‘Conclave’ Couldn’t Film at the Sistine Chapel, So the Production Team Built a Replica in 10 Weeks
variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Conclave,” now playing in theaters.
It’s no secret that the Vatican prohibits filming inside the Sistine Chapel, and the headquarters of the Catholic Church was not going to make exceptions for Edward Berger‘s “Conclave.” Based on the Robert Harris thriller of the same name, the film stars Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence, who is charged with overseeing the election of a new pope after the current pope dies.
It was up to production designer Suzie Davies to take on the mammoth task and get creative in recreating one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions, Michelangelo’s piece de resistance.
Enter Rome’s Cinecitta studios – which is no stranger to housing re-creations. Davies found incomplete flat-packed scenery from a previous production. “It was packed down into flats which were eight by four feet, and we built them back up,” she explains.
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