"Firestarter" is a pretty scary concept for a story. The Stephen King novel is about a young girl with the ability to start fires with her mind, on the run from a government agency that wants to control her. It was made into a memorable movie starring Drew Barrymore in 1984, and it's now been adapted into a movie once again in 2022. Usually movies are just supposed to scare the audience, but the 2022 version of "Firestarter" also created some fear for the cast, too. What, exactly, spooked them so badly? Here's why the "Firestarter" cast's fear was more real than you thought.
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00:00An actor covered in real fire, who ended up loving the stunt.
00:04Tons of cool practical effects.
00:06Keep watching to see what the Firestarter team went through to create their explosive
00:10special effects.
00:11Stephen King's classic novel Firestarter blazed across the screen for the second time
00:15in 2022 with a new film adaptation, this time by The Vigil director Keith Thomas.
00:21Like the original novel in the first film adaptation from 1984 starring Drew Barrymore,
00:26Firestarter follows Charlie McGee, a young girl with frightening pyrokinetic abilities
00:30who's on the run from a shadowy government agency.
00:39The 2022 version stars Ryan Keir Armstrong as Charlie, Zac Efron as her father Andy,
00:44and of course, lots and lots of fire.
00:46Naturally, a movie called Firestarter is going to require a lot of flames.
00:51And while they could have been generated with pure movie magic, Thomas wanted to make sure
00:54the fire in his film looked as real as possible.
00:57In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, the director explained that he chose to use more
01:01practical effects to create a film that stands out in the age of superhero cinema.
01:05Though he compared Charlie's origin story to that of a superhero, Thomas emphasized
01:09what he called a grounded approach to making the film.
01:12That meant it needed to feel real, and that meant working with his team to pull off a
01:16series of dangerous pyrokinetic stunts.
01:19Speaking to Bloody Disgusting about the fiery visual effects, Thomas emphasized that while
01:23some shots are enhanced in post-production, quote, all the fire is real.
01:27That meant that some of Charlie's smaller fires earlier in the film were really burning,
01:31but also that the massive set in the film's final act was really set ablaze with the help
01:36of a flamethrower and stunt performers who were willing to be set ablaze.
01:39As Thomas explained, it's a major undertaking to do that, but to me, it resonates in a way
01:44that CGI can.
01:46It has to be a handshake between special effects and practical and CG, and they have to work
01:50together.
01:51While a well-trained stunt team was a key part of making Firestarter work, Thomas also
01:55relied on his actors to help make those fire sequences look as real as possible.
01:59That included a scene in which Sidney Lemon, who plays Charlie's mother, Vicky, has her
02:03arms doused in flames.
02:05According to Thomas, the fire on Lemon's arms is real, which meant he had to spend
02:09some time convincing one of his stars that she'd be safe despite real flames burning
02:13on her body.
02:14Lemon was hesitant at first to do the fire stunt, unsure how the real flames would work
02:18in terms of safety.
02:19After meeting with the film's stunt coordinator and learning how the movement would actually
02:22work, Lemon managed to overcome her fear.
02:25By the actual day of shooting, according to Thomas, she was so thrilled by the stunt that
02:29she wanted the filmmakers to let the flames linger even longer.
02:32It's a testament to Lemon's commitment as an actor that she chose to go as long as possible
02:36with her burning arms on camera, and with Zac Efron coming in to put the fire out with
02:40a blanket.
02:41This scene involved a lot of careful coordination and safety precautions to ensure it was done
02:45right.
02:46Ultimately, according to Thomas, it all happened very smoothly and safely.
02:52As impressive as modern visual effects have become, certain elements are still difficult
02:55to pull off, and viewers can spot fake-looking digital effects from a mile away.
03:00Water remains famously difficult to render in a realistic fashion, and CGI fire often
03:04stands out like a sore thumb.
03:06As long as real flames can be used safely, they feel like the right dramatic choice,
03:10especially for a movie like this, where fire might as well be the main character.
03:14The fire in each scene is a key part of not just the horror elements of the story, but
03:18of Charlie's emotional journey as she learns to control her powers.
03:21While Firestarter was not exactly well-received by critics when it was released, it's always
03:26nice to see filmmakers working safely to pull off practical effects that look real on screen.