Sexy Beasts is perhaps more timely and relevant than it lets on. Though the quirkily designed, wacky dating reality show has drawn a deluge of emotions from viewers and critics, it's more thought-provoking than any other average dating show and invites different strains of social commentary. Sexy Beasts essentially takes blind dating further by not letting the two people see each other even during the date, and by hiding their faces (not bodies, just faces) under creature prosthetic.
A mandrill, a beaver, a dolphin, and several other creatures wearing human clothes hanging around at a Hertfordshire mansion to woo one another, make for an amusing pandemic watch. And there are many questions about the award-worthy prosthetics, the cast members, and their current romantic situation that fans want the answer to.
10 The Not-So-Friendly Prosthetics
Simon Welton, the mind behind the show, revealed in an interview that the reason the contestants weren't shown taking off their prosthetics in front of each other (or on-screen) is that their faces would usually sweat quite a bit under them. So, the moment the masks would be stripped away, their makeup and skin wouldn't be in great shape.
Moreover, it could also get quite messy since some of the prosthetics were a lot more elaborate than others. So the contestants were given a couple of hours to put their makeup on.
9 The Original Pitch Was Themed On Mrs. Doubtfire
Welton's idea around a prosthetic-based dating show was conceived a few years ago and he designed the format in a rather weird gender swap format.
Weston revealed recently that in his early pitch, the show was titled Mrs. Datefire and the male contestant would be dressed up as an elderly woman who'd talk to his female dates about what they want in a man, only to learn more about their preferences and improve their chances. Of course, this rather problematic reality show never took off.
8 Flocking Was A Crucial Part Of The Prosthetic Masks
Kristyan Mallett, the prosthetic director for the show, mainly used foam latex masks that were adjusted with additional pieces, and for the body fur, he relied on a process called flocking (a technique that uses fine nylon fiber known as flock) which is often used in monster movies to get a seamless finish.
Mallett said recently that one of the most challenging pieces for him was the beaver mask, which needed some fur but the team did not want to exaggerate the details. "We had to work out how to not make it massive and scary. We put nylon hairs into a flocking applicator, which would punch the hairs into the latex face,” Mallett shared.
7 Kariselle & Tyler Broke Up But Remain Friends
Sexy Beasts' Kariselle, the panda revealed recently on social media that she and Tyler have parted ways, and distance and the pandemic played a major role in their split. The show was filmed in 2020, and in January this year, Tyler posted a cryptic post about red lights which led fans to believe he was venting about troubles in his relationship.
However, the two remain on good terms, with Kariselle frequently commenting and reacting to Tyler's social media posts. Tyler too, took to Instagram to thank the entire crew and talked about how grateful he is to have Kariselle around.
6 The Show's Primary Location Is A Hollywood Hot Property
The most frequented filming location for the show was the lavish Tudor mansion Knebworth House, located in UK's Stevenage. The residence is perhaps the most famous for being used as Balmoral House in Netflix's period drama The Crown.
But the venue was also seen in the Netflix comedy Eurovision Song Contest and was used as Wayne Manor in the 1989 Batman starring Michael Keaton. The estate's official Twitter handle considers Sexy Beasts the quirkiest project yet.
5 The Costumes Were Assigned Not By Personality, But By Physicality
Mallett who has previously designed prosthetics for films like Mission: Impossible - Fallout and The Theory Of Everything had to produce around 44 different characters, but they were created generically and not tailored to fit a specific actor like in Hollywood. So contestants would try out prosthetics until something fit.
“There were situations where somebody was allocated a character but it just didn’t fit because their hair wouldn’t fit under a bald cap or something. So they’d keep trying others on, and everyone would have their fingers crossed until something worked," Mallett revealed.
4 A Two-Stage Casting Was Involved
Settling on which animal should be assigned for each cast member was a long, elaborate process. Welton revealed that the team behind Sexy Beasts came up with a two-stage casting process, so they were casting the actors and simultaneously casting the visuals as well. This also had an impact on which animals were paired with each other; the team basically paired costumes (and thus the contestants) based on which color goes with what.
"When we were casting the people, Sarah Clarke, the series producer, and I would watch everyone’s videos. Once I pressed play, I would look away from the monitor and just listen to their voice and the things that they were saying, because that’s really how it’s going to be in the show," Welton shared.
3 The Pandemic Took A Toll On The Production
The team behind the show has insisted that the filming had been done in complete adherence to Covid protocols. And to be pandemic-safe, the show's prosthetic team had to be doubled in size to streamline the process and to meet deadlines, especially owing to the number of prosthetics that were used.
While prosthetic teams usually comprise not more than two dozen people on shows or modest sci-fi outings, Sexy Beasts' prosthetic unit had 40 people working to finish production in six weeks and created a total of 48 characters – four for each of the 12 episodes.
2 The Most Prominent Couple Has Split
The mandrill and the demon were big-ticket attractions ever since the trailer of the show premiered. Be it their stunning, lively prosthetic or their chemistry, Emma the demon and Bennett the mandrill had a lot of eyeballs on them. But turns out the couple has split, Emma and Bennett don't follow each other on Instagram and most likely do not keep in touch.
Bennett took to Instagram to reveal rather cryptically that he's still processing everything that happened on the show. "There is SO MUCH that you don’t know about what happened after the cameras cut off...I’m not really sure what I can and can’t say and I’m still trying to be patient in gathering my thoughts and feelings before I post anything else because there is so much to say," he wrote. Emma took to Instagram to thank the crew but noticeably did not mention Bennett.
1 Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Simon Welton revealed that the idea for the show's premise (i.e. non-human or otherworldly looking creatures doing human things) was influenced by something he found fascinating in the show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Welton revealed that he loved the idea of two vampires chatting about mundane things since they came across as so striking visually and aesthetically. "The juxtaposition of these odd-looking creatures talking about the temperature or something like that, I thought that was funny, and quite arresting as a visual."
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3BSwFyB
0 Comments