Ken Follett’s

WORLD WITHOUT END

Production Notes Set against a backdrop of war, rebellion and plague, World

Without End follows the epic story of the award-winning miniseries,

The Pillars of the Earth. It again centers on the fictional English

village of Kingsbridge, which, 200 years later, is a thriving 14th

century town with growing wealth and population. World Without

End explores classic themes of love, power, family loyalty and

sibling rivalry through the lives of a community confronting some of

the most tumultuous events in history.

The international production is adapted from the 2007 best-

selling novel by Ken Follett, published 18 years after The Pillars of

the Earth. The epic eight-hour series re-teams Munich-based

Tandem Communications with Scott Free Films, renewing the

successful partnership the companies formed on the CIA Cold War

drama The Company, The Pillars of the Earth and Labyrinth, based

on the worldwide bestseller by author Kate Mosse. Production

partners include Toronto-based Take 5 Productions and Budapest-

based Mid Atlantic.

World Without End features an acclaimed ensemble cast,

including Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Miranda Richardson

(Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Peter Firth (MI5), Ben Chaplin

(The Thin Red Line) and Rupert Evans (Hellboy). In starring roles

are Charlotte Riley (Wuthering Heights), Tom Weston-Jones

(Copper), Oliver-Jackson Cohen (What’s Your Number), and Nora

von Waldstätten (Carlos).

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones (Rob Roy, This Boy’s Life) from a

script by John Pielmeier (The Pillars of the Earth), the series is a

German/Canadian coproduction with Executive Producers Rola

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Bauer, Tim Halkin and Jonas Bauer from Tandem

Communications, David W. Zucker, Tony Scott and Ridley

Scott from Scott Free Films, John Weber from Take5 Productions ,

with co-producer Arnie Gelbart from Galafilm, and Producer Howard

Ellis from MidAtlantic Films.

The cast of more than 100 includes co-stars Blake Ritson, Aure

Atika, Sarah Gadon, Carlo Rota, Tom Cullen, Indira Varma and

Kostja Ullmann. Shot over the course of five months on

soundstages and on location in Hungary, Austria and Slovakia,

World Without End filmmakers include director of photography

Denis Crossan (Pink Panther 2), production designer Marek

Dobrowolski (The Pillars of the Earth), costume designer Mario

Davignon (Romeo + Juliet), SFX supervisor Paul Stephenson (A

Good Day to Die Hard) and props master John Allenby (The

Borgias). Most of the shooting took place on the enormous

constructed backlot set of Kingsbridge, covering some 11,000

square meters, and at Hungary’s Korda Studios, which features six

soundstages, including the world’s largest.

The highly acclaimed 2010 miniseries The Pillars of the Earth,

which earned Emmy® and Gemini® awards, along with multiple

Golden Globe® nominations, concerned the building of a new

cathedral in Kingsbridge in the 12th century. World Without End

encompasses another monumental construction project: a new

bridge. This Renaissance design stone structure will replace a

shattered wooden bridge that first began crumbling beneath the

surface, like the medieval world itself.

“The collapse of the decrepit bridge is iconic in Ken’s book and

in our show.” says Executive Producer Rola Bauer. “It took a week

to shoot, and is just one example of how we have upped the ante

from Pillars in all aspects of story and production. More battles.

More stunts. Bigger sets. Kingsbridge itself is much larger, showing

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how the town has grown and developed in the intervening two

centuries.”

Executive Producer David Zucker, who runs the television

division for Ridley Scott and Tony Scott’s Scott Free Films, agrees

that World Without End blazes a new trail from its predecessor, and

is a more extensive undertaking.

“While Pillars was a thrilling experience and we couldn’t be

more proud of the result, we were equally inspired to chart a unique

course for World Without End,” he remarks. “That’s not only due to

the more expansive story, but also the good fortune of having

Michael Caton-Jones at the helm. He brings a sense of intimacy to

the characters along with an incredible cinematic scope. We’re

dealing with much greater sweeps of history, and Michael’s

determined to capture that in every respect.”

Ridley Scott, a fan of Caton-Jones, “He carries a serious body

of work that I’ve always admired. When Rola and David said they’d

like to get Michael, I got on the phone and talked to him about it.

We’re lucky to get him.”

For his part, Jones was intrigued by the project because of

profound historical context and the opportunity to depict the age

through a contrasting sensibility.

“I was drawn to the ideas and images of the pre-Raphaelite

painters, who held a very romanticized view of the Middle Ages,”

says Caton-Jones. “They depicted vivid colors and rich textures,

with great appreciation for the beauty of natural landscapes. Their

promotion of chivalry and idealized beauty are quite different from

the dreary, squalid portrayals of this period normally seen on film

and television.”

Epic clashes occur throughout World Without End – between

old and new, the rulers and the ruled, the reasoned and the

superstitious. It is a time of jarring transitions.

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“What’s interesting about the 14th century is that it’s slowly

emerging from the Dark Ages into a period of enlightenment,” says

scriptwriter John Pielmeier. “It’s the beginning of the middle class

and the rumblings of what eventually became democracy.”

Autocratic institutions, however, seldom surrender willingly,

and they are still very much in play and in control over Kingsbridge.

Both the monarchy and the church have their sites trained on the

town, coveting its wealth and manpower, and looking to crush its

“heretical” ideas of peasant’s rights and insubordination to the Earl

and the Prior. The church, having grown increasingly cynical and

corrupt, orders the hanging of women accused of witchcraft to

reinforce its authority and provide an entertainment spectacle for

the masses. Meanwhile, it is utterly powerless against the most

diabolical and destructive pandemic in history: the Black Death.

Ken Follett remarks, “It’s a huge crisis. Between a third and

one-half of the population of Europe is killed. Imagine walking down

the street, and one house in every three is empty because of a

monstrous disease. That’s a horrific human drama.

“So I imagined setting a story in Kingsbridge, the town I’d

created for The Pillars of the Earth, and telling the everyday lives of

these medieval people. Their loves, hates and fortunes. And then

suddenly, in the middle of the story, everything is turned upside

down from this terrible plague.”

Follett wasn’t motivated to write a sequel to The Pillars of the

Earth until 15 years later, after he’d received countless requests,

indeed pleas, from his fans to continue the story. The filmmakers

of The Pillars of the Earth, however, had their eye on adapting

“WWE” into a series even as they were making Pillars.

“We hoped we were creating a world that people would want

to see – and then see again,” says Rola Bauer.

The effective shorthand and mutual respect that the principals

at Tandem and Scott Free had developed made them keen to work

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together again–“We understand each other,” Ridley Scott succinctly

states–and the global success of The Pillars of the Earth created the

financial wherewithal to proceed.

Says producer Howard Ellis of Budapest-based production

company Mid Atlantic, “I first sat down with Rola, David and Tim in

November 2010, and we began shooting in July 2011. In terms of

sets, cast, location and challenges, this is almost twice the size of

Pillars. Weaving the fabric between two continents, six countries,

and 500 international cast and crew has been a complicated

process.”

ABOUT THE STORY & CHARACTERS

After his mother, Queen Isabella, overthrows his father, King

Edward II, the young King Edward III rules over a defiant and

changing landscape in England. Edward and Isabella’s hold on

power is tenuous, and a shocking secret held in the town of

Kingsbridge could rip it from their hands altogether.

It is 1327. Kingsbridge has a thriving industry selling wool.

Its residents enjoy a prosperous, peaceful existence. But over the

next 15 years, they will confront some of the harshest and most

trying events imaginable: the Peasant Revolt, the beginning of the

Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death. Yet even in the midst of

these traumas, the people of Kingsbridge do what people have

always done: struggle to survive, learn to adapt, and seek as much

joy, love, achievement and comfort as the times and conditions

permit.

“Life back then is cruel, dangerous and brutal.” says Ken

Follett. “And in this violent world, people nevertheless do normal

things. Small boys act naughty, adolescents fall in love, people have

children. That’s where these stories come from – the contrast

between the grim lives these people lead and their aspirations.”

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There are more than 100 characters in World Without End.

The narrative focuses on four lead and several principal roles. At

the core of the story are two brothers, Merthin (Tom Weston-Jones)

and Ralph (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), whose lives take divergent paths

after the execution of their father. Central to Merthin’s journey is

his star-fated love for the proud and determined Caris Wooler

(Charlotte Riley), daughter of the town’s richest wool merchant,

whose refusal to submit to established societal roles for women

places her in danger.

Possessing a similar independent streak is Gwenda (Nora von

Waldstätten), a German émigré from a broken family who inspires

her eventual husband Wulfric (Tom Cullen) to lead a fight against

the slavish institution of serfdom.

Mother Cecilia (Miranda Richardson) is Prioress of the convent.

Her resolve and rectitude incite frequent opposition from Prior

Godwyn (Rupert Evans), a vain, smarmy man, less a servant of God

than of his own interests. He is under the thumb of his devious

mother, Petranilla (Cynthia Nixon), a shrewd political operative

fulfilling personal ambitions through her son. A knight seeking

refuge from the crown joins the priory as Brother Thomas (Ben

Chaplin), a strong, compassionate contrast to the cold,

unsympathetic Prior.

Ruling over the entirety of Kingsbridge is Sir Roland (Peter

Firth), the Earl of Shiring. A fearless, bawdy man, Roland gains his

position and estate by usurping and executing, as an alleged traitor,

the previous Earl, Gerald, father of Merthin and Ralph. Gerald’s

death turns the two young brothers from heirs to a powerful

earldom into penniless knaves. The opposing paths they take in life

as a result of this tragedy will have enormous consequences to their

relationship and the fate of Kingsbridge.

Says Oliver Jackson-Cohen, “Ralph’s whole world is taken

from him. His future and family are destroyed, including his

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relationship with his brother, with whom he was once close. He is

then turned over to the man who murdered his father, and ends up

living a life he was not meant to lead. He’s left embittered and

vengeful, determined to do whatever is necessary to get back his

land and title.”

As played by Jackson-Cohen, Ralph is a well-rounded, even

somewhat sympathetic figure, a victim of crushing circumstances as

much as his own pride and rage.

Rola Bauer states, “Ralph is a fascinating character –

confused, angered and desiring to prove himself. He uses violence

to achieve his aims and justifies that based on all the wrongs done

to him. He’s not one-dimensional or evil. He is a layered, tragic

figure – a true antagonist.”

She adds, “One of the wonderful things about an eight-hour

series is that it allows the characters to fully develop, and for the

actors to really get under the skin of their roles. They can play them

with nuance, complexity and contradiction.”

Merthin, unlike his brother, possesses an artistic and

mechanical mind, and pursues an interest in architecture. He

becomes apprenticed to a brutish man named Elfric (Ian Pirie), who

controls all building and construction through the local guild. The

two immediately clash.

Tom Weston-Jones remarks, “While Ralph seems destined to

forever look back on what he lost, Merthin wants to move forward.

He senses dramatic change lies ahead and wants to be part of it.

He’s a man of reason and doubt, who questions the status quo. His

progressive way of thinking will bring him into conflict with Elfric’s

outdated building methods and ideas.”

In one pivotal scene, Merthin and Elfric compete at the

Guildhall for the contract to build the new bridge. Elfric advocates

traditional wooden construction, while Merthin proposes a

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pioneering stone design favored in Italy. Merthin wins the contract,

but his triumph will be short-lived.

Their sour relationship is poisoned when Elfric weds the

woman Merthin loves – Caris Wooler. The arranged marriage,

deviously orchestrated by Petranilla, becomes a cauldron of

arguments, abuse and animosity.

Charlotte Riley explains, “At one point in the story, Caris says

to her father, ‘Maybe I don’t want to get married!’ And he says,

‘Well, what on earth would you do then?’ This is a salient point

about that period. But Caris is determined to have a life other than

what’s been offered to her. And in this story we get to follow her on

a journey of discovery, and find out who she is and what she really

wants.”

Despite her husband’s boorish behavior –“He’s not evil, he

just lashes out in frustration and humiliation because Caris doesn’t

love him,” explains Ian Pirie–Caris’ far more dangerous nemeses

are her cousin, Godwyn, and her aunt, Petranilla, who steers her

son’s career with sociopathic brilliance.

“Petranilla is a stage mother from hell,” says Cynthia Nixon.

“She appears to be a dutiful aunt, sister and mother, but as the

story unfolds we discover she has tremendous thwarted ambition

that drives her to a very veiled, murderous place.

“She is smarter than Godwyn, always ten steps ahead,

waiting for him to catch up. But one of the interesting things that

often happens to domineering parents is they underestimate their

children. She’s teaching him viciousness and duplicity without

realizing it may be turned against her.”

Godwyn has his eye on becoming bishop to gain his mother’s

approval and find some kind of meaning in his world, explains

Rupert Evans.

Says Evans, “Godwyn is a character who’s been alienated as a

child, perhaps even bullied, I suspect. He’s a classic case of an only

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child with a doting mother, whom he cherishes and places on a

pedastal. His whole life is lived through her, and when she is

revealed to have terrible faults, everything crumbles. He clings even

tighter to the church as the only refuge where he feels confident

and safe. Then he becomes dangerously fanatical in his devotion

and self-righteousness.”

Godwyn also struggles with his physical attraction to Caris.

He decries her as a temptress, though she does nothing to entice

him. He also, Evans elaborates, feels threatened by Caris‘ bold

personality and her embrace of new ideas.

“Old versus new is a key theme in the show. Godwyn looks to

the past to re-assert his authortity and understanding of the world.

He feels the Bible is clear about the subordinate role of women, and

is threatened by her independent thinking and desire for self-

determination.”

Godwyn also tangles with the formidable Mother Cecilia. As

Prioress of the convent, she controls the purse strings and is not

easily intimidated.

Miranda Richardson says, “Being a nun wasn’t the first idea

Cecilia had for her life. She entered the church at a later age, which

was not uncommon for women. It’s one of the few places they can

seek emotional and physical refuge. So Cecilia has a secular

backstory, which helps her relate to Caris in urging her to join the

convent.”

Caris has aroused Godwyn’s ire by associating with the

naturalist healer Mattie Wise (Indira Varma), who has become her

mentor. Mattie, explains Varma, is the multi-racial daughter of an

Arabic-English union. She learned new concepts in science and

medicine from her deceased parents, and they radically contradict

accepted church doctrines.

“Arab culture at that time was advanced in scientific discovery,

astronomy, philosophy and medicine,” Varma says. “But the church

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is suspicious of anything that is different, and hearing these ideas

emanate from a woman, of mixed race no less, makes them heresy.”

The priory’s chief medical practitioner, Brother Joseph (David

Bradley), rejects Mattie’s advice when a badly wounded soldier is

brought to their care. He amputates the arm of the patient, who

turns out to be Sir Thomas Langley (Ben Chaplin), a knight

harboring a secret so damaging it endangers the whole of

Kingsbridge.

“Thomas fought against Edward III and has fled to sanctuary.

He endures a slow recovery from his injuries and undergoes a

spiritual journey in the process.” Ben Chaplin says. “I think he sees

himself as a secular priest. He connects with the people of

Kingsbridge, wants to help them, and is particularly close to Caris

and Brother Matthias (Jason Langley).

The relationship between the two priests is rumored to go

beyond that of friendship, which risks severe punishment. Likewise,

young Sister Mair (Tatiana Maslany) harbors an attraction to Caris,

which surfaces when the two nuns are sent by Mother Cecilia on a

perilous mission to France to petition their warring King to stop

Godwyn from raiding the priory’s treasury.

“Sister Mair is in awe of Caris, who defies stereotypes, and is

beautiful, brave and gracious.” says Tatiana Maslany. “She embarks

on this trip with Caris–the first time Mair has ever left the convent–

and is suddenly confronted with war and carnage. Their bond and

need for each other are strongly influenced by the fact that they are

completely alone in this very intense, dangerous environment.”

Having once treated King Edward III (Blake Ritson) while he

was enlisting soldiers in Kingsbridge, Caris uses that history to

plead her case with him. King Edward III is a strained but focused

leader, forceful but not without compassion, and haunted by his

own personal tragedies. He has launched an invasion against

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France, the beginning phases of the Hundred Years’ War, and will

eventually turn his attention toward Kingsbridge.

“King Edward III is not well known partly because there’s

nothing particularly salacious about him, although he was

immensely successful,” says Ritson, who read biographies of the

King in preparation for the role. “He revolutionized warfare with the

introduction of the longbow, won virtually every battle, made

England a military might and solved its debt crisis. He was very

good at his job.”

To become a rich and powerful ruler, Edward must first throw

off the yoke of his mother, Queen Isabella (Aure Atika), and her

paramour, Mortimer (Hannes Jaenicke). He cows Isabella into

submission by forcing her to watch Mortimer being hanged for

treason. She will meddle no further.

The King, however, intends to meddle with Kingsbridge,

through the enthusiastic proxy of Ralph, now a prominent knight in

the royal army. Ralph is infuriated that the serfs on his new land at

Wigleigh are refusing to work for only food, insisting on fair wages.

He intends to lead a contingent of soldiers in an attack on the

village to reinforce the king’s authority and settle some old scores.

Opposing him is a makeshift militia of farmers, laborers and

villagers, led by Gwenda and her husband, Wulfric who has risen

from a humble farmer to a leader of what will become known as the

Peasant Revolt.

Tom Cullen states, “Wulfric is a simple man of the soil. He

sees things in black and white, and cares only about the land. But

then he meets Gwenda, a strong, determined German woman, and

he changes. She opens his eyes to the bigger picture around him

and makes him realize he has a voice. He can help change the

world.”

Nora von Waldstätten adds, “I fell in love with Gwenda

immediately. She had a difficult start in life – very poor with a

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brutal father who molests her. But she learns to stand up for herself

and overcome obstacles. She fights for the right to a better life. She

fights for the people she loves. And she sees the best in them,

which is why she pushes Wulfric to believe in himself. Ultimately he

becomes a very brave man.”

Dozens of other courageous men and woman stand with

Gwenda and Wulfric to defend their town, including Caris’ father,

Edmund (Carlo Rota), Gwenda’s brother, Holger (Kostja Ullmann),

an expert bowman recently returned from war, and the maternal

Madge Webber (Sally Bankes), a big-hearted woman who shelters

orphans.

Sally Bankes describes her character as “the voice of the

village, in many ways. She speaks up on behalf of those who are

getting a raw deal. She’s suffered terrible losses in her own family,

and ends up taking in other children whose parents have

succumbed to the plague. She’s a really good sort, but not someone

you want to try to push around.”

As Madge and the people of Kingsbridge anxiously await an

attack by Ralph, he is becoming, day by day, even more bitter and

vengeful, owing to a tragedy surrounding his newly-wed wife, the

beautiful princess Philippa (Sarah Gadon).

“Philippa is somewhat of a symbolic character – she

represents the ‘pre-Raphaelite’ visual inspiration that (director)

Michael wanted in the film,” says Sarah Gadon. “She has a very

iconic look, with big, blonde curly hair, very pale skin, rosy cheeks,

almost ethereal in appearance.”

Philippa refuses to accept her arranged marriage to Ralph,

whom she detests, and takes a shocking course of action to end it.

Gadon says, “Although this is a time when women have

minimal rights or power, I loved the strength of the female

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characters in the story. I respect the limited but courageous choices

that Philippa, Caris and Mattie make. They refuse to be victims.”

Ken Follett, whose novels center on characters who reject the

societal limits imposed on them, echoes her sentiment.

“Most people accept their assigned roles. A few do not, and

they’re the ones who reveal society’s fault lines.” he states. “Caris

fights against all kinds of restraints in an attempt to be herself. I

think people like her have existed in all ages, and they’re the ones

whose stories I always want to tell.”

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Under a scorching early July sun, Oliver Jackson-Cohen is on

set reviewing the shooting schedule, reflecting that in the first two

days alone, his character Ralph commits a rape, beats a serf, and

threatens to harm a child.

“Hang on…Rola, it seems I’m playing the bad guy.” Jackson-

Cohen quips.

“You’re not the only one. Just the worst.” Bauer laughs.

The production, on day two, is shooting in a large field in an

area known as Cszakvar, an hour-and-a-half drive outside Budapest.

Few trees are available to provide shade, and the temperature has

climbed to 44 degrees celsius, a record for the date. Tom Cullen

and Nora von Waldstätten, as Wulfric and Gwenda, are plowing a

priory field when an angry Ralph arrives on horseback and orders

them to return to his property at Wigleigh.

Tom Cullen remembers, “It was a huge shot, three minutes

long, that starts with Oliver riding his horse all the way in,

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delivering an amazing speech, and then Gwenda responds. And I

simply have to say, ‘We’re being paid to work this land. What do

you pay?’ But because of the heat, my brain had stopped working,

and I couldn’t get the line out. It was my first day, my first line, and

I kept missing it. I felt bad because Oliver doesn’t particularly like

being on horses, and he kept having to get back in the saddle and

start the whole scene over.”

Jackson-Cohen admits to an initial fear of horses, which he

gradually overcame during the shoot.

“I was scared to death. So they sent me to a place in London

where an amazing teacher started me off on several different

horses and I became more comfortable. They’re really quite

wonderful animals once you get used to them.”

Cszakvar, known for its rolling hills, some of them the color

of chalk, is one of several practical locations the production used

that needed to be free of all signs of contemporary life – no

highways, telephone poles, planes, or even modern farms.

“We avoided locations with large crop fields because industrial

farming didn’t occur until the 19th century,” says production

designer Marek Dobrowolski. “Certain crops were not grown back

then, so we paid a few farmers to not plant them.

“On the other hand, when Gwenda and Wulfric harvest wheat,

we used a field matching the size and condition of what you would

have seen then. It’s part of our desire to be as authentic to the time

period as is reasonably possible.”

Marek’s biggest challenge was not errant fields of corn,

however, but constructing the massive Kingsbridge set in just 12

weeks. Shooting was scheduled to begin on that set in late July

after two weeks of interior shooting at Korda Studios. Bordering a

small lake on private land known in abbreviation as “Gobol,” the

Kingsbridge location was only an eight-minute drive from Korda,

and offered everything the filmmakers wanted.

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Unlike The Pillars of the Earth, where parts of the smaller

Kingsbridge set were located in different places, Rola Bauer wanted

to create the entirety of the huge village exterior (and some

interiors) on a single location – one that offered unlimited camera

angles and 360 degree panoramas.

During one of the many recesses that occurred over four

months of location scouting, director Michael Caton-Jones stood on

a hill in a wide field, looking in all directions, and couldn’t spot a

single building that suggested the modern world.

“We knew we’d found our Kingsbridge.” says Bauer.

A horse stable and a few small farmhouses were the only

structures in the area. Marek and his team immediately got to work

designing the medieval village, which ultimately covers some

11,000 square meters. It encompasses facades of the priory,

cathedral and Guild Hall, as well as exteriors and interiors of private

homes, a tavern, garth, hospice, workshop, entrance gates, stone

walls, animal pens, covered market square, and an assortment of

horses, cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks.

Marek based the town’s design on paintings, sketches and

research he conducted in England, especially places like Cotswold,

Oxfordshire, which, typical of the period, has town squares with a

central cross, where the church or priory was located. Buildings

were primarily made of yellowish sandstone, limestone and flint.

He combined architectural elements from the 10th century (priory),

11th century (cathedral), 12th century (garth), and 13th century

(Edmund’s house). The beautiful garth and cloisters were loosely

based on England’s Laycok Abbey (completed in 1238) while the

town square was modeled after Chipping Campden, a small village

in Gloucestershire.

Then, as now, the wealth and privilege of residents was

demonstrated by the size and location of their homes. Edmund, the

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richest man in Kingsbridge, has the largest house in a prime

location, with a backyard and a warehouse.

Says set decorator Lee Gordon, “Merchants were the rising

class at this time. They were earning lots of money from wool,

which was England’s largest export.

“Edmund’s house is adorned with tapestries and fabrics, a

display of conspicuous consumption, which, along with the grand

meals he serves, reflects his social status.”

Elfric also has a prominent home, with a large barn workshop

where Merthin labors, while Petranilla lives in a small old house –

that is, until she manages to do away with Edmund’s wife and move

into his grand abode. Kingsbridge is a busy, prosperous village,

enjoying the calm before the storm.

“In keeping with our pre-Raphaelite influence, this is not a

dark environment, such as in ‘Hamlet’, but a place full of color and

life.” explains Marek.

The core of that life gathers at the busy marketplace at the

center of the cobblestone square. With a big fleece fair sequence

scheduled for July 27th, the art and props departments worked

through the night of the 26th prepping 90 wooden stalls, each

selling a variety of food and goods. The kiosks serve as backdrop,

along with 150 extras, for some dramatic scenes that include a fight

between Merthin and Ralph, accusations of witchcraft against Caris,

and poor Edmund receiving excruciating punishment for alleged

treason, ordered by Roland.

“In what must be the worst case of good news/bad news ever

received, Edmund is told, just as a noose is tightening around his

neck, that his life will be spared,” explains Carlo Rota. “However,

his legs are to be broken by sledgehammer.”

Rota is just one of many cast members who praised the

stunning scope and realism of Kingsbridge for “creating a marvelous

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environment that really helps getting into, and staying in,

character.”

Says Charlotte Riley, “I sometimes wander around pretending

I live here. I pick out which pieces of furniture I’d like to have in my

house – you know, that really helps me get into character, choosing

a nice big kitchen table for my flat.”

Oliver Jackson-Cohen says that after spending 14 hours on

set, he forgets about the outside world and is sometimes

disoriented by the sight of a car or trailer.

“You think, ‘Where the hell did that come from?’ Everything

feels so real on set you become lost in this time and space. The

place is enormous and the attention to detail is astounding. It’s one

of the most incredible sets I think I’ve ever seen.”

Sally Bankes remembers walking through Kingsbridge one

afternoon on her way to the bridge set and wondering, “’Hey, where

have all the people who live here gone?’ Then, of course, I

remember, ‘This is a set, Sally, c’mon, get it together. Those people

are extras, they don’t actually live here, for goodness sakes.’”

The filmmakers’ concern with realism and detail is one of the

primary reasons Ken Follett was enthusiastic about entrusting his

books to their series adaptations. He recalls walking onto the

Kingsbridge set and being “gobsmacked.”

“You stand in the middle of the market square and look

around and you can’t see anything but the Middle Ages,” Follett

describes. “It’s overwhelming. The sets, the costumes and the

props are so detailed and accurate. And that’s what I strive for in

my books. I describe small, curious or unexpected things that are

evocative of the era. The designers here have done the same thing,

and I’m delighted.”

Attesting to that attention to detail, Daniel Ansleigh, who

plays the role of William, eldest son of Roland and suitor of Philippa,

recalls a day his mare was nibbling a piece of grass when suddenly

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“An art department crewmember comes over to say, ‘Excuse me,

your horse is eating the set.’ And I’m thinking, ‘You mean even this

random tuft of grass was actually placed here?’”

Along with high temperatures, occasional heavy summer rains

deluged the set, causing rivers of mud to flow over the cobblestones.

The conditions challenged cast and crew—“If you ask me what I’ll

take away from this experience, I’ll tell you a pair of muddy shoes,”

joked Tom Cullen—but no one more than director of photography

Denis Crossan. With the sun darting in and out of clouds on many

days, he had to continually make corrections for light levels, or wait

it out.

“We were prepared for this, so we’ve done a good job of

tracking the sun, moving people around, and making necessary

adjustments,” Crossan says. “We’re using natural light as much as

possible. For interiors at Kingsbridge we light through a window to

mimic sunlight, or hide a light inside. We also use a lot of candles.”

Crossan shot with state-of-the-art ARRI Alexa digital motion

picture cameras (introduced in mid 2010), which he says allowed

him to push the stops and even adjust the aperture during scenes.

“When we have scenes with actors going from an interior to

an exterior, rather than trying to match the light levels for both the

outside and inside, I simply adjust the aperture to equalize the

amount of light coming into the camera.”

Crossan was able to do that, he explains, because with digital,

he can see immediately how the light levels appear on screen. With

film stock, he would have to wait until the rushes were available to

check, a day or so later.

Crossan used at least two cameras for each scene, more for

the bigger sequences, such as the trial and hanging of Mattie Wise

– who’s accused of witchcraft for administering homeopathic

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remedies. Though located off the main square, Mattie’s garden and

small home are intentionally within sight of the cathedral.

Says Production Designer Marek Dobrowolski, “I thought it

was important that the church, by which she will stand in judgment,

always have a visual lurking presence over her garden. She can’t

escape its prejudice or condemnation.”

Mattie’s garden is replete with raked beds and garden tools,

where she pulls, dries, cuts and mixes her herbs into various

potions. Her Muslim ancestry is displayed through various Arabic

artifacts, such as an Ottoman tapestry and teapot, and a little

heater with coals, widely used by the Middle Eastern cultures.

Indira Varma says she identified with Mattie’s herbal

medicines because “I have a little garden of my own, and my Dad

was brilliant at gardening – he was Indian, and into Ayurvedic

medicines and the concept of healing plants. In fact, I’ve got a bit

of ginger in my bag to nurse my sore throat.”

Unfortunately for Mattie, Godwyn nurses a grudge against her,

and, with the fleece fair approaching, convinces Prior Anthony

(Kevin Moore) that such an occasion would be an opportune time

for a hanging.

Mattie’s trial was shot over the course of two days, August 9th

and 10th, with the fleece market as a backdrop. Bishop Richard

(Oliver Maltman), Roland’s other son, attends the show trial,

although he hasn’t much of a stomach for the gruesome.

“Bishops wielded enormous power,” says Maltman. “They

could sentence people, such as Mattie, to death. It’s fascinating and

appalling that it was so easy to condemn someone just because of

rumors or some kind of mole on their skin. My character has no

interest in that kind of bloodshed, especially since he’s dealing with

his own sins, which include an affair with his father’s betrothed.”

During his research for World Without End, Ken Follett read a

book called Witch Trials of the 14th Century, and says that the

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accusers were often people who had a dispute with the accused –

over such random things as a property boundary or the ownership

of livestock.

“Accusing your rival of being a witch was a smart move

because it was easy to whip up hysteria, especially if she was an

older single woman. Everything that happens to Mattie is authentic.”

Declared guilty, Mattie is hauled in a cart, hands bound to a

wooden post, through the village on the way to the bridge, where

she will be hung. Excited citizens hurl objects at her in derision.

Some of the extras, having waited all day for this moment, toss

things with a little too much exuberance.

“It was an awful scene to shoot, actually,” Varma recalls. “The

extras were throwing plums, peaches and apples at me. I had to

ask them to take the stones out of the peaches cause I was getting

battered. The ADs were yelling, ‘Not the face! Don’t throw them at

her face!’”

Arriving at the bridge, with hundreds of spectators in tow,

Mattie is placed on a platform, noose around her neck. She is not

the only one on the verge of death. That rickety overpass, which

Merthin had warned about, will momentarily hurl dozens of people

into the river below.

The spectacular collapse of the bridge, which utilized both 1st

and 2nd units, began shooting in reverse sequence on August 18th.

Principal cast, along with stuntmen and horses, are already in the

water in the aftermath of the fall. Panicked survivors flail in the

water amongst debris and dead bodies.

Says stunt coordinator Gaspar Szaba, “This is a time when

not many people learned to swim. Most of the bodies of water were

too swift.”

Director Michael Caton-Jones, Director of Photography Denis

Crossan and some 20 other crew members don wetsuits and stand

in waist-to-chest high water below the bridge. The lake bed has

21

been elevated with seven feet of gravel to ensure everyone’s head

remains safely above water. Electric pumps create a stream to

mimic river flow. Eight cameras are positioned on barges, on the

shoreline, or atop the bridge. Filming in water is risky and

exhausting, so rescue teams and boats are stationed on the lake,

and a head count is undertaken immediately after each take.

Says Rola Bauer, “When I considered the bridge collapse in

the script, I had three thoughts – ‘How are we going to produce this,

how are we going to produce it safely, and how can we afford it?’

We addressed all three issues, and here we are.”

In the scene, Ralph saves a drowning Roland, while Gwenda

and Wulfric struggle to stay afloat. Caris, Merthin, and Godwyn

view the spectacle in horror from the shore. Petranilla, unsatisfied

to merely observe the disaster, manages to add to it.

After two days of shooting with principal cast in the water, the

2nd unit takes over on September 3rd for three additional days of

capturing the actual collapse, as well as insert and pickup shots.

The “stunt” bridge spans 100 meters, and is partially

comprised of metal interior beams covered in wooden casings,

manipulated by hydraulic lifts. On command, it can collapse in

three places, sending six pieces in various directions. Special

effects supervisor Paul Stephenson coordinated the design and

construction with Dobrowolski and a team of technicians. The

collapse is rehearsed a few days prior to shooting to ensure safe

operation and gauge how it works for camera angles.

“We decided to slow the speed of the collapse from our

original test to give the camera time to pick up some of the specific

action and movements.” says Stephenson. “The hydraulics are

operated from the shore using a timing box, so we have control

over what it does. We can stop it if something goes wrong.”

Second unit Director James Gillespie, who has helmed hit

horror features such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and

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Venom, is a fellow Scotsman of Michael Caton-Jones, who

personally asked him to direct some of the action sequences.

“This shot is quite difficult to choreograph because we’ve

already shot some of the aftermath, and now we have to make sure

what we do today–the structural collapse–matches up with that,”

Gillespie explains. “We’ll have 24 angles on it, and will do it twice,

with about three hours to reset the bridge.”

Some 60 stuntmen and women, dressed as character doubles

and villagers, along with 130 extras, crowd the bridge prior to the

collapse. Onshore, several VIPs have come to watch the anticipated

event, including Hollywood Hungarian film producer Andy Vajna and

real estate mogul Sandor Demjan.

Tensions mount as the 1st AD counts down the seconds.

Gillespie calls “action!” and the crowd begins screaming as the

bridge falls, sending dozens of people and several horses tumbling

10 feet down into the water. Applause erupts from the shore after

“cut” is called, and the crew and stuntmen haul themselves from

the water. The stunt is a success, but one of the three collapse

points on the bridge did not fully activate, so Gillespie’s intent is to

do another take in a few hours.

“It went very well“, says a relieved Paul Stephenson moments

after the stunt. “It looks good, and most importantly, no one was

hurt; everyone got out of the water. That was months of

preparation realized in a 12-second shot.”

Visual effects supervisor Roberto Biaggi is on hand to

calculate the work he will need to do to complete the scene in post-

production.

“Our task is to enhance the collapse by adding more debris

and flying wood, and digitally show heavy boards and pieces coming

down, hitting characters in the water,” Biaggi says. “We’ll also

23

duplicate more people on the bridge falling into the river. It will

make the scene even more dynamic.”

Is the disaster the wrath of God for the unjust hanging of

Mattie? Godwyn insists it is punishment for insufficient rectitude.

Scores of dead and injured line the floors of the cathedral, attended

to by nuns. The overwhelming casualties inspire Caris to create a

hospital on priory land, causing another conflict with Godwyn.

With Kingsbridge now dependent on a slow, inefficient ferry,

the construction of a badly needed new bridge becomes a pivotal

storyline. The competition between Merthin and Elfric to win the

construction contract occurs during a meeting at the interior Guild

Hall, with much of the community in attendance.

Tom Weston-Jones researched Renaissance building

techniques and Gothic architecture, and was therefore familiar with

some of the nomenclature. Nonetheless, he says he was “petrified”

about that scene because it required his character to champion the

technical merits of a cofferdam and the concept of sectioning off

water in a pillar to make it airtight.

“I thought my nerves would help the scene because Merthin

would be even more frightened to defend his unorthodox ideas and

contradict his master in public.”

The riveting scene epitomizes the clash of old and new that

occurs throughout the story, and touches on a timeless trauma of

experienced workers being made obsolete by the advent of new

technologies and methodologies.

Says Ian Pirie, “Elfric is old-school. Everyone knows him and

hires him. Then this 23-year-old whippersnapper starts telling him

how to do things, which gets his back up. Elfric is like, ‘Now wait a

minute, I know how to do my job, I’ve been doing it a long time.

This is how you build a bridge.’ But Merthin is the future. He knows

new ways of doing things that Elfric doesn’t, and it’s demoralizing,

as it would be for anyone, when Elfric realizes he’s no longer

24

needed. He’s being replaced. And this sets him on a dark path,

fostering a lot of hatred for Merthin.”

Merthin’s design calls for two separate bridges that meet on a

small island, which once housed leper victims.

“We couldn’t find any suitable locations for this, so we not

only had to make the two sections of bridge, but also create an

island,” says Marek Dobrowolski.

The bridge construction had to be coordinated within the

narrative timeline in the script – a complicated process for both the

art department and the assistant directors.

Before Edward III can deal with Kingsbridge, however, he

must lead his troops in a fight against French forces at the banks of

the river Somme. These battle sequences began shooting

September 20th in Nagyeghaza, Hungary, and are depicted with

graphic destruction. Prosthetic dummies of dead horses and

soldiers, with arrows protruding from various parts of their bodies,

are scattered over the battlefield.

SFX makeup artist Balazs Novak and makeup head Colleen

Quinton work with 12 makeup artists preparing hundreds of extras

for various stages of carnage, from deadly wounds to trace cuts to

missing limbs. Beginning at 4 a.m., waves of sleepy arrivals

receive their “injuries” in the makeup tent, lending it the

appearance of an army field hospital. One nonchalant soul has an

arrow embedded in his head, which must remain there the entire

day. Sitting outside the tent, calmly smoking a cigarette, he is

nonplussed by the ordeal.

“It’s not uncomfortable, just restrictive,” he says through an

interpreter. “A real arrow in the head would feel much worse, so I

can’t complain. This is not a normal situation.”

Eighty percent of the wounds are applied with makeup; the

remaining twenty percent are created with prosthetics. The trick

with these types of graphic scenes, Quinton says, is not necessarily

25

the substantial amount of prep, but just getting the blood tones to

match.

“Inevitably, each department–makeup, props, costumes–

brings their own blood colors from different companies, and it’s

always a case of “Oh, no, how are we going to make all these colors

match?’”

Blood flows freely at the Somme, where the British rout the

French largely owing to their use of the longbow, which proved to

be far superior to the French crossbows, according to prop master

and medieval military weapons authority John Allenby.

“The longbow is fired by a single archer from a greater

distance, while the crossbow requires three people and is effective

at shorter distances,” Allenby explains. “The English archers simply

pull more arrows from their quill and rain them down on the

decimated French ranks.”

Another cutting-edge weapon of the time was the halberd – a

menacing 12-foot-long pike that had a small spike at the side, near

the top, that was used to catch a rider’s armor and yank him off the

horse. The spear was then used to finish him off.

These new weapons essentially ushered out the “chivalric”

age of knights, while the battles at the Somme marked the

beginning of the Hundred Years’ War – a conflict that went on

intermittently for 116 years for control of the French throne. Years

often passed between major battles, as much of the war was

comprised of smaller skirmishes.

“Creating an army required a lot of money and manpower,

especially during economic duress and plague,” Allenby says. “Kings

and Earls were constantly regrouping and rebuilding their military,

which took time.”

26

Allenby and his five-person crew created scores of halberds in

their workshop at Korda, along with thousands of other weapons

and props, flags (each royal family had its own crest), shields,

swords, leather quivers, personal characters props (such as

Merthin’s tools) and much more.

“We made the flags of silk, bigger than those of the time, with

long, flowing tails, because Michael wanted to see them blowing in

the wind,” Allenby says.

The weapons were made of steel or rubber, depending on its

use. Other than some crossbows, which he rented from Three

Brothers in Prague, Allenby’s team made everything by hand in

Budapest, including 40 professional bows and 1500 arrows, created

by an expert Hungarian, which took four months. “They had to be

top-quality because of safety reasons, as our cast will be shooting

them. There are wonderful craftsmen and designers here“, Allenby

says.

Indeed, during the siege of Kingsbridge, shot in late

November/early December, actor Kostja Ullmann (Holger), fires live

arrows over the walls, surrounded by cast and extras. An errant

shot could have resulted in injury.

“To be honest, I was a little worried about all the guys

standing around me“, he says. “But I had practiced a lot, and the

bow was perfect, so I felt confident.”

One of Allenby’s most prized props was a beautiful sword

purchased in Prague for $1,000, which Blake Ritson wields as King

Edward III. (Rola Bauer presented the sword to Ritson as a gift at

wrap).

“It’s always good to be King – or to play a King,” Ritson

smiles. “You get nice costumes and get to ride horses and carry an

awesome sword.”

27

Ritson has used swords on previous films, and fenced in

school, but still spent many hours rehearsing his climactic dual with

Thomas, “hence the nicks on my hand.

“Michael mentioned that the scene is influenced by American

Westerns and a kind of Kabuki, a big one-on-one showdown to

settle things once and for all.”

Ritson suffered the summer wearing eight layers of clothing

and very heavy chainmail, which transfers heat like a solar panel.

Through it all, he looked forward to winter, “when I thought I’d be

the lucky person who’d be warm. Instead, I discovered that

chainmail also harvests the cold, so it was like being inside a

refrigerator. I can see why these things went out of fashion.”

Edward III and Queen Isabella share numerous scenes

together at Westminster Palace, and for those, the production

traveled in mid-October to Austria and Slovakia.

First stop is Vienna’s Kreuzenstein Castle, which doubles for the

Westminster courtyard, where Mortimer is executed and Edward

learns of his mother’s treachery.

Hannes Jaenicke, whose character hangs from a rope by

evening’s end, spent an hour exploring the castle – a fascinating

mix of architectural styles pieced together by an eccentric Viennese

industrialist at the turn of the 20th century.

“I was a bit confused by Kreuzenstein at first,” says Jaenicke,

“because it combines Medieval, Gothic, and early Renaissance

elements. I was told the builder took large and small sections from

other castles around Europe and pieced them together into one. It

looks like something Disney might do, but it’s a perfect film set.”

Kreuzenstein also served as the Westminster chapel set, and

stood in for exterior Shiring Castle shots involving Roland, Ralph,

and Petranilla.

Scenes occurring in Edward and Isabella’s Westminster

private quarters and hallways were filmed the following week at

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Bojnice Castle in Slovakia. The 12th century Gothic structure, later

modified in Renaissance and French romantic styles, is a designated

Slovakian national treasure. The castle provided gorgeous

backdrops for several important scenes, including Edward’s decision

to invade France (after a map bleeds mysteriously); his mourning of

beloved daughter Joan; a sexual liaison between Mortimer and

Isabella; and the latter’s angry confrontation with Edward

surrounding details of his father’s death.

Aure Atika says of her role, “It’s quite intimidating to play a

Queen and order people around. Isabella is rather mean, to be

honest, and my goal was to find her personal qualities and try to

discover the source of that meanness, which I think was frustration.”

From Bojnice, the production returned home to Budapest for

two days of interior shooting at Korda Studios before traveling to

Kosice, Slovakia, for major scenes to be shot at St. Elizabeth

Cathedral.

This stunning 14th century church doubles for Kingsbridge

Cathedral, where weddings are held for Roland and Margery (Hera

Hilmar), Caris and Elfric, and Gwenda and Wulfric. It also serves as

the main gathering place for important town meetings, and as a

makeshift hospital/morgue after the bridge collapse.

“Ours is the first movie allowed to film inside St. Elizabeth“,

notes producer Howard Ellis. “We’re very lucky to be here because

there aren’t a great deal of historically accurate cathedrals or

basilicas remaining in Central and Eastern Europe.”

The largest church in Slovakia, St. Elizabeth was built in the

High Gothic style from 1378 to 1508, undergoing several

restorations over the centuries. Glorious paintings and sculptures

adorn its interior.

“St. Elizabeth is a jewel in this part of Europe“, states Marek

Dobrowolski. “All the altars are original. They were restored in 1896,

and new stained glass windows were put in, but consistent with the

29

style of the late medieval period. By contrast, most church interiors

are renovated into contemporary designs over the centuries — for

example, you’ll find a Romanesque church but inside are Baroque

interiors. This one is still in its original state.”

All electric lights and modern decorations were removed

before filming, while a sarcophagus and a few other elements were

added – including a statue of the “Weeping Lady” (a pivotal holy

relic in The Pillars of Earth). This priceless icon is dropped by

Brother Carlus (John Owens) during Roland’s wedding procession.

Despite the ominous accident, Roland’s wedding is a gala

affair, and was shot on a date that holds great significance to Peter

Firth.

“My character is wearing a fabulous costume and marrying a

beautiful 22-year-old woman, while I myself am celebrating a

birthday, so it couldn’t be a grander occasion,” Firth grins.

Firth describes Roland as a “man from modest beginnings,

who will use any means at his disposal to further himself. He

ignores the bad omen of the broken statue and marries the wrong

woman. She is not nice and must be dealt with harshly.”

Rola Bauer says Firth brilliantly portrays Roland’s “demonic

side with lightness and a twinkle in his eye, a smile that says he

could go crazy on you at any moment.”

Roland’s ruthless ambition makes him a similar sort as

Petranilla, with whom he has been romantically involved, off-and-on,

for most of their lives.

“They have quite a history“, Firth explains. “When you’ve

known someone for 30 years, there’s a complicated bond, even

when you are at odds with each other. Roland and Petranilla are as

bad as they come, so they’re well matched.”

Cynthia Nixon says, “Roland wields tremendous power over

the community, and holds particular sway over Petranilla because

she’s still in love with him.”

30

Firth is an accomplished horseman, capable of riding bareback,

and performed ably in all his horseback scenes. Some of his fellow

cast members, however, had to acquire riding skills during prep, as

well as undergo extensive fighting and weapons training during both

pre-production and principal photography.

“I trained with swords in drama school, and was excited to

have a chance to do some fight scenes, even though my character

always seems to lose,” says Tom Weston-Jones. Weston-Jones

nearly lost his sense of smell while filming a brawl with Oliver

Jackson-Cohen, who accidentally landed a punch on Jones’ face

during a take, fracturing his nose.

“Oli is a big strong guy, but gentle as a puppy, and he felt

awful about it. I didn’t mind – it’s part of the job.”

When Merthin loses his job to Elfric, and then Caris to a

convent, he decides to journey to Italy in 1334, where the

Renaissance is already beginning to unfold. Merthin’s star-crossed

love for Caris appears to be at its end. He marries an Italian

woman in Tuscany, begins a family, and becomes involved in

building the Florence Cathedral’s famed Duomo, designed by the

renowned architected Giotto. This, however, is a bit of an

anachronism, Marek Dobrowolski admits, as the Duomo wasn’t built

until 50 years later.

“This is one of the rare occasions where we cheat history for

the fun of it,” he says. “Merthin would actually have been involved

in building the cathedral’s tower, which also still stands today.”

A devastating event, however, ends Merthin’s happy life in

Florence - the Black Death. It claims the lives of his family, and

sends him home to grieve in Kingsbridge, where fate may at last

smile kindly on his love for Caris.

The Black Death devastated the populations of Europe, and

Kingsbridge is no exception. A deadly concoction of bubonic and

pneumonic plague likely accompanied by other diseases such as pox

31

and dysentery, it originated in Mongolia in the 1320s, killing millions

in China.

Carried by Mongol soldiers along the Silk Road, and by

merchant ships, it entered Crimea and soon Italy in 1347, via

Genoese shippers, where it quickly spread throughout Europe.

“It is hard to overstate the panic and destruction this

pandemic caused,” John Pielmeier states. “We have nothing to

compare with it.”

The terror resulted in a tragic but familiar reaction: round up

the usual suspects. Not only were women killed as witches, but

also gypsies, Jews and other minorities were tortured and burned to

death for “provoking God’s wrath.”

Referred to at the time as the Great Pestilence, or Great

Mortality, the plague was transmitted by fleas carried by rats. It

infected the lymph node system, causing severe swellings, “buboes,”

to form around the hapless victim’s arms, chest, neck and groin –

places of the highest concentration of lymph nodes. Depicting this

awful disease presented daunting initial challenges to makeup

supervisor Colleen Quinton.

“I remember first reading the script, not knowing what a bubo

was, and thinking, ‘How am I going to make them? They’re

everywhere.’”

She immediately began researching on the internet, learning

the appearance and location of the swellings (“eventually they burst

and cause a death similar to blood poisoning”), and conducted

extensive tests with molds and prosthetic pieces.

“We wanted to respect the accuracy of the symptoms, but at

the same time, we needed to place them in locations on the body

that the camera will see,” Quinton describes. “After all, we’re not

going to be showing victims’ groins.”

Quinton’s challenges on the project went far beyond plague

makeup. The time frame of the story covers 15 years, and would

32

often shift a decade or more in one shooting day, putting enormous

pressure on her staff to age or “de-age” an actor from one scene to

the next.

Quinton prepped the show using a morphology chart detailing

each character’s narrative arc, noting changes in appearance from

normal aging or trauma, such as wounds or disease. This chart

became her bible for tracking the day-to-day makeup. With such a

large cast, Quinton and her team had their hands full.

“We don’t shoot in sequence, so we may begin an actor in a

scene in 1327 when she’s young, and in the very next scene she

has to look like it’s 1340,” Quinton explains. “And we don’t have

much time to do that transformation – we shoot a lot each day and

the cast is always required back on set as soon as possible.”

One of the most interesting makeup transformations she

performed was on Nora von Waldstätten, whose fair skin she chose

to dramatically darken.

“When I met Nora, she was as white as the driven snow, and

I said, ‘I don’t think we’re going to keep you in this color as Gwenda.

You play a peasant farm girl who spends all day in the sun in the

field. You should look like it.”

Actors often arrive with their own idea how their character

should look, but Quinton was pleased that Nora entirely agreed with

the concept, even though it meant spending two hours a day in the

makeup and hair process.

Quinton says, “We came up with a beautiful skin tone for

Gwenda - earthy, deep bronze, almost reddish. It’s a profound

transformation.”

Quinton also illustrated the arc of Cynthia Nixon’s character

by arching her brows to achieve a wide-open, “bright and beautiful”

look in the beginning, and then dulling down the color and lowering

33

the brows toward the show’s end. Nixon wears a facial prosthetic in

a few scenes, which required nearly three hours to apply.

“An artist’s face is altered by adding age lines, deepening the

eye socket, darkening the brows, reddening the lips, changing the

facial modeling, little tricks like that,” Quinton explains.

She wanted beards on the men (Blake Ritson’s was

painstakingly applied hair by hair), who had to maintain at least

some facial hair growth that the makeup team could then make

longer, darker, etc.

“These poor guys had to keep some scruff on their faces for

six months, and couldn’t wait to get rid of it. I think the first thing

Peter (Firth) did when they called picture wrap on him was rush to

his trailer and shave,” Quinton laughs.

Among Quinton’s other touches was adding the subtle

appearance of the skin ailment eczema on Godwyn’s face,

suggesting he suffers anxiety and does not possess the confident,

self-assured manner he tries to project.

Quinton’s cohort in creating the signature cast appearances

in World Without End is Tracey Wells, who designed and styled the

show’s dozens of wigs and hairpieces. Wells thoroughly researched

the era through books, paintings and drawings at various libraries

and museums.

“The 14th century is very interesting because it’s when high

fashion began“, Wells relates. “Women and men started coloring

their hair, using dyes and herbs, and wearing wigs. The men tonged

their hair and beards using appliances heated in fires. Crushed rose

petals were used to stain women’s cheeks and lips.”

As Wells explains, the fashions of the day were usually set by

the monarchy. There was an emphasis on very long hair on women,

which she plaited using the methods employed at the time, avoiding

modern appliances when possible. Varying hair lengths and

34

hairpieces/extensions help illustrate the characters’ age

progressions.

“For example, we used hair pieces on Merthin and Ralph in

episode one to express their tousled and unruly youth,” she says.

Wells’ work on Sarah Gadon, who, as mentioned earlier,

epitomizes the pre-Raphaelite concept as Philippa, is dazzling.

Gadon says, “Tracey fitted me in a wig made entirely of

European hair, worth about 6,000 British pounds, I’m told. It’s not

heavy and it breathes really well. It gets me directly into character

the moment I put it on.”

During the time she was presented with an opportunity to

play Philippa, Gadon explored 14th century fashion and design

elements at a special exhibit on the Middle Ages at the Getty

Museum in Los Angeles. “It wonderfully described the entire

process of dying fabrics, and detailed how particular designs and

colors were specific to certain classes and regions. It really piqued

my interest about the project.”

Along with Philippa’s show-stopping locks, Wells created

impressive wigs and hairpieces for Charlotte Riley, Cynthia Nixon,

and Peter Firth. Riley wears numerous extensions in styles that

reflect three distinct stages of Caris’ life: as a young wooler and

bride of Elfric; as a cloistered nun in the convent; and finally, as a

liberated woman entering an adult relationship with Merthin.

Remarkably, she remains optimistic throughout her troubled life.

“Caris loses her family and her mentor, and is betrayed by

Petranilla, yet she still rises above the destruction and hatred, and

brings out all the good in her soul,” Rola Bauer says. “Charlotte

does a wonderful job of playing her with a subtle, steely quiet

endearment.”

For the cunning Petranilla, Wells chose soft, red-blonde

hairpieces, almost the color of butterscotch, which she plaited to

achieve varying textures.

35

“Her hair is more lively and well groomed as she begins to

ascend the social ladder, and then we begin to break the hair down,

making it less vibrant and lustrous as she gets older and her health

fails.”

Nixon enjoyed wearing her character’s hair, just as she

embraced all aspects of being part of a sweeping production set in

the tumultuous Middle Ages.

“The costumes, wigs, makeup, sets…everything is

astonishing“, she says. “I spend time gazing at the background

players (extras) and I don’t know when I’ve been on a set where

their clothes were as detailed and rich. It really does make me feel

transported in time and wonder what it would have been like to be

alive then.”

She adds, “I thought Petranilla was a really juicy, evil

character, different in the script than in the book, playing a crucial

nemesis to the heroine. She demonstrates that you don’t need to

live in a castle to do bloody deeds.”

Executive Producer David W. Zucker remarks that, despite

being identified with such a contemporary role in Sex and the City,

Nixon was able to “step seamlessly into this period and have some

delicious fun with a rangy character. There was great fortune of

timing in her availability and in our being able to offer a role she

couldn’t resist.”

As an American actress in a predominantly British cast, Nixon

says she needed to be “on her toes, because my accent is heard

next to all the natural accents.”

Nixon worked diligently with dialogue coach Jane Karen

Thompson to develop what’s known as “RP” (received

pronunciation”), which was used as the baseline accent.

“Received pronunciation refers to the accents of those who

are ‘received’ at court,” explains Thompson, “so it’s the sound of

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the nobility and upper classes. Peasants spoke with a West country

accent, which has got a little bit of bird in it.

“It’s all conjecture what people actually sounded like back

then, and we’re not speaking in old English anyway, which is

slightly more Germanic. This script is written in modern form, so

the idea is to create a commonality of sound using RP and

contemporary vernacular.”

Describing the cast as “the United Nations, we’ve got people

from everywhere,” Thompson helped Nora von Waldstätten develop

a second-generation English accent, and rehearsed English dialogue

with French actress Aure Atika.

Thompson was also tasked with teaching lines to numerous

Hungarian cast members, some of whom who spoke no English, and

others who had to recite lines in French and Italian. “They did

extraordinarily well, not always even knowing what they were

saying, but able to speak phonetically.”

Finally, she rehearsed the cast clergy in learning and reciting

masses, prayers and hymns in Latin. With the onslaught of the

Black Death, eulogies became a daily occurrence, and no one, not

even the Bishop, is immune from the disease.

As John Pielmeier notes, the plague decimated the ranks of

priests and peasants, creating a labor shortage that opened a path

for women to join the clergy and for serfs to become, in a sense,

“free agents.”

“The serfs worked their landlord’s property in exchange for

room and board,” he remarks. “Suddenly there are not enough

people to plow the fields, so they can now negotiate for money and

benefits. They have bargaining power.”

Unhappy with the prospect of competing with each other for

labor, the landlords begin to crack down on the serfs, resulting in

the great “Peasant Revolt.” With Ralph, Caris, Merthin, Thomas,

Gwenda, Wulfric and Holger instrumental in this event, the Peasant

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Revolt serves as the climactic finale of World Without End, with

Kingsbridge once again forced to fight for its survival.

These action sequences began shooting in early winter chill on

November 16th, as Ralph’s soldiers arrive at the village and demand

the surrender of all its inhabitants. Sharpened wooden poles have

been planted in the ground at severe angles near the gates to repel

invaders, and the townspeople are armed with bows, hammers,

swords or crude homemade weapons.

While the action appears spontaneous and free flowing, it’s

been carefully blocked and rehearsed, with specific movements

occurring in front of the camera.

Director of Photography Denis Crossan remarks, “Michael was

keen that everything had to be shot over-the-shoulder, or with

timed camera moves on the track or dolly. The action is

choreographed to not just one camera, but often multiple cameras.

It’s rather demanding on the actors to move widely about and still

hit their marks, and I’m quite amazed by the number of times they

were spot on.”

Crossan adds that he avoided doing camera tricks or ramping

(increasing the shutter speed), other than an occasional use of slow

motion or tilt-shift lenses.

“We only used a hand-held camera a couple of times because,

again, we wanted this whole choreographed movement between the

camera and the actors.”

As Ralph’s soldiers begin scaling the walls, a ferocious Wulfric

is there to meet them. Instilled with Gwenda’s determination and

confidence, he fights with the strength afforded by a hardscrabble

life in the fields.

Says Tom Cullen, “I grew up in the countryside and come

from a working class background so I’ve always been concerned

with the little people having their say.” Having studied with well-

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known fight trainer Kevin McCurdy for three years, Cullen also

brought practiced martial arts skills to his role.

In the midst of this opening salvo of the Peasant Revolt,

personal vendettas between Ralph and Merthin, and between

Edward III and Sir Thomas Langley, will be settled once and for all.

In finding an actor who could embody the warrior spirit of a

knight, and the gentle and compassionate nature of a monk, the

filmmakers say they “struck gold” with Ben Chaplin.

“Ben projects kindness, compassion and strength of character

that are hallmarks of great leaders,” says Rola Bauer. “He is utterly

convincing as a man who can inspire people to not just accept fate.

They must fight for their own destiny.”

Bauer and David Zucker were equally effusive in praising the

performances of several other cast, including Tom Weston-Jones,

Blake Ritson, Rupert Evans and two-time Oscar nominee Miranda

Richardson.

Says Zucker, “We’ve pursued Miranda before, and she’s the

type of actress that, when you have access to her, you basically put

every role you have available in front of her and say, ‘What would

you like to do?’ She plays Cecilia with incredible craft and subtlety

and inspires the other actors around her.”

Dressed in soft white nun’s robes, often seen with a falcon

perched on her arm, Richardson projects a gleaming presence as

Mother Cecilia. Nicknamed “Nun the Wiser” by fellow cast, she

plays a woman with the courage and conviction to confront the likes

of Godwyn, and the empathy and wisdom to lead her flock of nuns.

“Cecilia has a sense of humor and irony, and she’s fairly

clever“, Richardson remarks. “She spends far too much time

contending with Godwyn and praying for the patience to deal with

him. He’s the cross she has to bear in her life, I think.”

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The production moved to interior stages at Korda Studios in

late November for most of the remaining three weeks of shooting.

Dozens of different sets built on three soundstages the majority on

cavernous Stage 6, the world’s largest.

Of the remarkable 160 sets used for shooting, the most

elaborate is the myriad of rooms, hallways, kitchen, cells, and

adjoining passages that comprise the enormous interior of the

Priory. The set can be quickly reconfigured with only minor

modifications. For example, the refectory transformed into a

scriptorium and then a large kitchen (where Thomas’ arm is

amputated), while a connecting double-chamber serves alternately

as a bishop’s room, treasury and dining hall. Also included are the

modest quarters of the Prior and Prioress, and a small chapel.

Across from the interior Priory, at the back of Stage 6, is

another large set that began as the Guild Hall. Here, Merthin and

Elfric debate the bridge construction and Roland hosts a winter

solstice party. This set is later converted into a throne room and

then a petitioner’s room, where Roland issues legal judgments and

edicts.

Says Marek Dobrowolski, “To accommodate the natural style

of lighting that Denis (Crossan) wanted to do, lots of windows and

working fireplaces were incorporated into the set design. We used

lots of sheer drapes, translucent fabrics and wattle grids to break

up the light. Double-wick candles and incense lend richness, shade

and atmosphere. Denis is an artist who paints in shadows, and I

think he’s captured some exquisite shots, especially of the faces.”

Arguably the most eye-catching interior set is the Great Hall

of Shiring Castle, where Roland usurps the earldom from Gerald and

Lady Maude (Megan Follows). Built on Stage 4, this large, two-level

vaulted ceiling room is constructed with more than 5,000 fake

flagstones, made from plaster molds that are hand-painted by 40

artists to achieve the right texture and color. Most of the scenes

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shot here are of Roland dining, celebrating and castigating poor

Ralph.

The Great Hall, according to set decorator Lee Gordon, is

based on a real castle, and is dressed to look like a “villain’s lair.”

Gordon relied on rich, colorful tapestries to decorate many of

the sets (“I don’t think it’s human nature to live with drab colors”)

and did research at the British Museum in London and various prop

houses for inspiration and direction.

“Not much wooden furniture has survived, but what we did

find surprised us with the high level of craftsmanship and rich

decoration,” says Gordon. “The 14th century is when a lot of the

professional guilds emerge, so you see cutlers, fletchers, potters,

thatchers, weavers, shearers – it was much more than timber-

based trades.”

Gordon read several helpful books on making medieval

furniture, which proved invaluable, as he and his team built some

two-dozen wooden tables and desks, and another 35 chairs. Each

item had to be aged through a tedious process of multiple finishes,

making it appear to have had woodworm and a deteriorated look.

(A new piece of furniture replicating an old piece “stands out like a

sore thumb“, he says)

Gordon knew going into the project that Hungary’s distance

from the UK and the length of the shooting schedule made it

unfeasible to rent from London prop houses, and that he would

need to manufacture a great number of items locally.

“The great thing about shooting in Hungary is that there is a

fantastic group of leather workers and woodworkers. The

seamstresses are incredible. So with all this knowledge and skill it

was relatively easy to concept ideas and create them.”

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Along with such varied items as royal saddles, horse blankets,

tents (40), ceramics (“we had a local ceramicist make pieces from

original 14th century kiln recipes, to get the colors just right”),

canopies, hospital beds and numerous other items, Gordon was

responsible for creating 70 tapestries, based on royalty-free images

from London-based company Dover Street. The images are printed

in Hessian (burlap) cloth and then aged, and framed in elaborate

borders.

The aging process was even more time-consuming in building

nearly 100 stalls for the marketplace fleece fair. Starting with a

half-dozen different designs of various sizes, Gordon’s team (which

grew to 40 at peaks) first rubbed back all the soft wood from raw

pine timber, which they cut to shape and sandblasted. The pieces

were next painted and waxed to achieve an antique finish.

Aging was also a crucial aspect in creating the show’s

wardrobe, which, as Mario Davignon reveals, is more colorful and

form fitting than previously depicted.

“This was an important transitional point for fashion. High-end

clothes were made with superb English wool and lovely silks from

the Far East. The colors were vivid, especially red, which they were

just learning to control. Buttons had also arrived at this time, which

meant that clothes no longer had to be placed over your head,

allowing for tighter, tailored cuts.”

Davignon and his staff created 90% of the wardrobe,

including numerous duplicates for many costumes that will be torn

and tattered during action scenes. He also made some clothes out

of rubber for those cast members who were involved in the bridge

collapse and battle scenes in water.

Wills and testaments provide vast knowledge regarding

people’s possessions of that time, Davignon says, and lend valuable

insight into the fashions of the day.

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“England was still rather isolated from the rest of the world,

and was not privy to the more elaborate artistic and fashion trends

occurring in Italy. But the Knights Templar brought in new outside

ideas, even about clothing, as did Queen Isabella. I use her to bring

a fashion forward sense to the country.”

Cast members heaped praise on Davignon’s designs for not

only helping them get into their characters but having great fun

doing it.

Charlotte Riley says, “Mario is an absolute genius. The colors

and textures are beautiful. Now, my ‘nunny’ clothes, as I call them,

are a bit less glamorous. A robe, basically. So I’m looking forward

to leaving the convent and wearing a dress again.”

Riley, whom co-stars compliment for never losing her

graciousness or sense of humor, handled the demands of carrying

the lead role of a five-month production with aplomb. Her days off

were rare, and moments when she wasn’t seen smiling and chatting

with cast and crew were rarer still.

Says Tom Weston-Jones, “Charlotte is brilliant. I’ve learned a

lot from her. She’s great fun, and keeps things light and playful. We

discuss scenes in detail, and get along like a house on fire, on set

and off. She’s become a very good friend.”

Riley says her role has been “an extraordinary opportunity”

and is quick to give thanks to director Michael Caton-Jones and

executive producer Rola Bauer, whom she says “is a lovely fab

woman, always ready with cuddles in the morning and support

anytime you need it.”

Despite laboring 16 hours a day or more on the project,

Caton-Jones and Bauer were each known to arise most mornings

before dawn to exercise before coming to set.

Bauer, whom David Zucker credits for shouldering a huge

responsibility in making World Without End, says, “I’m very proud

that we have kept an eye on the detail and maintained respect for

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this marvelous world Ken Follett created. We had the opportunity to

do something special here, and hopefully we did it right.”

Principal photography on World Without End was completed

on December 15, 2011, wrapping 136 days of first and second unit

shooting.