Hail, Caesar! Our feature film debut. We had the opportunity to see the world premiere in Los Angeles this past windy Monday night. The wind didn’t stop stars like George Clooney or Jonah Hill from coming out! What goes better with a movie based in the 1950’s, than the Aqualillies?! We had so much fun channeling our inner Esther Williams, the quintessential mermaid with beauty and strength. This has been such an amazing experience for us, and it was great to be part of the process of a movie written and directed by the Coen Brothers. Check out behind the scenes photos and some thoughts from our ‘Lillies below!
“When I was 4, I announced that I wanted to be a mermaid when I grew up. Flopping in a mermaid tail as a double for Scarlett Johansson = basically means that I’ve gotten as close as anyone’s ever gotten to that particular dream. I glimpsed at the alter-ego, platinum blonde mermaid version of myself….! I doubled for Scarlett Johansson in part of the water ballet sequence, and it was quite a process to get ready. Hair + Makeup temporarily bleached my hair to be the same color as Scarlett’s (i.e., Hollywood bombshell blonde – a serious first for me), and I was zipped into a green mermaid tail + matching bodysuit. (4-year-old me would have died to wear that outfit and honestly 28-year-old me was still starstruck). I rolled my way into the pool, and rolled is the right word, because you can’t jump or get into the pool in any normal way when you have a mermaid tail on. After what seemed like only a few flops later–the Coen Brothers had instructed me to swim in an “awkward” and “flopping” way–we were done shooting. Just another mermaid dream.” – MARY
“I loved that we had the opportunity to film and swim in Sony Pictures Studios’ Stage 30, which holds the same large tank that the amazing Esther Williams swam in when creating her many beautiful films. It’s every synchronized swimmer’s dream to share the same pool as her!” – MARGO
“This experience was very unreal. Being with the rest of the Lillies made the shoot very fun and to be honest, I kept forgetting that what we were doing was going to be in a huge production, but I was very starstruck when we saw Scarlett Johansson and shot scenes just an arms distance away from her. This whole experience still feels like it was just a dream, but with Hail, Caesar! now out for the public, I can finally say I had a small debut!” – HEIDI
“This was my first Aqualillies gig! In competition synchronized swimming, we’re trained to make eye contact and interact with a couple judges. The Aqualillies step it up to having a whole crowd of people with energy to feed off, making it way more interactive and personal. But – I hadn’t even done that before! My very first gig was on-camera in front of a whole professional crew that couldn’t speak while filming. Any shot could be in the final cut that millions of people would see. Plus- I hadn’t even done one live Aqualillies show (which I learned after are nerve wracking enough on their own). Talk about pressure! I think I took my first breath the moment they told us we wrapped. Also, we never get to perform in groups of 35, so it was fun to see all everyone all at once and splash around together in such a big pool ! Knowing we were each channeling a little Esther on Stage 30 was a very cool experience.” – ALI
“I’ve long loved the films of the aqua musical age and could easily imagine diving back into that era while we were shooting. I would say this experience was my dream come true… but I never dreamed of making a beautiful vision to come life while in the company of best friends for a feature film!” – RITA
“I feel so blessed to have been a part of Hail, Caesar! As a total nerd in my real life, this amazing experience had me feeling like a movie star.” – ZEENA
“I had an amazing experience on set! The staff was so friendly and organized; there was this natural flow behind stage that really honored and respected everyone’s hard work to make this film come together. The pasta bar was pretty incredible too!” – CAITLIN
“Being invited to a Hollywood premiere was just the icing on the cake to having had the amazing opportunity to perform in this movie alongside a great cast and crew! I loved getting to be on set with my fellow ‘Lillies, the Coen brothers, and Scarlett Johansson. The highlight for me was swimming in the same pool as Esther Williams and getting dressed up in 1950’s suits and makeup, I felt so glamorous! Seeing what an incredible movie this turned out to be and all of the excitement of being on set totally made breaking my toe during filming worth it!” – LAURA
“I clearly remember getting in the plane with fellow NY Aqualilly, and dear friend Georgia, sharing with her: ‘you know I know my job there, and it is gonna be great, I will be there and that is all that matters’. Our swimsuits and caps, were very very traditional to our Aqualillies standards, orange and yellow is not your usual combination! We got so see Scarlett Johansson’s green mermaid suit, and it was just beautiful! Best time in my book of “best times” for sure! Receiving direction by the Coen Brothers, being on set with such strong women, and making it all happen in the same pool where Esther Williams shoot her movies. You cannot beat that!” – GIO
