{"rewrite":{"id":"r_4a10d6aa175260e79f56fa39","clusterId":"c_98676b7aa26c585c2161a2fb","slug":"clayface-director-built-gotham-from-liverpool-streets","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Clayface Director Built Gotham From Liverpool Streets","summary":"James Watkins, director of DC Studios' Clayface, said in a remote interview that the film's Gotham City was built with production designer James Price using real Liverpool streets rather than heavy VFX. Watkins described a corrupt city lit with tungsten and sodium-orange light by cinematographer Rob Hardy, with DC Easter eggs hidden in restaurant names, signage and facility names. Matt Hagen is played by Tom Rhys Harries. The film opens October 30.","whyItMatters":"Watkins is defining the new DC Universe's Gotham against the Elseworlds look he deliberately avoided, which makes the physical Liverpool shoot and the approval he says he got from James Gunn, Peter Safran and Matt Reeves the terms on which that shared screen space gets settled.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eWatkins said the Gotham in Clayface was constructed with production designer James Price on real streets in Liverpool, and that he dislikes films where most of the screen is VFX. The city is shot by cinematographer Rob Hardy with tungsten and sodium-orange light, in what Watkins described as a corrupt place where sunlight barely reaches. He said the concept went to DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran and to Matt Reeves, an executive producer on the film, and that they approved it. Watkins added that Easter eggs are packed into restaurant names, facility names and signage.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Clayface director James Watkins says the new DCU Gotham was shot on real Liverpool streets with production designer James Price, lit by Rob Hardy with tungsten and sodium-orange. Easter eggs are hidden in restaurant names and signage. The film opens October 30.","twitterPost":"Clayface director James Watkins says the DCU Gotham was built on real Liverpool streets, not VFX, and lit with tungsten and sodium-orange by Rob Hardy. Easter eggs sit in restaurant names and signage. Opens October 30.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Clayface director James Watkins talked through how the DCU's Gotham was made: real Liverpool streets with production designer James Price, tungsten and sodium-orange light from cinematographer Rob Hardy, and Easter eggs tucked into restaurant names and signage. Watkins said the concept was shared with James Gunn, Peter Safran and Matt Reeves, and that he wanted the look kept apart from the Elseworlds films. The film opens October 30.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Cinema Today\",\"url\":\"https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0157239\",\"title\":\"Clayface DCU Gotham Packed With Easter Eggs; Director Sought a Vile and Seductive Design\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4617,"outputTokens":591,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791189864,"createdAt":"2026-10-05T08:39:03.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-05T08:43:21.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T08:43:21.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_98676b7aa26c585c2161a2fb","canonicalTitle":"『クレイフェイス』DCU版ゴッサムに大量の小ネタあり　監督が求めた邪悪で魅惑的なデザイン","representativeArticleId":"a_743e9aa2335b7b499ca95a3e","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Clayface\"],\"studios\":[\"DC Studios\"],\"people\":[\"James Watkins\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"other\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-04T22:02:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-04T22:02:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T08:43:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Cinema Today","url":"https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0157239","title":"『クレイフェイス』DCU版ゴッサムに大量の小ネタあり　監督が求めた邪悪で魅惑的なデザイン"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Clayface"],"studios":["DC Studios"],"people":["James Watkins"],"type":"news","domain":"other","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}