What’s more challenging than making it around the world in 80 days? Design a TV show with scenes in London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Italy, India and more. Fortunately, production designer Sebastian Krawinkel was up for the task.
Based on the classic 1872 novel by Jules Verne, the new PBS Masterpiece series Around the world in 80 days It differs slightly from the 1956 Academy Award-winning film with David Niven and the 2004 comedy with Jackie Chan. The latest capture is romance, part adventure and action, with the following story of armchair traveler Phineas Fogg (David Tennant) as he accepts a bet to tour the world in just 80 days. Among Fogg’s traveling companions are the wise French servant Passepartout (Ibrahim Coma) and the ambitious Daily Telegraph Journalist Abigail Fix (Leonie Beinisch), who first introduced the idea in an article.
No stranger to the world of Jules Verne, Krawinkel has seen his work as artistic director on Jackie Chan’s version. “When I first showed it, I wanted it to be more realistic, more realistic, rough and sexy saturated colors rather than ‘Disneyesque’,” he says. ad. “My intention was to create items where everyone feels like they are in many different countries around the world.” To help the actors get into the area, he even put scent into account on the sets.
Victorian meets Italian Renaissance style at the British Gentlemen Reform Club.
Photo: Annika MolnarDue to financial and COVID restrictions, Romania and Cape Town became the venue for eight different countries. The series begins with Fogg in his natural habitat, the busy men’s social club known as the Reform Club. Filmed in Bucharest, the design is inspired by the original 1836 Club in London’s Poole Mall, with Italian Renaissance architecture as the inspiration. Along with interior designer Mark Rosinsky, they mixed custom leather armchairs with Victorian furniture, white busts on pedestals, bookshelves lined with faux leather books, and an over-sized map outlining Fogg destinations.
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