PRODUCTION NOTES

Harold Ramis and fellow writers Peter Tolan and Larry Gelbart let their imaginations run wild to create Elliot's wishes and fantasy worlds. Ramis relied on a talented team of artists to bring these ideas to cinematic life. Production designer Rick Heinrichs (who won an Academy Award® for his work on "Sleepy Hollow" while BEDAZZLED was in production) and director of photography Bill Pope ("The Matrix") made invaluable contributions to the film's visual style. "Rick and Bill came up with some amazing looks for each of Elliot's wishes," says Ramis. "I think BEDAZZLED is the best-looking film I've ever made. I really felt covered on the visual side."

With the Devil as a principal figure in the story, it is not surprising that one of Heinrichs' mandates was to design various permutations of Hell. Elliot's software company office, with its low ceilings and claustrophobic, beehive-like cubicles, is its own kind of Hades, as is the drug lord's South American jungle estate - which Heinrichs created in an arboretum in Arcadia, California.

The Devil's disco, the DV8, is Heinrichs' most elaborate vision of the Underworld. He engineered the cavernous, two-story set to hold 400 extras. Heinrichs built another set, the Devil's office, 10 feet up above ground to enable the filmmakers to crash an organ through its floor. He adorned the Devil's office set with Hieronymous Bosch paintings and file cabinets fashioned from morgue cadaver cabinets.

Costume designer Deena Appel, whose previously designed the way-out outfits for Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and its blockbuster sequel, also played a key role in creating the film's look. Appel immediately impressed Ramis with her creativity and enthusiasm. "I knew Deena was wildly imaginative from her work on the 'Austin Powers' films, but she knocked us out with her ideas for BEDAZZLED," says Ramis. "For our first meeting, she came in with an elaborate book of tear sheets - images that she associated with the film. Her ideas were dazzling."

Appel relished the film's design challenges. "It was like making seven different movies at one time," she points out. Appel even personally dressed many of the DV8 extras, with a combination of futuristic, trendy and retro looks.

Appel worked closely with Elizabeth Hurley to design the Devil's intimidating and titillating garb. "I decided that I wanted to look like a cross between Cruella de Ville and a softcore porn star," says Hurley, who was involved in choosing every piece of clothing for the Devil.

Hurley and Appel went with a decadent look, using furs, sequins, studs and snakeskin. Every costume fit like a second skin, and Hurley never wore a heel that was less than 5 inches. And of course the color red was an integral part of all of the Devil's outfits. Hurley's favorite designers made important crimson-hued contributions. "Versace made me two unbelievably sexy, red dresses and some fabulous red snakeskin boots," she states. "Fendi made the kinkiest red coat imaginable, and Sonia Rykiel created a gorgeous red feather jacket and some killer patent studded sandals."

But there's more to the Devil than haute couture. In her continuing efforts to confuse Elliot, she dresses as a nurse, cop, meter maid, and schoolteacher. "One of the Devil's powers is demonstrating how much control she has," observes Appel. "And what woman wouldn't want to be able to flash from one situation to the next and have the perfect outfit to go with it?"

While the Devil's wardrobe helps define her, Elliot's various looks depended more on physical transformations. Makeup artist Ben Nye, Jr., hair stylist Robert Hallowell, and prosthetics expert Matthew Mungle, working closely with Brendan Fraser, created the looks of the different Elliots. The giant basketball-playing Elliot was perhaps the most challenging. Nye and Mungle built an enormous head to make the scale larger. Then, Hallowell fashioned two jumbo-sized hairpieces, one of which was used for a gag involving the character's non-stop and torrential sweating. The three artists changed the shape of Fraser's ears, and added a bald cap and forehead that would blend seamlessly into his skin tones. "The basketball star was a very difficult character to put together," Hallowell remarks. "Probably the only thing that was real was Brendan's tongue." Mungle, Nye and Hallowell also completely altered Fraser's looks for the Colombian drug lord, giving him a large, hooked nose, dark hair, formidable sideburns and a mustache. Hallowell provided another version of Elliot - the ultra-sensitive man - with an unusual reddish hair color, while Nye added freckles to enhance the look.

This work, impressive as it was, only served to help Fraser complete his character. "Brendan's portrayals of the different Elliots is really what makes them come to life," says Mungle, "because he is an amazing artist and actor." Adds Harold Ramis: "I really looked forward to working with the different Elliots. Brendan applied his dexterity and physical skills to each of them, and it was masterful."

The skills of Fraser, Hurley, O'Connor, Ramis and the rest of the BEDAZZLED team help remind us that there's probably a little bit of Elliot - and the Devil - in each of us. "Dante said that heaven and hell are right here on Earth," Ramis concludes. "And we make the choice in the way we live."

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