How much about the chocolates were in the Wonka script?
I had the title and description, for example: the Silver Line was filled with condensed storm clouds and liquid sunlight. And the action it does makes you think, “Huh!” In the beginning that was all I had. At that point I didn’t know any other production design elements, so I just had to use my imagination.
Where did you find inspiration?
From the character Willy Wonka himself. He’s very literal: in the original film he was mixing something and said, “That needs a kick” and put in a trainer, or he said, “It needs some warmth” and put a jacket in it. I knew it had to be what it says. The Silver Lining needed real silver and had to be really cool. And understanding the emotions behind the scenes helped too. The Silver Lining was in a beautiful scene, so that was reflected in the gold and silver colors. For a bad scene I would think about using black, red and navy blue.
How did you figure out what director Paul King was looking for?
The first time I met Paul was the first time he saw my chocolates. It was very nerve-wracking because I didn’t know what he wanted, and I’m not sure he really knew what he wanted. I made him about 8 to 10 chocolates and 5 variations of each chocolate, all very different. At this stage I didn’t know if Willy Wonka would be crazy or emotional or very simple and classic. I looked carefully at what Paul was drawn to and ended up with a very good insight into his style Wonka: balanced, friendly, kind, magical, colorful, whimsical and humorous.
