This week was the conclusion of this year’s two-parter. The episodes “Target” and “Hunt” were a great collaboration of the many departments working on Castle. This hard working crew and cast members have provided us with pictures, videos, and insights into how these episodes, that beat every show that aired Monday in ratings, were made.
Since January, when the filming of the two episodes took place, the crew has been teasing us with some behind the scenes pictures. Both Christopher Brow (A-camera dollygrip) and Andrew Bikichky (B-camera cameraman) and @MetaV (assistant director) posted some non-spoilery sneak peeks from the shooting of some of the scenes, including outside scenes and sets.
When fans asked Andrew (@andrewbikichky) about the coming two-parter and if this was a big event, he joyfully answered – “It is in every season, no?” From his tweets, we found out that they did a fair amount of filming on the Paramount backlot and in their usual sets (precinct, Castle’s loft). During the filming of “Target”, they had a guest operator David Luckenbach helping out with the filming and covering for A-camera cameraman Steph.
Dave Luckenbach recently finished shootin The Lone Ranger. Panavision Anamorphics & full chip Alexa digital cameras. Focus was insanely hard
— Andrew Bikichky (@AndrewBikichky) January 17, 2013
“@lincdivision: Guest operator?” Dave Luckenback is w/ us for 2 days covering Steph. He’s the Steadicam guy who shot X-Files Triangle ep
!
— Andrew Bikichky (@AndrewBikichky) January 16, 2013
“@melodybennett1: one word to describe the latest two parter please” A Mission
— Andrew Bikichky (@AndrewBikichky) January 30, 2013
Target
As both episodes of the two-parter aired, crew and cast members posted their behind the scenes pictures and their thoughts about the episode. Penny Johnson Jerald and Molly Quinn hosted a live chat while “Target” aired in US.
Before the episode aired Penny tweeted “This 2 parter is a pure adrenaline rush! Fasten your seatbelts Castle fans…it’s going to be a helluva ride! Might need a heart monitor, No joke!”
Btw, Molly is awesome in this ep! And Nathan… ain’t no slouch!
— Penny Johnson Jerald (@btwprod) February 19, 2013
@nathanfillion Nathan you definitely pulled at my heartstrings tonight! Job well done. Love Ya, Penny
— Penny Johnson Jerald (@btwprod) February 19, 2013
My boy, Nathan had his Liam Neeson on tonight!!! You rocked!
— Penny Johnson Jerald (@btwprod) February 19, 2013
To start her live-tweet, Molly opened with – “David Amann & @AndrewWMarlowe have written the best 2-parter to date. #TruPageTurners.”
“@fangirl4caskett: @mollyquinn93 Martha is bad cooking ?”The best thing Martha makes for dinner is reservations
— Molly C. Quinn (@MollyQuinn93) February 19, 2013
Also, she is sure that Castle’s reactions to Alexis leaving the nest is denial. “Gotta love him.” For the question about Alexis trusting Beckett more now that she is committed to her father, Molly answered “Getting better all the time.” A fan asked – “What would you do if you got kidnapped?”, Molly answered simply “Never give up.”
“@davebedford81: @mollyquinn93 Do you worry when you see your work or not?
— Molly C. Quinn (@MollyQuinn93) February 19, 2013
“@aspieartist123: @mollyquinn93 How hard is it too see Nathan this way.”Very hard
— Molly C. Quinn (@MollyQuinn93) February 19, 2013
From her tweets we find out that Alexis’ ringtone was composed by Castle’s composer Robert Duncan, especially for this episode. She and Karen David (Sara El-Masri) spent 4 days filming in the holding room and as Molly said – playing this kind of emotional rollercoaster Alexis was living through took its toll. Molly reveals a secret to her fans too – she, Rob Bowman (director) and Nathan’s stunt double Paul Scott flew to Paris to shoot some scenes there with a local Paris film crew. Molly is extremely thankful to ABC that they let her and the crew do this, because filming in Paris was an awesome experience.
Nathan doesn’t forget to thank Molly for this awesome episode on twitter:
What incredible work Molly did on last Castle. (I didn’t use her @ address because I don’t want her to know I said so.
— Nathan Fillion (@NathanFillion) February 19, 2013
Castle’s costume designer Luke Reichle @RedCarpetLuke also did a live-tweet during the episode, letting us know about the secrets of character’s costumes. Susan Sullivan was wearing a yellow and magenta Josie Natori while cooking for her son at the beginning of the episode. Bram Stoker wore an 19th century coat from Western Costume Company. Mrs. Al-Masri was wrapped in cream cashmere from Max Mara. Molly Quinn looked fierce in J Brand jeans and a top by Bluemarine. Her boots were MK by Michael Kors. Stana Katic worked the crime scene in an @DVF red coat with an @EtroOfficial scarf. The coat color created a great focal point for the scene. Beckett’s black jacket, that Stana wears later, was from Fernando Sanchez. The blue and black houndstooth check fabric for Nathan Fillion’s jacket came from Mood Fabrics of @ProjectRunway fame. The jacket was made by Luke Reichle himself.
Hunt
During the second part of the two-parter episode, Andrew Marlowe @AndrewWMarlowe (who wrote the episode) joined Molly @MollyQuinn93 for the live tweeting.
For Andrew, it was a privilege to follow the work of David Amann and Bill Roe (who wrote and directed “Target”). They gave him and Rob Bowman a lot to live up to. The hard part of writing the early scenes in this particular episode – was being honest, but not melodramatic – trying to get inside Castle’s head. Andrew also gave a shoutout to the guest cast: “Amazing guest cast in this one. Bernard White, Dylan Walsh. Really fun to be able to work with them.” Marta Evry @venice4change worked very hard editing the sequence that Rob Bowman directed in Paris. It made the episode very tense. The whole episode was elevated by @robertduncanmx incredible score. The Ashley Judd joke was a shout-out to Andrew Marlowe’s friend (Gregory Poirier) who created the ABC show “Missing”.
Andrew chose the church for the meeting with Henry, because it starts Castle’s descent into darkness. He loves the actor – “Christopher Heyerdahl was simply amazing. What a remarkable actor.” For the set design in La Taupe’s lair, they discussed Terry Gilliam and Hunt For Red October movie. Andrew really loved the scene with the microphone. “So creepy, and so well played by Chris. Had to tap my High School French for this one (phone call). Been awhile.”
Having James Brolin and Nestor Serrano on the set, was like having an all-star team. They have had a lot of handsome men on Castle, but Andrew had never seen the ladies of the crew swoon the way they did for Brolin. As it turns out Barbra Streisand (Brolin’s wife) is a fan of the show and urged him to be part of these awesome episodes.
The scene in the cafe showed a different side of Castle. Nathan killed it. With the two-parter, they wanted to take Castle way outside his comfort zone. Into a strange world out of his control. As much as Andrew loves the fun episodes, he really likes giving Nathan a chance to show his amazing chops.
For the opening parts Beckett was hurting for her boyfriend. She so wanted to help, to do something, but she was feeling helpless. Her interrogation of Pauline Degarmo was a chance for her to express her love for Castle. After an episode and a half of being in control, she exploded.
When @mollyquinn93 is bad or misbehaves, we stick her in a cage.
— Andrew W. Marlowe (@AndrewWMarlowe) February 26, 2013
With the descent from the street into the sewer – we all descend from real Paris to a set at Raleigh Studios. Props to the Visual Effects department. Andrew also shared a fun fact, when it comes to the VFX department. The explosions in the mansion were digital, and they added the camera shakes in post. The production shot two days of second unit in Paris, and seven days in LA. The most challenging part of filming “Hunt” were the production logistics of shooting overseas. They decided to shoot in the actual city of Paris, because green-screen doesn’t look as good as the real deal. And the destination city was chosen because of the iconic Eiffel Tower.
Writing this story was like cramming a feature appetite into 42 minutes.
— Andrew W. Marlowe (@AndrewWMarlowe) February 26, 2013
Thanks for supporting our ambitious and diverse storytelling over the past five seasons.
— Andrew W. Marlowe (@AndrewWMarlowe) February 26, 2013
At the same time as Andrew was tweeting, Molly was doing her live-tweeting as well. From her, we got to know that the work they did in Paris was top secret to not spoil the ending of “Target”. She did some sightseeing in Paris, but if somebody asked her why she was in the Paris, she usually answered that she was on a holiday. Altogether they shot 5 days there. The French team was hardworking and professional and Molly loved working with them.
With the opening scene of “Hunt”, Molly got pretty bruised up and Rob Bowman was freaking out the rail might not hold. She also loved filming in the cage – she didn’t get claustrophobic, although the long day (16 hours) took its toll on her. About the final scene of the Paris part of the story – “Running to the US Embassy in those high heels over cobblestones was quite a feat”, Molly says “Paul (Nathan’s stunt double) was running full out and I felt like I was flying at his side.”
“@iris_shantal: Molly, ur favorite thing about filming in Paris?! #Castle”Being immersed in the history of the city, the people, the food
— Molly C. Quinn (@MollyQuinn93) February 26, 2013
Castle costume designer Luke Reichle @RedCarpetLuke kept with the tradition and also did a live tweeting round during the episode of “Hunt”. “If “Hunt” is about costumes at all, it’s about the costumes staying out of the way,” Luke says for starters. Picking Martha’s clothes was tricky because he wanted to dial her back but it’s not like she went out and bought a “my granddaughter is kidnapped” wardrobe. As it turns out Luke didn’t go to Paris with the crew – Molly and Paul carried the costumes in their bags. Beckett’s purple sweater was from @rag_bone. In the final scene, Molly wears @AliceAndOlive for her homecoming – Daddy took her shopping in Paris.
Or as Jim Brolin said in his fitting:”Luke, I’m Castle’s father.” LOL
— Luke Reichle (@RedCarpetLuke) February 26, 2013
This week Christopher Brow @Castlegrip posted two awesome videos demonstrating how they made a little movie magic with the opening scene of “Target”.
ABC also posted Alexis’ Vlog – specially made for “Target”. Check it out here. Also, if you are interested in BTS videos of the Castle crew in Paris – ABC has this video on their website out as well. (Sorry, videos on the ABC website are only available for those in the US.)
Marta Evry posted a video about how the “ride in the woods” was filmed. Take a look on her website.
Crystal Allen who guest stared as Pauline also took to twitter to talk about the interrogation scene with Beckett.
Here’s a shot of me scared to death of Beckett after she kicks me off my chair! Fun #castle @castle_abc twitter.com/ItsCrystalAlle…
— crystal allen (@ItsCrystalAllen) February 26, 2013
Stana & I got along great on set, in our scene it was tough to call her a bitch! @castleaddict @castletv @castle_pa #canadiansrock
— crystal allen (@ItsCrystalAllen) February 26, 2013
Don’t forget to check out ABC’s production blogs for “Target” and “Hunt”, because they are full of interesting pictures and information about the episodes and have behind the scenes pictures of Rob Bowman’s Paris shoot.
And here are some awesome behind the scenes pictures from Christopher Brow, Andrew Bikichky, @MetaV and guest actress Crystal Allen.
Andrew Bikichky working a 1000 foot magazine hand held.
#Castle BTS: another view of the money-in-Mercedes shot, filmed right outside our stage!
#Castle BTS: the mansion where Volkov held Alexis was incredibly opulent.
Le Taupe’s details, high end hi-fi product placement
Ep516 Le Taupe’s details, more high-end hi-fi with old school bling.
Ep516 La Taupe’s mixing board w/ his shades.
Ep516 Le Taupe’s details | wall o’ headphones.
Ep516 Le Taupe’s set details.
Ep516 Le Taupe’s set from the outside.
Ep516 My fav set from the ep, Le Taupe’s den.
Ep516 this is how we shot the running shots in the house after the cage escape.
Ep516 My colleague, Steph, with the “holding the pan handle under the leg” technique.
Ep516 caged Alexis (stand in).
Ep515 mirror gag setup from teaser.
On set of @Castle_Abc shooting a scene w Stana Katic a fellow Canadian!
We used an 8×8 mirror to shoot the van hit.
#Castle conference room scene from last nights episode.
Filming on location… Where?
At our 2nd location, Dave L trying to suss out the settings menu on Steph’s Steadicam monitor. Another man’s rig…
Sun comes up. And then it goes down. And we have lights too
It’s cold in here today. Little more than the standard chill. Loft scenes all day on stage…
The source of the heavenly glowing bullpen windows…
Bringing most of the light from the bullpen windows…
BTS #castle photo: final sound mix for “Hunt”.
#Castle BTS photo: a window into 516.
Our on-set vfx & video guru working on some awesome playback for 516.
The 2nd team boys setting up a shot.
When it’s cold outside, the #XFiles gear comes out. Rob Bowman & Bill Roe.
Sunset to close out this #Castle location.
From the day we shot the Farmhouse sequence, high in the hills of south LA.
Starting the day with a dark set.
This is going to be so much fun!
We’re hand held at the set.
Details at #Castle’s loft. Wonderful.
A-camera under the stairs in the 12th.
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Thanks for pulling this all together! It’s fascinating
Behind the scene pics more than doubles my appreciation of my favorite show. Thanks so much to all involved.
Thanks for this great summary. I love the AWM comments and that you pulled together all the BTS stuff into one place. And, you write beautifully.
Thank you so much for your kind comment. It means much to me
VERY COOL! Thanks for this, Trinx!
And that video of the van crashing into the mirror… I was so curious how they pulled that off. So clever, those videographers!
Loved the collection of tweets too… and I hadn’t realized that Paris was selected only because of the iconic Eiffel Tower (but that make complete sense — when I try to think of other globally iconic towers in a metropolitan city, I can’t think of much).