The Aloha Spirit: Shooting in Oahu
For inspiration, screenwriter Jason Segel tucked himself away in a bungalow on Oahu’s North Shore to write the romantic disaster comedy. When taking a break from the script, Segel often found himself dining or drinking at the North Shore’s only large hotel complex, Turtle Bay Resort. Naturally, the getaway became the setting for the misery and laughs of his protagonist. From casual dining to surfing, the outdoor activities Turtle Bay offers became backdrops for scenes in the Forgetting Sarah Marshall story, as the main characters collided on their unexpectedly complicated trip to paradise.
Prior to the start of photography, the production was given a traditional Hawaiian blessing by legendary Kahu spiritualist Auntie Netty. To keep the production safe and successful, the native took many castmembers and filmmakers’ heads in her hands and recited Hawaiian words of love and prayer. Her words worked, as during the 33 shooting days on Oahu, the weather was idyllic, with cast and crew filled with the spirit of Aloha.
Segel scripted many characters in the film as employees of the island’s stunning Turtle Bay Resort. Along with Peter’s local love interest, the beautiful front-desk clerk Rachel, surf instructor Chuck (aka Kunu) and waiter Matthew, Segel filled the island with other comic players. These included an initially helpful but ultimately psycho waiter, played by pro surfer KALANI ROBB.
Located on 800 acres of prime coastal property, Turtle Bay Resort became a lush backlot for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It gave the filmmakers multiple location options from which to choose-from the pristine beaches and open-plan hotel lobby to the nearby helicopter pad. No stranger to the entertainment community, Turtle Bay has hosted film and television productions for years, back to the days of Magnum P.I.
Hotel guests were quite patient with the production of Forgetting Sarah Marshall becoming part of their tropical vacation; they grew used to Segel in character skulking about Bell as Sarah Marshall or bawling himself to sleep in his luxury penthouse. Many were eager to be in the mix of the filming and participated as extras in assorted lobby and pool sequences.
The production did venture outside of Turtle Bay for various Oahu filming setups-including coastline shots of the dramatic cliffs at Laie Point, Mokuleia Beach (which once housed the plane fuselage from ABC’s Lost), and the pristine turquoise waters and white sandy beaches at Keawa’ula Bay. Surfing action was staged on the breathtaking shores of Haleiwa and photographed by renowned underwater cinematographer DON KING. The Hawaii/Oahu Film Office led the way for the crew to shoot at some of these environmentally sensitive locations.
Costume designer Leesa Evans had a variety of personalities to dress in the Hawaiian style. For her leading ladies, Evans and team designed a range of island garb-from glamorous Sarah’s tropical designer wear, to loose clothing that fit local girl Rachel’s vibe. For the men, British rock and roller Aldous Snow still donned his leather pants, but with flip-flops. And as Peter Bretter evolved from heartbroken to hopeful in the film, so did his wardrobe-transitioning from disheveled to decent.
In addition to the principal characters, Evans met the challenge of dressing hundreds of background players with typical North Shore flair. She also designed 16 completely separate weddings, all to which Peter must bear witness during his stay at Turtle Bay. The weddings were all unique in style, ranging from military to bohemian to black-tie formal. No detail was spared from the bridesmaid dresses to the wedding guests.
This theme of brilliantly happy (read: inescapable) couples who frolic around every corner of the state carried over into supporting characters, such as naïve newlyweds Darald and Wyoma, portrayed by Jack McBrayer and Maria Thayer. In their matching color palette of pastels, plaids and khaki, they romanced one another (and tortured Peter) across the resort.
The art department, helmed by production designer Jackson De Govia, incorporated much of the local Hawaiian art it found on the island. Set decorator K.C. FOX and her team scoured stores in Oahu to find handmade pottery, Polynesian wood carvings, paintings and tapa cloth fabrics to decorate the hotel lobby, Peter’s deluxe Kapua suite, hotel bungalows, Ola’s restaurant and many other sets. They discovered them at shops in local towns such as Haleiwa, Kailua and Kaneohe. Says De Govia, “The local artisans were the icing on the cake for us. They made paradise a tangible reality and helped with the faux sophistication we slathered all over the place.”
The art department reinvented the color scheme of Turtle Bay with beautiful earth and water tones of turquoise, teaks, whites and neutrals, in copper and rattan furniture. In a compliment to the style of the production, some décor was left as is when filming finished.
To capture the natural coastal beauty that surrounds Turtle Bay and the other Oahu locations, buoys were removed when director Stoller and DP Russ T. Alsobrook needed the camera to face the ocean. When filming the luau scene, flame torches were ignited precisely at dusk, with lenses capturing the gloaming hour. The more picturesque they could make the paradise, the easier it was to buy that Peter was experiencing heaven and hell at the same time.
“We tried to capture it all, from sunset shots to luaus and fire dancers,” says producer Robertson. “The whole crew appreciated being around the Aloha spirit, and by the end of our time there, we were saying ‘mahalo’ and wearing leis. It’s contagious.”
Comedian Russell Brand summarizes much of the cast and crew’s experience: “I have had a wonderful time here and found the people of Hawaii to be very laid back and casual. I have seen turtles; I have seen one whale. I have seen several hula girls. Let’s just leave it at that.”
The last few weeks of filming concluded in Los Angeles. Audiences will recognize such landmark lounges as the Dresden, where Peter and brother Brian have a boys’ night out, and the Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard, the famous Hollywood movie theater where Sarah and Peter walk the red carpet. Finally, Le Barcito in Silverlake was transformed into the interior of Lazy Joe’s Hawaiian bar set, where Peter gets time on stage and a face pounding from Lazy Joe.
Quit Your Crying and Jump: Stunts and Training
Jason Segel has always had a fear of heights, so what better way to resolve that acrophobia than have his screenplay’s lead character leap off a cliff?
At Laie Point on the North Shore of Oahu, director Stoller and his crew found a beautiful 180-degree ocean lookout; there, local kids jump off a 30-foot cliff into the rocky water below. For the scene in which Peter is literally clinging for dear life to the cliff, while Rachel wades in the water below encouraging him to jump, there would be much tricky camerawork (and vine grasping).
As both 80-foot and 40-foot condor cranes were placed high above the set, the production was in full swing at Laie Point. Housed on a cliff with lights, cameras and crew-and three safety boats in the water with world-class water experts at the helm, monitoring the wind and ocean conditions-the production prepared to shoot Peter’s mental escape from Sarah. Even the boom operator was floating in a rubber tube in the ocean. Logistically it was difficult, but not impossible.
“We have this fantastic take on film of Peter being terrified, because Jason was terrified as he clung to the rocks,” remembers Stoller. “He was a real trouper as he was strapped to the side of this cliff, amidst the shrubbery, for about six hours. Mila, too, was incredible that day. She treaded water, take after take-without flippers or a wet suit- with a scuba diver standing by, just off camera. I was impressed with both of their stamina.”
Stunt coordinator TIM TRELLA designed a rig to create the illusion of Segel falling off the cliff. In reality, the actor wore a harness, and a wire would catch him and yank him back to safety whenever needed. However, after take after harrowing take, he yelled to the crew that he would get back at them in their next life. Says Segel, “This is the moment in my life I realized I am a total coward-as children were leaping off the cliff around me.” He laughs, “Being strapped to that cliff all day, I got a fabulous tan… which you know is going to affect our continuity.”
An easier task for most of the performers was entering the crystal-blue Hawaiian waters for surfing lessons. All first timers, Segel, Brand and Rudd had to learn to surf for the film (and Brand how to get smashed by Segel and a wave before being tossed to shore). Bell and Kunis quickly grew to love it. Jokes the converted Bell, “Surfing was my absolute favorite thing to learn. I am thinking I may go pro.”
Music of the Comedy
To complement the sarcastic banter and plenty of kinky sex, Forgetting Sarah Marshall brings audiences some bizarre tunes. Peter is introduced to his nemesis for Sarah’s affections, rocker Aldous Snow, and his band, Infant Sorrow, by a video clip on an entertainment news show. Peter the composer bangs out a drunken ballad on piano and creates a Dracula musical performed by, what else? Puppets.
Veteran Apatow/Robertson music supervisor Jonathan Karp, who worked on The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad and Pineapple Express, and composer Lyle Workman (also a seasoned Apatow vet) had their work cut out for them in the latest production. Fortunately, the filmmakers and Karp knew that writer/actor Jason Segel was also an accomplished songwriter and musician. Adding to his resume, the multihyphenate wrote the majority of the music and lyrics for the songs in the film. Says Apatow, “Jason is so great at writing these odd, funny songs. He had a little too much time on his hands in the past, as he had a complete, composed Dracula musical just lying around.”
For his inebriated love ballad, “Wonderful Dream,” Segel as Bretter plays his heart out on a white piano while alone in his suite-crying and kvelling his way through the song. Karp, who had met Segel back in their Freaks and Geeks days, commends, “Jason has been composing and playing music his whole life. This film was the first time he’d ever been in a real recording studio. Seeing that is just incredible.”
Comic Russell Brand performs the songs “Inside of You” and “We Gotta Do Something,” written by Jason Segel, music coordinator PETER SALETT and Lyle Workman. When they were composing the lyrics to the slow ballad “Inside of You,” Segel questioned, “What is the worst song somebody could sing in front of you to your ex-girlfriend?” Through lines such as “There’s got to be some part of me inside of you,” he easily answered that. And that’s exactly what Aldous sings at the luau to Sarah while Peter watches in horror.
Not to lose the Hawaiian flavor and Aloha spirit, there are many American songs in the film-naturally sung with Hawaiian language lyrics-including such classics as “Nothing Compares 2 U,” written by Prince and sung by Daniel Ho. Says Karp, “There is a Hawaiian version of the Extreme hit ‘More than Words,’ which is playfully sung. Then we have a hybrid, half-Hawaiian and half-English version of ‘Signs,’ originally by Five Man Electrical Band.”
The music supervisor adds, “We also recorded our own version of ‘Jungle Love,’ by The Time, which Prince was nice enough to approve. So, in a sense, Prince has blessed this movie. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”
A Taste For Love: Dracula Puppet Theater
As we get to know Peter Bretter, we find out that, while he has a day job as a composer on Sarah’s hit television show, he dreams of staging an intricate musical, about… Dracula’s quest to find love, as told through puppets. The puppet musical was not initially in the script, though songwriter, and musical theater fanatic Jason Segel had been writing a Dracula-themed musical, just for fun.
“We wanted a big climax that people wouldn’t expect and haven’t seen before,” notes Nicholas Stoller. “We wanted it to have a Les Misérables style finale, with 30 puppets on stage.” He adds, “And if our careers are over, so be it.”
The filmmakers met with several different puppeteer companies for the odd job at hand. Ultimately, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop came up with the characters whose movement and charm sucks (pardon the pun) the audience into this comedy concept. The shop’s creative supervisor Peter Brooke and production supervisor Michael Oosterom used fleece to make the faces of the puppets, and hand operated them with rods.
The result is a puppet Dracula musical titled A Taste For Love. Forgetting Sarah Marshall production designer De Govia built an interior of an aged theater set on stage, complete with worn velvet seats and off-stage right and left wings. Practical locations were considered for the set, but as the musical became more intricate, it was clear that for cinematographer Alsobrook to correctly light it, a theater had to be built from scratch.
The puppeteers had never had a student like Segel. Says Henson’s Peter Brooke, “We were concerned that the main hero puppet of Dracula was going to be performed by an actor, and not a professional puppeteer. But Jason is amazing and has taken to puppeteering like a duck to water.” The performer had to wear a head-to-toe black Lycra bodysuit as he operated his character and sang live as Dracula.
On Stoller: “In the initial meetings with the companies, they handed out puppets to all of us. We literally had to take the puppet away from Jason during the meeting, he was so into it; he is independently obsessed with puppets.”
Peter’s brother, Brian, sings and puppeteers as Dracula’s nemesis, Van Helsing. Hader comments on the tricks of the trade: “My puppeteering coach told me you can always sell your performance if you look the same way and direction that the puppet’s eyes are looking.”
Along with a supporting puppeteer cast, Segel and Hader recorded the Dracula musical at Capitol Studios. Recalls music supervisor Karp, “That was my favorite moment on this film. Seeing Jason sit down behind this huge grand piano in a room at the Capitol and sing his heart out. His face said it all.”
Not everyone was initially sold on the concept. But during rehearsals, that quickly changed. Notes Robertson, “I have to admit, I was a naysayer about the puppet musical in the beginning. I thought it was a cute idea, but I couldn’t believe how much energy was being put into this scene. Then I went to the dress rehearsal, and I was floored at the work and detail, and how it fit so well as the story’s finale.”
In addition to the main puppet characters of Dracula and Van Helsing, there were two female lead characters, a succubus and an angel. It was no coincidence that the succubus puppet-with her blond hair and fangs-resembles Sarah Marshall, while the raven-haired angel favors Rachel Jansen. A wardrobe crafted by costume designer Evans complimented the puppets, and both of them were actually fitted with full sets of long, manicured fingernails.
Fifteen other puppeteers were tasked to operate the musical cast of A Taste For Love. The crew found it curious that the puppeteers were so serious about their work that they’d often have conversations with one another between takes…still mouthing with their creatures. Comments De Govia, “When you see a great puppeteer with a puppet on their hand, you immediately relate to the puppet. That’s who is talking to you.”
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Directed by: Nick Stoller
Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader, Kala Alexander, Liz Cackowski, Maria Thayer, Da’Vone McDonald, Taylor Wily, Kala Alexander, Kalani Robb
Screenplay by: Jason Segel, Judd Apatow
Production Design by; Jackson De Govia
Cinematography by: Russ T. Alsobrook
Film Editing by; William Kerr
Costume Design by: Leesa Evans
Set Decoration by: K.C. Fox
Art Direction by: Scott Meehan, Alicia Maccarone
Music by: Lyle Workman
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, language and some graphic nudity.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: April 18, 2008
Visits: 168
