Exclusive: On Set With The X-Men

Toronto, the temperature outside is -14 C and there is snow and ice everywhere. Inside the warehouse, the temperature is a somewhat more balmy 25 C and the cast and crew of the X-Men are already 2 hours into a 16 hour day. Five months into shooting and they're into the action sequences. Today is the Statue of Liberty's turn to be decimated by the battles between two rival gangs of mutants. Clad in uniform, skin-tight black leather the good guys (today that's Halle Berry as Storm, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Famke Janssen as Jean and James Marsden as Cyclops) take on the bad guys, of which only the shape-shifting Mystique (Rebecca Romaijn-Stamos) is present today. Mystique looks incredible. After 10 hours in make-up Rebecca is transformed into an amazing blue creature. Over 100 prosthetics have to be applied by a team of 4 make up artists but there's no getting away from the fact that underneath that make-up, she's butt-naked. And cold! In the early days of night shoots she had people with hair dryers trying to keep her warm between shots. Everyone is hyped about the film, still two months away from finishing. The teaser trailer has just been completed along with 10 minutes of pasted-together footage. On the back of that, producer Lauren Shuler Donner is talking sequels and all the team have already approved their live action figures. As for director Bryan Singer, he's working 7 day weeks to make sure the film is ready for the July 14 US release date. That's despite being in a lot of pain from a shoulder injury - which he sustained earlier in the shoot trying to demonstrate a move to Wolverine. He's completely focused and really pleased with the results so far, as are Marvel, despite ridiculous rumours on the net. All of which looks promising for a great Summer film in what's so far a season low on obvious blockbusters... A full set report and interviews will be featured in Empire to coincide with the film's release. Click here to subscribe.