The scale and scope of Universal’s film adaptation of the popular stage musical, Wicked, has been absolutely massive. Taking in major studio facilities, thousands of crew and dancers, huge sets and striking real locations, including munchkin land on a farm and a field of nine million tulips.

“Director Jon Chu had a big cinematic vision for the film, expanding from the stage version, using different cameras, massive sets, and bigger dance, singing, and stunt sequences,” enthuses Joan Schneider, unit production manager on the film. 

And where better to do all this than in the UK. “It is one of the top places to film in the world, with the best crew and some very talented dancers and singers, so ideal for an adaptation of [Marc Platt’s] musical,” adds Schneider.

Perhaps the most impressive filming site was on a farm in Ivinghoe, a village close to the borders of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, where the infamous Munchkin land was built, alongside parts of the Shiz University and Emerald City (capital of the Land of Oz).

The site was chosen, after an extensive search, due to its vast, empty space, away from electricity poles etc, and its relative proximity to Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, where some filming took place, including the scene where lead characters Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) first meet at Shiz University. 

“The space had to work logistically because of the scale of what we were doing, building massive sets, putting up a lot of cameras and lighting cranes, and being able to sing and dance with privacy,” asserts Adam Richard, supervising location manager on the film. 

But it was a sod farm, so the construction team had to put groundworks in to build the infrastructure. “You’re starting from scratch with just a field. So we had to bring in thousands of tons of hardcore to cover 27 acres to build the sets. There were a lot of temporary workshops for construction, special effects, electrical, props etc., and storage containers, porta cabins and more. And we had to bring in power,” adds Richards.

The final result was a stunning ‘mini-city’ with roads leading into the site strong enough to take all the truck movements in and out. All this while dealing with one of the pitfalls of filming in the UK – the rain! 

“We had every major thing you can do on a set (including a lagoon for the university and the Munchkin land train station), while filming in challenging weather conditions, causing some flooding (and potentially wet, dirty costumes). But fortunately we had a good drainage system,” says Schneider. 

They also had to ensure the conditions allowed for lead cast member Marissa Bode’s wheelchair. “This meant also considering a stunt double,” says Schneider. “Fortunately, we had a great disabled accessibility coordinator, Chantelle Nassari, on hand to help.”

Impressively, in partnership with logistics company Translux International, they also created a specially adapted trailer with reinforced steel and hoists, a lift, accessible hair and make-up station, and voice activated controls. “It even had a station in the kitchen area that moved up and down, so could be used easily by the artist but also the assistant,” says Schneider.

The team also tried to be as green as possible, driven by Universal Pictures’ sustainable production practices, including using battery powered generators, managing food waste and recycling responsibly, and crew using their own cups.

Much of the crew, suppliers, cast and dancers were local and drawn from a diverse range of backgrounds. “That was key to us from the start and insisted on by Jon,” says Miranda Marks, production manager on the film. “The young Londoners we took on through NBCUniversal’s Below-the Line Traineeship (in partnership with Film London and the Mayor of London) were from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.”

They also relied heavily on local support from the likes of Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire council, and the British Film Commission with “Samantha (Perahia, the head of production UK at the BFC) always on the end of the phone if we needed anything on set,” enthuses Schneider, and helping plan and prepare what was a huge undertaking across many sites. 

One of these key sites was Windsor Park, used here for filming wood scenes, and featured extensively in productions over the years. “Nick Day, who runs the filming department at the estate, is the most film-friendly person you’ll meet. The site has such diversity in the types of trees and forests. It’s unbelievable,” says Schneider.

Another striking site was the tulip field, which features in the opening sequence. “That was up in Norfolk with the biggest grower of tulips in Europe,” enthuses Richards. “We worked out a colour palette for the field with planting a certain distance apart, and were then governed by mother nature. With just a week’s notice, we trekked up there and prepared for the perfect blooming moment. The final result was amazing.”

A large part of the shooting was also due to take place at the new Sky Studios Elstree. However, delays in construction at Elstree meant that Leavesden was used instead initially. They did manage to do some filming at Sky during construction, and moved the sets across to their stages when it was ready, which proved a great site. In fact, this was the very first production to film at Sky Studio Elstree.

“We managed to take a lot of the sets built at the Ivinghoe site across to Sky and reassemble them, including the train which took about five articulated lorries and three massive cranes to place it in the backlot. No easy feat, but our transport team worked wonders,” says Marks.

“Noel Tovey (MD of Sky Studios Elstree) was also a fantastic bridge between us and the building works and making sure we could achieve everything we needed,” adds Schneider.

IMAGES: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

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