'Maleficent' Director Robert Stromberg On Angelina Jolie And Organic Costumes

Robert Stromberg brings his visual designing skills to the fantasy world of "Maleficent." As a production designer, he's had his hand in effects-heavy movies such as "Star Trek: First Contact," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Avatar," "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Hunger Games." Now, for his first film as new director, Disney has offered him "Maleficent," a $180 million budget and Angelina Jolie as lead star.

Director Robert Stromberg told Geektyrant that having Angelina Jolie as the wicked sorceress in "Maleficent" was a "right out of the box perfect fit." Before he came on board two years ago, Jolie was still attached to a movie project. And when Disney offered the movie to him she was already cast as Maleficent. So he thought it was lucky of him to already have that role covered.

Stromberg said he and Jolie were excited to make a three-dimensional character of the wicked witch. In the Disney classic "Sleeping Beauty," she was just plain evil and nothing else. In "Maleficent" the director and Jolie wanted viewers to also see other character angles of the sorceress without disrupting her iconic image as the evil witch. Jolie and Stromberg also wanted to give viewers answers to questions like "where did she come from," and "why was she evil." The most iconic scene in both the classic and re-imagined film is the christening. According to Spinoff, Stromberg and Jolie intentionally copied the lines of that scene from the classic cartoon film. They decided to follow it verbatim, almost word-for-word, since it serves as the backstory to why the witch was maleficent.

Director Stromberg was also "blown away" by Elle Fanning's role in "Super 8," thus he decided to get her as Princess Aurora. Her character in "Maleficent" contrasts Jolie's, according to Geektyrant. Stromberg said they needed that character in the film to see how two "contrasting elements could work together and then finally become one thing."

Scroll down for behind the scenes video of "Maleficent"

Stromberg told Geektyrant that Angelina Jolie was hands-on in finding the perfect look as the maleficent sorceress. She tried on different make-up effects with Rick Baker, especially for her cheekbones. She also tried on different horn designs and eye contacts. There were artwork and graphic designs for costume ideas but most important is the graphic design. Director Stromberg said that once you have that then it's easy to pull out materials for what it's made of. Since the theme of "Maleficent" centers on the fantasy and fairy world, Stromberg wanted the costumes to be made from organic materials that can be pulled out from nature. From the pixies to the other creatures in the film, they're all wearing things that come from nature.

"Maleficent" also stars Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, and Juno Temple. It will open in US theatres on May 30.