Interview with Daniel Orlandi
AS: When were you first approached to work on The Alamo? And are you a fan of the subject?
DO: I was approached almost 2 years before filming by original producer Todd Hallowell to do some uniform research and figure out a realistic but cost effective costume budget. Ron Howard the first director then asked me to design the film. I became really inspired by the subject after reading and immersing myself in the research. The best thing about working in film is that you are always doing something different. Sometimes things you wouldn’t ever think you would be interested in turn out to be really fascinating.
My interview with Daniel Orlandi, costume designer of The Alamo, was conducted on July 15th, 2007.
AS: When were you first approached to work on The Alamo? And are you a fan of the subject?
DO: I was approached almost 2 years before filming by original producer Todd Hallowell to do some uniform research and figure out a realistic but cost effective costume budget. Ron Howard the first director then asked me to design the film. I became really inspired by the subject after reading and immersing myself in the research. The best thing about working in film is that you are always doing something different. Sometimes things you wouldn’t ever think you would be interested in turn out to be really fascinating.
AS: How much research did you do to bring accuracy to the clothes of the men and women of 1836?
DO: I did an enormous amount of research… How were clothes made? Fabric choices? I have a backround in costume history so 1836 garb was fairly easy but what proved much harder was to figure out how men in this situation would dress. As everyone who goes on your website already knows is that these men came from all walks of life, farmers, bankers, outlaws, politicos,etc. How old would there clothes be? How well kept? Digging a ditch,would the jacket be on or off? So many little things. A costume can be completely historically correct but still be wrong for the character. Sometimes the costume designer has to be more like a psychologist then a designer. We also had so many different scenes besides the Alamo, fancy dress Washington, a Cherokee village etc.
AS: Obviously, there are hundreds of carefully crafted Mexican uniforms, American civilian garb, and Tejano clothing. What was the process to put together so many wonderful costumes? Were you under any time constraints? And what was the biggest obstacle you had to face with it all?
DO: Pushing filming 6 months while waiting for John Lee Hancock to come aboard turned out to be a godsend as the embroidery for the generals and crafting the shakos took much longer to get samples right then manufacture then originally planned. I also got to design another film while perfecting the various prototypes.
We of course had to make all the uniforms and most of the defenders clothes and still try and keep the costs down. We made the Mexican army jackets in a heavy cotton Moleskin from England that looked like wool but could be cleaned much more easily. The shakos were made in India the gold embroidery was done in Pakistan. Boots crafted in Mexico. The principal clothes were made in L.A. and at our shop in Austin. Leather work and beadwork farmed out to different experts in the field. Fabrics and buttons from all over.
There were lots of challenges.
First. This is an event that really happened so I felt a tremendous obligation to try to get everything right as it is part of our country’s history and I wanted to respect the legacy of these men. After seeing J L Hancock’s pasion for the subject it became even more important to do a good job. We all really tried to do our best and make the movie as true and realistic as possible.
second. The day to day grind of filming in all types of weather was at times grueling. The logistics of dressing up to 1,000. people every morning or when we were filming nights fitting costumes all day and then filming nights.The18 hour days were really hard. We sometimes worked 30 hours straight. I was so fortunate to have a great crew that worked incredibly hard. When ever we see each other the first thing that comes up is our shared stories of the joys and horrors of the Alamo filming! and how proud we are of the film.
third. Trying to help tell the story while being historically accurate as possible keep on budget and realize John Lee’s incredible and ambitious vision.
AS: How many costumes were created for the characters of Crockett, Bowie, and Travis? And did you have any other ideas for the look of the three?
DO : I approached the leads costumes the same way I would on a modern film We had all the research but then tried on prototypes till we found the right jacket, hat, boots …etc for each actor then chose fabrics to make about six of each of them. I wanted not to present the actors with sketches but make them part of the process in finding how they could best portray their real life characters. We tried to give every extra a character as well.
AS: What happens to the costumes after production? Certainly, some are auctioned off.
DO : In all films the studio owns the wardrobe when a film is wrapped. They keep tabs on everything and all has to be accounted for. The funny part is when the auditors came to spot check costume whereabouts they were methodical and looked at everything until they went into the extras dressing building. They walked in and the smell overwhelmed them. They immediately left saying “everything checks out” Any of our extras will tell you the smell at the end of filming in that building was quite something. Sorry guys! We really tried.
The filming went on so long that many of the rental costumes were demolished so the 1,000s of costumes that we made were traded off to the costume houses we used. Disney kept only one costume from each of the principal actors. All the rest of the principal costumes including the generals beautiful uniforms went to Western Costume company. They also have all the regular uniforms.
AS: What do you feel you achieved from working on the film?
DO: From working on the film I achieved a renewed sense of the great history of our country. A lot of great friendships came out of this film.
AS: Next to your work on The Alamo, I really enjoyed seeing your work in Cinderella Man. It greatly contributed to the look and feel of the film. You seem very drawn towards historical pieces. Is history an interest of yours as it is for so many others?
DO: I enjoy working on many different kinds of films. Its especially rewarding to work on historical pieces but all kinds of film interest me. Its really helping create the characters that fascinate me.
A great, big thanks to Daniel Orlandi for taking his time to do the intervie with me! I hope you all enjoy!
~Wade