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Gods and Generals:
The Illustrated Story of the Epic Civil War Film
  Newmarket Press specializes in "moviebooks" that combine shooting scripts with in-depth interviews and articles about the background and making of major motion pictures. Newmarket hired me as one of two writers on Gods and Generals, a lavishly illustrated hardcover volume that accompanied the release of the movie of the same name in late winter 2002. I interviewed the dialect coach, the music producer, the composer, the production designer, and two of the stars (Mia Dillon and Kali Rocha), and did extensive research to write articles about Civil War uniforms, weapons, songs, movies, and many other topics. Buy the book.
  excerpt
 

Luxuriant Growths
The art of facial hair reached its apogee in the Civil War era, when mustaches and beards of every magnitude bloomed on men’s faces. Muttonchops and sideburns—named after the Union general Ambrose Burnside—"imperials" and goatees, "walruses" and handlebars: men had a seemingly limitless range of options for facial adornment.

To replicate this hirsute cornucopia, makeup department head Patty Androff did intensive research and drew on her experience with previous Civil War–era productions… Beards for each of the 25 principal male characters began with a form of the actor’s face fashioned out of Saran Wrap and tape. Androff used yak hair imported from Italy—"it’s coarser than human hair and stands up to humid weather"—and permanent-waved some of it to create curls. … Stephen Lang, as General Jackson, had his own beard colored and a false beard added every single day for 62 days of shooting. "He was a real trouper," Androff says admiringly.

 

Nancy Friedman, Chief Wordworker
tel 510 652-4159
fax 866 871-1523
nancyf@wordworking.com

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