Jana Carboni and Francesco Pegoretti (‘Napoleon’ makeup and hair) on their ‘incredible challenge’ and ‘humongous cast’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

“I was actually designing ‘House of Gucci’ when I was approached about ‘Napoleon,'” says Jana Carboni, the makeup designer for Ridley Scott‘s biographical film about the French emperor. “I loved the idea. It’s an incredible story, an incredible challenge. Then I read the script and I thought, ‘This is epic.’ In the script there are 132 cast members and then we had 500 extras a day so it was humongous.”

We talked with Carboni and hair designer Francesco Pegoretti as part of Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&A event with 2023/2024 awards contenders. Watch our exclusive video interview above.

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SEE ‘Napoleon’ production designer Arthur Max: ‘This is the epic of all epics’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

“Napoleon” is an epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).

Pegoretti says he studied two different time periods for his hair design. “In the beginning we see the short hair because it was after the French Revolution,” he explains. “There are women saved from prison, from the guillotine. And after, when the empire starts, they created this beautiful hair. I studied paintings. Me and Jana, we read a lot of books during the prep. I used a lot of wigs, of course, for Josephine and Napoleon’s mother. I used a lot of hair pieces for the crowds and other cast. We created a lot of accessories for the hair. I honestly don’t know how many wigs we prepared for the movie.”

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