera and lighting rehearsals and a great deal of bustling about, it’s time to film the introduction to the fight sequence. Lawless, the villain and the guards take their starting positions and the crew scuttle back to their required positions as the action starts. First of all, Xena disables the villain. Then she turns to the guards in order to deal with them.
At the same time as voicing her familiar cry (sounding something like, “Sheeee-ha!”) Lawless steps and leans back, looking as if she’s about to launch into one of Xena’s famous back flips. However, in this case - and as always whenever we see Xena doing one of her back flips - this pre-flip pose is all that Lawless will do. Later on in post-production, footage will be spliced into the scene of the Xena stunt double, Zoe Bell, performing the bulk of the stunt herself, most likely with the aid of a flying rig.
Lawless does however get to fight with the guards for a while, which makes those hidden mattresses very handy indeed…
The actors rehearse and film some of the fight, after which the crew agree to film the main fight sequence of the episode after lunch. This gives Lawless and the stuntees a little more time to go over their moves and the crew a bit longer to get the set absolutely perfect.
In many ways, this is just like any other Xena episode. The cast and crew are working just as hard, and the same things need to be done to produce the (literally) final product as would normally be done. As an example, the actors and crew members currently on set have been doing this same filming sequence all morning, while A Friend in Need has encountered the same types of production problems as any other episode: after one of the takes, sound mixer Graham Morris makes a reluctant observation about noise outside the studio in the real world. “We had a plane right through that,” he says, sighing.
It’s clear from the jovial mood on the set that this really isn’t like any other episode, however. Director Rob Tapert takes the opportunity to throw in a playful dose of sarcasm when responding to Morris’ concerts.
“I thought that was what I heard,” he muses.
Although there has to be another take, Morris is clearly calm about the situation. “They’re surprisingly audible, planes,” he responds dryly.
Amidst the flurry of activity on the set, Tapert walks over to Lawless to give her a couple of notes about the episode. “Hi!” the actress says cheerfully to her director and husband, clearly brimming with excitement and energy about filming this final episode.
That same energy has driven this series through six spectacular years, and as if things have turned full circle, A Friend in Need takes us on ‘new’ flashbacks to the earliest of Xena’s days as a warlord. In the current scene, our hero is dressed in disturbingly familiar duds: those dark leather fur hides and breeches and moccasin boots while she sports her old trademark wild hair with those blood-red streaks. Also present in this scene is Xena’s accomplice and former lover, the warlord Borias (played by Marton Csokas).
The fur and hides makes a great costume, and although it may be a little uncomfortable, Lawless is in such a great mood that she really doesn’t mind. “Isn’t it awesome?” she says between fight practices with the guards, grinning from ear to ear.
Even Xena has to rest sometimes, however, and because the costume is so hot, a small fan (the cooling kind, not the groupie!) is organised to be placed by Lawless’ chair off-set. Of course, whirring fans make noise, so there has to be a check-in with Morris, who is operating only about a foot away from Lawless’ resting place. “This is for Lucy because her costume’s really hot,” the First Assistant Director explains to Morris, torn between her concern that the noise may affect the sound quality of the on-set recording and her desire for Lawless to be comfortable given the hot, heavy costume. “Shall we plug it in here?”
Still in a jovial mood, Morris replies, “Yeah. They’re much better when they’re plugged in…” From the tone of his voice, however, it’s obvious that the sound of the fan won’t be picked up by the boom microphone being used on set.
It’s worth mentioning here that it’s not only the actors who need to be kept cool. On an enclosed set like this, the lights can become quite hot, too, so the crew keeps things cool by closing shutters on the lights when they’re not in use and actually physically fanning the equipment manually. It’s kind of amusing and rather surreal to watch, even when you are aware of just how hot things can become on set.
Of course, it’s a hot story, too. But then, as Tapert himself says, this is the series finale, and the final episode of Xena can’t possibly go out without a bang.
Throughout this visit, when he is not directing the action, the show’s director and executive producer is feeding me exclusive snippets of information, such as the secrets of those stunt carpets and the fact that only last week this same part of the studio was not decked out as a Japanese throne room but instead housed Aphrodite’s pink-covered bedchamber for the episode Many Happy Returns.
These are other interesting things to note, such as the latest incarnation of that one Grecian sailing ship, which has not only been used in Xena, but also in Hercules, Young Hercules and Jack of all Trades. For A Friend in Need, Tapert tells me, the set designers were required to turn the boat into a sampan (an Asian boat, also known as a ‘junk’). It’s been reported - but this particular piece of information has not yet been substantiated by Tapert - that in honour of the show’s executive producer, the boat was named Rob’s Folly…
While Tapert is happy to reveal these tricks of the trade, he remains tight-lipped about this last storyline. The security and secrecy surrounding the studios and workers of Renaissance is tighter than Fort Knox, and this reporter is all too aware of the repercussions of this kind of information leaking to the media.
When pressed, Tapert does say that the episode has a back-story not dissimilar to the fourth season double episode The Debt, but that coupled with the scenes, costumes and characters I’ve seen today are quite enough to satisfy my curiosity until I can personally enjoy the fruits of this final labour of love from Renaissance.
SIDEBAR: Famous Last Words
It is the end of an era; the finale of a phenomenon that has taken us to a new millennium and spread its cult throughout the modern and ancient worlds. During its six-year run, Xena: Warrior Princess has touched - and been a significant part of - many peoples’ lives. Here are just some parting words from just a few of those in the Xenaverse to those of us who will hopefully be watching the reruns for many years to come…
Director Mark Beesley:
“I’m like a well known stranger, so I can keep a bit of distance, but I can still see the effects this show has had on people. If you zapped back to the first day of the first episode, Sins of the past - which was shot on 16mm film with Director of Photography Donny Duncan - and you asked people what they thought was going to happen to them during the next six years, it would be an interesting exercise. You could say, ‘You’re going to be married; they’re going to have two kids,’ and they’d say, ‘Oh no, never…’ Some of these people have devoted huge chunks of their lives to Xena, and it’s changed those lives too.”
Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite):
“I’m so happy to have been here; it’s been just amazing. I love working with Lucy and Renee, and I love Aphrodite. I was just telling someone in Wardrobe that when I first started this show, I hated pink! Now I’m looking around this set [Aphrodite’s bed chamber] and going, ‘I want that bedspread; I want that pillow…’ It’s frightening, really! But what can I say… it’s been such an amazing trip.”
Kevin Smith (Ares):
“I wrote this farewell letter to the fans, and the basic tenet was: thank you for your generosity and support. You’ve made this a special time. I was 31 when I started out on Hercules, and I’d just turned 32 when I started Xena. I’m now almost 39, so I’ve basically spent my entire thirties in this environment. I’ve done some of the best work I’ve ever done on this show, because it has given me so many gifts as an actor. I’m going to miss that. Ares has been the most ongoing fun role; basically six years of being a naughty kid!”
Staff Writer Joel Metzger:
“In the world of syndicated TV, to be able to come up with crazy ideas and have a man like Rob Tapert who can actually top you and say, ‘No, let’s make it even bigger’. That was just mind-blowing to me. And just being in a roomful of really creative people and being able to use these mythological themes. I don’t just mean gods and centaurs and Amazons; I mean telling mythological stories in a Joseph Campbell-like way. Being able to fully embrace that in a mythological world and really have the hero face the dragon of some kind. Being able to do that with all the rules of Xenaverse was cool, and I’m going to miss that a lot. I’m going to miss being able to do those kinds of arcs and tell those kind of stories.”
SIDEBAR: Side By Side
In an obviously jovial mood, Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor take time out to chat briefly about what the end of the show means to them…
Renee O’Connor: How does it feel every day, to know that it’s all ending… [To Lucy] What do you think, Xena….
Lucy Lawless: See that? She calls me by my character name…
ROC: Yeah, it’s not Lucy anymore, it’s just Xena…
LL: Renee has trouble remembering my name… [Turning rather more serious] It’ll be good for us to get off what’s felt at times like a treadmill, and find out who we really are -
ROC: - nurture our bodies…
LL: - without the scheduling -
ROC: - and be fresh again. Also, we all have friends and family at home that have been somewhat neglected.
LL: I think we will miss this a lot. For six years we’ve had this creative outlet here, so it will be a personal challenge for all of us - crew included - as we move into a new phase of our lives. We’ll learn how to cope without this incredible support mechanism, this surrogate family. But we won’t know how to do that until we get there. When you’ve spent this much time being that close to somebody - 12 hours a day, 60 hours a week, for six years - it’s like going through childhood together…
ROC: … or adolescence. It’s been practically right through our twenties.
LL: There have been a lot of life changes for both of us, side by side. We’ve spent some formative years together…
ROC: …and there’s always more to be learned. [Laughs] We’re going to have a good old time; I’m going to harass Lucy-slash-Xena for the rest of her life. [To Lucy] I’m going to torment you… find out where you live… Hopefully we’ll still be laughing like this and not crying in years to come… but who’s to say; that’s still an unknown. I can say for sure we’ll have the most fantastic party!
LL: It would be great to get together and do a comedy with the old gang…
ROC: Yeah, that would be fun. Who’s to say what it would be though? How about a modern-day comedy?
LL: Yeah, that would be great. With Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell and the two of us!
SIDEBAR: A Day in the Life of a Set Reporter
For nearly two years, Kate Barker has been making regular visits to the Xena sets in Auckland to report back to us in London for the articles you’ve been reading in Xena Magazine. Of course, that’s all changed now with this very article, but Kate kindly gave us a picture of what a typical day on the set of Xena is like.
12:05pm
I catch the bus from downtown Auckland to Pacific Renaissance’s headquarters in west Auckland.
12:45pm
I arrive at Pacific Renaissance’s offices where I am met by Sue May, media liaison for Renaissance Pictures, who drives me to the sets. Once there, Sue introduces me to the cast and crew members I need to speak to or who I haven’t met before, facilities interviews with those I need to talk to and generally explains what’s going on.
1.20pm
Sue and I walk around the sets to where the action is going on. On this particular visit, the epic The God You Know is filming, and there’s a Roman set which has been used in previous episodes; a large blue-screen for special-effects; extras dressed as Roman soldiers and blood-soaked peasants. The Assistant Director (AD) points us in the direction of Alexis Arquette, who I’m to interview today. I locate Arquette and we find a place to do the interview (in the back of the lunchroom).
1.40pm
After interviewing Arquette, I head back to the set currently in use. This has been decorated to provide a Roman look, in this case as a background for part of a chariot race. I observe everything that’s going on, making notes for my set report on this episode (see Issue 18).
What I don’t report on is that from the back of the sets, you can see that they’re just flat facades propped up by wood and sandbags. Yet in front of the camera and even close up, these are transformed into stylised but authentic looking buildings. With a few simple alterations, one set can resemble almost any city in the ancient world. I observe the filming of one part of the chariot race. Chariots are being pulled by four-wheeled farm bikes and trucks, which of course do not appear in the shots. It’s quite hilarious to watch, as Lawless and Arquette beat on the reins as if to hurry their ‘horses’.
2pm
I track down Lucy Lawless for an exclusive interview (see Issue 18). She’s dressed in black and gold Roman armour and wearing a gold mask.
2:10pm
My interview with Lucy Lawless has to be briefly suspended as she’s required back on set. I move to the other side of the village street, under a building overhang that isn’t in shot, where I witness more chariot-racing and a lot of setting up for the shots. The crowd reaction from villagers is also filmed, and this is particularly difficult as they have to be doing exactly the same actions as they were in previous shots for the sake of continuity.
2:30pm
Lucy Lawless returns so that we can continue the interview.
2:50pm
The interview stops again as Lawless is required back on set. More of the chariot scene is shot, this time filmed from a number of different angles to get an all-round overview of filming and camera angles. Two cameras are being used, one for the side and one for the front view. Director Garth Maxwell orders “half-speed run” of action as they film the overtake sequence in which Xena gains the lead over Emperor Caligula.
3:05pm
With this particular part of the chariot scene completed, there is a set shift, and the crew start packing up equipment and heading out of the village set to another location. There’s great bustle and flurry as everything is moved around.
3:10pm
I catch up with Lawless en route to the next set for a final few words for the interview.
3:20pm
The cast and crew break for lunch, and I head back to the car park past the Roman sets, which are now very quiet and almost resemble a ghost town. On my way back, I notice the giant blue-screen again. To my right, there’s the Roman village set; ahead and down the path, there’s an Arabian set; and to the left, what remains of a boat/sea village set. On the bank a little further down, there’s a 15-foot model of an Olympic torch.
3:30pm
Sue May drives me back to Pacific Renaissance’s headquarters, where I catch the bus back to the city.