The Unforgettable Hurdles Behind Heart of Stone: Director Uncovers the Film's Epic Filming Challenge

Summary

The movie seamlessly combines CGI and practical action, delivering a captivating experience that emphasizes realism and showcases Gal Gadot's impressive stunt work. Despite facing criticism from critics, Heart of Stone has garnered an enthusiastic reception from audiences, surpassing 33.1 million views within its initial two days and claiming the top spot on Netflix's Top 10 list.

Director Tom Harper, despite the action-heavy nature of the project, has revealed that the biggest filming challenge for Heart of Stone, a Netflix spy thriller, was a technical one. The film follows an agent undercover in MI6 for a secretive organization called The Charter, whose cover is blown when someone with a sinister agenda tries to obtain the powerful artificial intelligence system known as The Heart. The movie boasts a star-studded cast including Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Matthias Schweighöfer, Sophie Okonedo, and Archie Madekwe. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Tom Harper discussed the intricacies of filming Heart of Stone. Specifically, he mentioned the difficulty of capturing the scenes featuring Schweighöfer's character, Jack of Hearts, using The Heart through a projection system. The director and his team had to undergo numerous tests to ensure the visuals were perfect, while Schweighöfer worked with a movement coach to create believable gestures for interacting with the technology.

Rewritten

It was one of the most challenging tasks we undertook during the production. Despite our numerous daring stunts, getting it right was a genuine challenge. However, we dedicated substantial time to preparations and conducted multiple tests. Initially, we set up a small set and conducted lighting tests, followed by incorporating visual effects. After evaluating the results and discussing it among ourselves, we presented it to Matthias for his input. Additionally, we collaborated with a movement coach to develop a specialized language or gesture for interacting with The Heart interface. This language was then tested with Matthias before we further refined it with input from the Visual Effects team. By the time we arrived on set, we had a fairly solid idea of what the final product would look like. Interactive lighting played a significant role, as we endeavored to create an authentic atmosphere. We also focused on adding visual effects degradation, including RGB aberrations and flickering, to mimic technology's inevitable flaws. Just like in real life, technology never works exactly as intended. Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, such as my constant tweaking of the TV settings, we incorporated this element into the creation of The Heart interface. Regardless of the effort and precision invested, new and cutting-edge technology always has its share of mishaps. It is essential to acknowledge that the creation of this movie would not have been possible without the hard work of the writers and actors from both WGA and SAG-AFTRA, especially during the 2023 strikes.

How Heart of Stone Blended CGI With Practical Action

With a budget exceeding $150 million, Heart of Stone marks Netflix's venture into the lucrative action genre, following the success of films like 6 Underground and Gadot's Red Notice. Like many of Netflix's productions, this spy thriller aims to establish a new franchise and draws inspiration from the highly popular Mission: Impossible series. Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, Heart of Stone has resonated with audiences, amassing over 33.1 million views within its first two days of release and claiming the top spot on Netflix's Top 10.

While negative reviews primarily criticized the story, Heart of Stone has been praised for its thrilling action sequences and Gadot's captivating performance. Director Harper, known for his well-received biopic adventure The Aeronauts, focused on keeping the movie's action grounded and practical, with Gadot performing numerous stunts and fight scenes herself. One notable action set piece involved a combination of CGI and practical effects, as Dornan's Parker and Bhatt's Keya infiltrate the airship housing the Heart's command system while Gadot's Rachel skydives onto the vessel.

After the ship explodes, leaving Rachel and Keya stranded and abandoned by Parker, Rachel is left with no choice but to attempt a daring skydive to escape the chaos and survive the falling debris. She relies on Keya's parachute for her own safety. While it may seem like a simple enough scene to fake, similar to what was done in the Netflix film The Gray Man, Harper has revealed that he opted for practical effects in filming the Heart of Stone set piece. The only exception was the ship explosion, whereas the skydiving scenes were performed by the actors' stunt doubles. This created a sense of realism as they plummeted at a breathtaking speed, similar to the intense HALO scene in Mission: Impossible — Fallout. As the filmmakers aim to replicate the success of Cruise's movies, it will be intriguing to see if they pay homage to any other iconic set pieces in future sequels.