Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Holy leaders refused to let director film The Young Pope at the Vatican

'The Young Pope' Photocall in MadridMoviemaker Paolo Sorrentino had to replicate areas of the Vatican for his new TV drama The Young Pope after Catholic leaders refused to let him film in the holy area of Rome.

The director asked for permission but he was turned down flat, so he had to recreate the real Pope's home in a city museum. 

He says, "We rebuilt the Pope's balcony and we rebuilt the Pieta statue, in a church, but not in the St. Peter and Paul Basilica, because it belongs to the Vatican, and it was impossible to shoot over there. 

"We shot other scenes in the gardens of several beautiful villas around Rome and we pretended they were the garden of the Vatican. And we built the Sistine Chapel in the Cinecitta Studios. The Pope's apartment was a museum." 

Jude Law portrays the titular Young Pope - the first American to lead the Catholic Church - in the new series, which debuted in America on Sunday night (15th. Jan 2017), and he admits he really felt special as the fictitious Pontiff. 

He also had a lot to do with the costumes he had to wear. 

"I think 20-something years ago, when I was starting out, I underestimated the power of costume as an actor," he tells WENN. "In this role, I think unlike almost any other, the potency, every day, of putting on whether it was his (Pope) daily kind of white robes or whether it was the more formal robes of ritual, it had a great impact and was incredibly helpful, although, at times, very uncomfortable. 

"I'm glad I played the role in my 40s and not in my 70s, because I don't know how those guys carry that stuff when they're that old. 

"Obviously, a huge amount of revelling in and feeling the sort of status of someone in that position is helped by the reaction of others. And when you're being carried in by 12 men on a golden throne with robes, bejewelled robes, it helps a lot."