‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’: How Cambodia’s Angkor Wat Temple Influenced Key Set Design
variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans EditorSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you haven’t watched the ninth episode of “The Man Who Fell to Earth” on Showtime.When production designer James Merifield first signed on to Showtime’s “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” he thought he might be traveling to Cambodia or some exotic jungle to build a key set on location.
But then the pandemic happened, and he ended up building the key set for the season finale in the U.K., at Black Park in Slough.The series, a continuation of the novel written by Walter Tevis and the legendary film starring David Bowie released in 1976, stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as the alien humanoid Faraday who crashes his spacecraft deep in New Mexico.
Justin Falls, played by Naomie Harris, is the only person on earth who can assist in the survival of his species. Episode 9 sees Falls and Faraday get kidnapped and taken to a cave where Pressman Thorn (Bill Nighy) is waiting for them.
When they walk in, they find monks sitting and meditating as a man in a suit walks toward them. It is Thomas Newton, formerly known as Pressman Thorn.The cave was inspired by Angkor Wat, the temple in Cambodia. “I had never been, but I started going through the internet, looking at photos and using that a reference for both our jungle and lair set,” explains Merifield.Inspired by the twisting trees surrounding Angkor Wat, he emulated the design with copious amounts of palm trees, vines and alien leaves. “We built Cambodia at Black Park,” Merifield says.Merifield only built the trees 20 feet high, “then the rest was left to CGI set extensions.”The tree roots were made from pipe lagging, the material used to insulate pipes during cold months.
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