Director Paul W.S. Anderson and his team of producers selected the Blancpain Villeret Carrousel Répétition Minutes Chronographe Flyback to appear in the new film, In The Lost Lands, based on George R.R. Martin’s short story by the same title.
The Film
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, In The Lost Lands is an exciting new film based on George R.R. Martin’s short story. Starring Milla Jovovich as the powerful sorceress Gray Alys and Dave Bautista as her guide named Boyce, the film follows their journey through the desolate Lost Lands, as they battle both man and demon in search of a magical power. As the oldest and most precious relic from the past, the Blancpain timepiece becomes central to their quest.
Blancpain's role
Known as the world’s oldest watch brand, Blancpain’s presence represents endurance and legacy, surviving until the end of times. The Blancpain Villeret Carrousel Répétition Minutes Chronographe Flyback was a standout choice to be cast in the film. Housed in a red gold case, the open-worked dial and sapphire crystal case-back offer in-depth views into the timepiece creating compelling opportunities for videography.
The timepiece’s high complexity – with its unique combination of carrousel, minute repeater, and chronograph complications – along with its craftsmanship and timeless design, made it the ideal watch for the film’s storyline.
“The Blancpain Villeret Carrousel Répétition Minutes Chronographe Flyback was the perfect fit for the role as it perfectly combined a timeless look and complexity that we were looking for,” said director Paul W.S. Anderson. “There is a lot of incredibly fine detail in the timepiece, which is what I wanted for the shots of the inner workings of the watch. When we take the audience into the watch, under the seconds hand and along the movement, there has to be an immense amount of detail for that shot to hold up on a really large screen.”
Behind the scenes
The actual timepiece spent several days on set, filmed alongside the actors in key scenes. Once filming wrapped, a multifaceted digital recreation was created for action sequences and extreme close-ups. This reproduction took five months to produce, using macro retrofits added to advanced scanners operating at maximum resolution to ensure the digital model is an accurate representation of the timepiece. Many shots took place in the rain, making it even more challenging to capture, as the way light enters the dial and radiates along the movement had to be recreated faithfully.
