Raimi: But what James was learning during that training time was not just the individual illusions, which didn't all end up in the picture. That's true. But the style of a carnival performer, or a Vegas performer, someone that stands in front of a crowd of a hundred people and puts on a show, uses their body.

Franco: That's right. That was the plan all along! And in fact yes, so the character puts on a show in Kansas at the beginning of the film, and some of the tricks stayed in there, but more than that I look at myself on the stage and there are certain flourishes and the way I carry myself that definitely come from Lance, who's just a great guy and a great teacher and a great musician. He's also a great magician's assistant. A lot of the tricks were very elaborate and require special doves and props that I don't possess.

Braff: You didn't bring your own doves?

Franco: No.

Was anything different about performing for 3D cameras?
Raimi: Well, we're still trying to figure that out! I remember at one point Rachel had a conversation with me, and she said, "Sam, when I perform in 3D, should I not gesticulate like I would in a 2D picture?" And I said, "I have no idea!"

I wore a sexy blue onesie. I wish I had
a picture of it.

Raimi: Nor do I. It was a big learning experience for us working in 3D. I'm still learning about it.

Kunis: I learned that hats are not good for 3D. Lesson learned: hats protrude in 3D! So over-the-shoulder shots take much longer to shoot.

Raimi: You don't want something breaking the frame in the foreground that's really out of focus and prominent because it spoils the concept of dimension - when you have something that's way too foreground when you want to focus on a midground plane. So hats were a big problem, and she was all about hats.

Kunis: I love hats in this movie!

Aside from Zach, how did the costumes help you get into character?
Kunis: Well for the record, Zach did wear a costume. Zach?

Braff: I wore a sexy blue onesie. I wish I had a picture of it.

Kunis: I have it!

Braff: You'd think that, over the months, when you walk on set in a blue onesie your fellow cast members would eventually stop laughing. But they didn't. No, what about the ladies in their sexy dresses. Everyone wants to know about the dresses.

Kunis: I think I answered it already. It's the first time in my life that a costume 100 percent helped me realise a character. We were all corseted, and the second you're in a corset you end up walking differently. And every one of us wore heels and had to run in heels and do stunts in heels. So it does change the way you hold yourself. And that helps you figure your character out.

Evanora would have been nothing
without the sequins.

Williams: The nails!

Weisz: Oh the nails! Yeah, Evanora is a lot and her costume's a lot and I really only play characters who wear jeans and t-shirts and have a bit of a scrubbed face. But Evanora took a couple of hours to get in place. Her costume was hugely important and I think told the story about her character. Feathers make you look like a bird of prey, and it was slightly militaristic, and she's a military ruler of her army of winged baboons. So the costume went a long way to helping me understand my character.

Williams: I don't really have anything worthwhile to add. Yes, when we finally got it right, it was a long process getting to what you see on the screen. I wanted it to feel like water, to flow and drape. It started out as a full faux leather wraparound miniskirt with raffia around it - it was not good.

Raimi: Sorry about that!

Weisz: I have those pictures!

Williams: So it came a long way.

Raimi: Because you contributed a tremendous amount to it.

Were there any accidents during the flying scenes?
Kunis: No, I'm still whole and in one piece. It's actually not that bad. It really wasn't. The hardest part about any scene that requires wires is the amount of time you spend on them. So being wired is not hard, being flung 35 feet in the air isn't hard, but 17 hours in a work day, it's just a little painful. And any time that anything malfunctions, it is computerised so the whole system just shuts down and you bounce.

I wasn’t up there. But I know
hanging by wires
is exhausting.

Weisz: It's your core! Stomach muscles.

Williams: Which was really just my corset.

If you were really a witch, what spell would you cast?
Kunis: Ladies? Who has the smartass answer. Nobody? I'll go: If I could cast a spell on somebody, what would it be? I would cast a spell on Sam Raimi to hire me for every movie that he does!

Williams: There we go!

Kunis: Oh! That's true. It really is.

Braff: I would cast a spell on Mila to have her do 50 Shades of Grey.

CLARIDGES, LONDON • 1.MAR.13

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