Phantom Thread films ‘invisible’ London production
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread filmed largely on location in a London townhouse and had to sustain an “invisible” shoot out of respect to local residents.
By Nick Goundry 2 Mar 2018
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread filmed largely on location in a London townhouse and had to sustain an “invisible” shoot out of respect to local residents.
Anderson’s team spent the best part of a year scouting locations around the UK, with the project’s demands changing as the story’s fashion designer character Reynolds Woodcock – played in the movie by Daniel Day-Lewis – continued to evolve in Anderson's script.
“We scouted across the whole country but it was always meant to be in London,” says Jason Wheeler, the film’s supervising location manager, in comments to KFTV.
“Paul is nothing if not thorough when it comes to his attention to detail and wants to leave no stone unturned. We scoured the country and nothing was off the table.”
The building that ended up being filmed as the House of Woodcock was situated in Fitzroy Square near Regent’s Park and was already set up as a residence but was not being lived in when Wheeler and his team discovered it.
“We made extensive but superficial alterations to the house,” says Wheeler. “Paul wanted the real location in order to show the scale and have the feel of the place.”
Given that Fitzroy Square is in a high-end part of London, the production team was under pressure to minimise local disruption.
“Aside from some pre-arranged exterior shots showing characters coming and going from the house, we were otherwise invisible,” says Wheeler.
“During the shoot we were travelling through back alleys and back doors to access the house and we had production resources set up on various floors of different nearby buildings.”
The demands of physical production took their toll on the actors, as Day-Lewis recently revealed.
To find out more about navigating the challenges of a London shoot click here.
Images: Laurie Sparham/Focus Features
“We scouted across the whole country but it was always meant to be in London,” says Jason Wheeler, the film’s supervising location manager, in comments to KFTV.
“Paul is nothing if not thorough when it comes to his attention to detail and wants to leave no stone unturned. We scoured the country and nothing was off the table.”
The building that ended up being filmed as the House of Woodcock was situated in Fitzroy Square near Regent’s Park and was already set up as a residence but was not being lived in when Wheeler and his team discovered it.
“We made extensive but superficial alterations to the house,” says Wheeler. “Paul wanted the real location in order to show the scale and have the feel of the place.”
Given that Fitzroy Square is in a high-end part of London, the production team was under pressure to minimise local disruption.
“Aside from some pre-arranged exterior shots showing characters coming and going from the house, we were otherwise invisible,” says Wheeler.
“During the shoot we were travelling through back alleys and back doors to access the house and we had production resources set up on various floors of different nearby buildings.”
The demands of physical production took their toll on the actors, as Day-Lewis recently revealed.
To find out more about navigating the challenges of a London shoot click here.
Images: Laurie Sparham/Focus Features
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