The incredibly talented Prosthetic Makeup Designer, Mike Marino talked about his inspiration for movie make-up magic and the first film he saw that blew him away was Elephant Man by David Finch, and not knowing at the time about the extensive makeup it required. Later on in life he really appreciated the craft and learned it wasn’t real but actually makeup, and this was back in 1980. He went on to say Michael Jackson’s thriller is the greatest thing ever, and how Artist Rick Baker, known for Planet of the Apes (2001), Men in Black, and The Wolfman (2010) really got him into makeup effects. Baker who also worked on the Nutty Professor, later became close friends with Marino, congratulating him on The Batman saying it’s the best makeup ever done and that he really loved the show, bringing things full circle for Marino.
During the panel, Marino explained the behind-the-scenes work, and how “it was a great opportunity to explore his make-up, his character and see what we could refine from the film. Technical pieces, changing the design for the better. We were filming in so many lighting environments, he’s in the make-up much longer, so it’s a huge maintenance to keep this magic trick together for that long.”
Not only was Farrell’s face being completely transformed, but he was also wearing the suit for longer periods of time, building his accent with the dialect coach and getting his walk down-packed.
Lauren talks about really getting into the strange little moments and details of developing the character of Oz and how she really enjoys working on the scripts for the show. It’s fun to write.. challenging dark thrilling” and her experience writing and working on his voice, his humor, and how cutting and terrible he could be, really shaping what living as Oz on the page would look like.
She goes on to say Farrell is the “most incredible actor to take on and embody Oz,” along with Mike’s makeup with Colin underneath, working with such an “incredible, amazing talented genuine, and lovely. can’t ask for a better cast.” She thanked her amazing team of casting directors and writers bringing these characters to life was truly amazing, and nice to see the whole crew environment band together on site despite challenges like the strike, and cold weather.
For a production that was interrupted by WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Farrell also credited the team of people around him who helped bring the show and titular character to life. “So much of the work I really did feel was done for me,” Colin said crediting artist Mike Marino in particular with a character design that turned out to be far more detailed and physically transforming then he initially thought. Farrell said he went into the project expecting “a bit of a nose prosthetic or something” and instead was “confronted with the fleshy, imposing figure at the center of this dark telling of The Penguin’s origin story.”
Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone), Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti),and Clancy Brown (Sal Maroni) join the stage after a second clip is revealed.