Costume Designer Jennifer Starzyk Interview: Bill & Ted Face the Music

Costume Designer Jennifer Starzyk talks about her new project: Bill & Ted Face the Music, the long-awaited final installment in the beloved trilogy.

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After 29 years, Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are back for one last excellent adventure in Bill & Ted Face the Music. The grand conclusion to the trilogy that began in 1989 sees Bill & Ted traveling through time in an effort to discover the song they need to unite the world and save the space-time continuum. The sequel features many returning faces from the original films (including Death himself, with William Sadler reprising his iconic role), as well as newcomers “Little Bill & Ted,” with Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine playing the daughters of the eponymous protagonists.

Despite the passage of time and advancements in filmmaking technology, the third Bill & Ted movie doesn’t skip a single beat, since the films have always marched to their own drummer anyway, so to speak. With unflinching sincerity and an effervescent pep in its step, Bill & Ted Face the Music feels like the natural conclusion to the story that started back in the late 1980s. Part of that consistency comes from the film’s production design, which feels modern, but clearly rooted in the franchise’s original style.

While promoting the release of Bill & Ted Face the Music, Costume Designer Jennifer Starzyk spoke to Screen Rant about her work on the film and her career in the film industry. She talks about the process of creating costumes for iconic figures like Bill, Ted, Death, and more, as well as her working relationship with the film’s director, Dean Parisot. She also discusses her big break in the industry, which came at the hands of the legendary David Fincher, who hired her to work on the Netflix television series, Mindhunter.

Bill & Ted Face the Music is out now in theaters and on digital platforms.

Longtime fans have spent 30 years waiting for this movie. So, was there any kind of apprehension because of how beloved this series is to its legions of fans?

No. Not at all. I grew up with these movies, I saw them in theaters. I read the script, and by the end I had a huge smile on my face. I think the script stood alone, and what I found so charming about it is that this kind of movie is just not made anymore. You either have giant films or you have these little films that are trying to compete in the bigger market. And I got to know Chris Solomon and Ed Matheson. They always had this third installment in their minds. It wasn’t something that was pushed out for marketing or this and that. This was it. They always had this going on.

It’s the kind of movie where, yeah, it’s a comedy with outrageous antics and far-flung sensibilities, but it’s so sincere, and it has so much soul and honestly to its rock and roll roots. How do you figure out how heightened you can get without crossing a line into being silly, if that’s the right word?

That was definitely discussion number one. You want a lot of eye candy on the screen, which is a good challenge. It’s basically a one-costume movie, even though they go to the future and the past. But it’s a one-costume movie, and that costume needs to say everything. It also needs to be pleasing to the eye for the audience to watch for the length of an entire movie. I had a lot of images on my vision board, and we had some very quick discussions with Keanu and Alex. And Dean, the director, had said, “Nobody’s going to know Bill & Ted more than Keanu and Alex, so I defer to them.”

And what did they have to say?

Right off the bat, the first thing they said was, “I don’t want to look silly.” They both acknowledge time has passed in real life and for the movie characters, so let’s not disregard that. They both really wanted to get comfortable with what that main costume look was going to be. So any really fun, zany, outlandish ideas ended up being pushed towards when they visit themselves in the future, and then we settled on their main look.

When it comes to Alex and Keanu, do you work with them to design the look? Do they defer to your judgment? Do you give them options to choose from? What’s that collaboration like?

It was complete collaboration. I obviously brought my thoughts to the table, first as a sounding board to jump off of. It’s always easier for people to say what they don’t like if they haven’t really quite figured out what they do like. That was very helpful. They both had different processes. For Alex, he definitely had a stronger image of what he knew Bill was going to wear. It wasn’t going to be some huge detour from what you had seen in the past. For Keanu, I think he, at first, was in John Wick mode. He had just come off the movie and was going to go off to do a giant press junket for weeks. So he was still thinking about it, even though he had years to think about it! I think this film has been in process since 2012. But he was like, “I don’t know, maybe I’ll wear something crazy like a kilt or a suit!”

That would have been a surprise!

I think he didn’t know quite where to go with it. Of course, everybody was like, “Kilt! Kilt!” Everybody was so excited about that idea. But when it came down to it, he was like, “I need to feel comfortable and I would be more comfortable in some version of a suit.” For him, he was slightly inspired by Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips, who is actually a very successful rock star, and their characters are not successful rock stars, so we kind of settled on a version of what that suit would be. Maybe he put on a suit because he was going to couple’s therapy that morning. Whatever the backstory was, we didn’t really do a deep dive into it. We just sort of went with what he was comfortable with and built that into his character.

I thought of it as something someone bought him as kind of a way to nudge him into being more of a grown-up.

Yes! That was definitely one of the theories around it. Like, hey, this reminds me of this! This reminds me of… Maybe he went to Macy’s to get it, or a thrift store.

You don’t need me to tell you that you nailed it. I’ve seen the movie and I loved it. It was everything I wanted, it didn’t miss a beat.

Fantastic! I can’t wait to see it, so I’m glad you said that!

Wait, you didn’t see it yet? It’s your movie!

You know, I had reached out and with Covid and stuff, I knew they were doing other screenings, but I decided to wait to see the final project, at that time.

Fair enough. I don’t want to spoil too much regarding the historical figures who show up, but can you talk generally about designing them? Was being historically accurate a priority, or was it more about using shorthand to give the audience the sense that they’re looking at someone from an “old timey” time period?

Great question, and a little bit of both. I feel that, in this day and age, speaking of the audience’s eye, you are extremely accustomed to seeing “to the last thread detail accurate” period films and TV shows. If you’re going to do a robot, your eye is accustomed to seeing these big Marvel and DC things. Within our movie, how are you going to accomplish that with the time and budget allotted? For me, the main aspect was to keep it very light, very effervescent. Like you said, it’s just a very sweet, sincere film. I wanted it to be all those adjectives you would use. Looking back on the historical figures, there’s reference to what they were wearing, but I definitely took some leeway to have a little fun and play with what they could do with those exact costumes. There’s elements of all these characters that are just a smidge over-the-top and we have fun with that, push it just a little bit. But they’re true to who they’re supposed to be portraying.

You hinted at the robot. Does you work as costume designer extend to who I see as the secret MVP of the movie, Dennis Caleb McCoy?

The robot was already under design before I came on. To make those things, it’s so time-consuming. They were still finishing it pretty much when they were putting it on Anthony (Carrigan). So they had to have that underway before they hired the rest of the crew. Those designs were already in discussion, so I can’t take credit for that. But in the end, it was fun. And so different. He stands out in the film. And I frikkin’ love that Anthony played the character. He’s just perfect.

These movies, even the quote-unquote “mid-range” movies are still such massive machines. Like, what’s the overlap between costumes and special effects and hair and makeup and even acting, since characters can be defined by the clothes they wear.

Absolutely. It was a different timeline of prep. Normally, I would be more involved in that process, but it wasn’t like that on this one. But I was completely fine with that, because at that time, I only had so many weeks to do what I needed to do. So I was like, “Okay, everybody’s happy with that, the producers have signed off, I’m gonna do this.”

We’ve got a returning champion, Death. It seems simple enough to a layman, right? “Give him a black robe, end of story, NEXT!” But I imagine it’s probably a bit more complicated than that, right?

He’s a very beloved character. William absolutely loves playing that character, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t something basic. Especially because black, on camera, can just disappear. in Bogus Journey, you don’t even know if there’s levels to that outfit. So I definitely used fabric that I wanted to look like it was heavily textured, like it was overly worn or a little scorched. And distressed leather. It was… I think it was three layers. It was extremely hot when we were filming, and he wears extremely high platforms, also. So William had to get into these six-inch, like, Munster platforms. It was really fun. Because he has such an affinity for that character, that fitting was very important to know that he felt right in the costume. The second he put it on, he just started doing his Death again, acting like Death. He was like, “This is it, I feel wonderful.” That meant a lot to me.

I got to talk to William last week about it, and he definitely loves that role.

It’s a proud character for him, which is wonderful.

I don’t want to overlook “Little Bill & Ted.” You could be reductive and go, “Let’s just do the old Bill & Ted, but a gender swapped version.” But you clearly didn’t do that and the film is all the better for it.

Yes, definitely. First of all, I love them so much. You know, they should embody their fathers, since they are the daughters. After we settled on Keanu and Alex’s look, you’re sort of like, “Let’s channel that effervescence and irreverence into their daughters.” For them, they are individuals, and they’re extremely smart and quirky. They’re music nerds and all this other stuff. It was very easy to have instinctual dressing. It was like putting on things that make you happy and not caring what other people think. That was the process. I showed them boards and ideas, and it was fun with prints and bright colors, and layers. It was eclectic and genderless and it was very easy to have that come to life. They also did their fittings together. All of my fittings with Keanu and Alex were together. And all my fittings with Sam and Brigette were together. I think that’s the best way to do fittings for people who are sharing screentime. It was actually really easy, like, “Here’s my ideas,” and they came in and it was sort of like kids playing dress-up. They were like, “Can I try on this with it?” And I was like, “YES!” Everything was very instinctual and organic, which I think comes across perfect for their characters.

You’ve been around the block, you’ve been in wardrobe and costumes for a while now, but you’ve only recently, I guess, been the “department head,” is the term.

Yes.

Do you still enjoy, or do you have the time to do things like actually sewing and getting your hands dirty in terms of crafting these costumes, or do you have to delegate that responsibility to do the design work yourself?

Yes. Well, I think that’s also the behind-the-scenes of costume departments that people may not be aware of in general… Even people who are producing the crews! There are so many levels in costumes, and I definitely… If you call it “working your way up” or whatever it is, I’ve been doing this for 20 years. It takes so much to get costumes done. I’m just going to put out a blanket statement here, some people think, “I’ve put on clothes,” so they kind of know what it takes. But usually it’s nothing even close to that. There’s a lot of elements and character-driven thoughts to it. And when it comes to making the actual clothes, cutting and sewing, you’re hiring professionals who actually make finished clothes for a living. So that is a different set of people and set of skills already. And along with aging and distressing the clothes so nothing looks brand new. Some shows, you’ll want to have something right off the rack, or right off the hanger that’s going to look brand new. But a lot of times, people usually wear things over and over again, or if the character needs to be highly distressed, that’s a team of people working on that to make the clothing look like it’s been worn. Sometimes sometimes it doesn’t require 30 washes in the laundry. It’s somebody’s talent to make it look that way.

I see, so what was your trajectory in this business?

For me, I had done a lot of mostly prep work, but those other things like sewing and distressing, more qualified people were doing that.The transition for me was very easy. It was something I always had as a goal. It was just the timing. It was always the timing. I was always very loyal. If I got a job offer, I never took it; I would always finish the job I was on. And then, finally, I had an offer too good to pass up, which was to meet with David Fincher. And I was like, “Yeah, okay!” I dropped everything for that! Davi Fincher saved my life, and he knows that.

So if he ever calls you for a favor, you’re there?

Yeah. It could probably be anything. Yes. To have your actual first design job be for David, is like… I can’t even describe the level of boot camp. For such an exacting director.

I’ve only seen the first season of that show, but Holt McCallany is one of my favorite actors, I adore him.

I can’t believe he didn’t get nominated for an Emmy! I don’t understand how that show gets lost in the shuffle, but especially him. I think he’s perfect for that character. I love him so much, too. He cracks me up. But speaking of directors, there’s Dean Parisot, who I also loved working with. He knew how to push everyone along. He’s been working with this project for many years, too. He conducted it. He would always do this gesture, like, “bring me something,” and he meant “More. More. More.” Like, if I landed on something, he’d go, “Okay, what’s next?” He was very excited and extremely enthusiastic. He knew to give people the space to do their jobs, and he wanted to be creative. He’s a very artistic person and he appreciates people’s space and talent to do that.

Obviously, the circumstances behind the release of the movie, in terms of what’s going on in the world right now are a little different from what you would normally expect from the Hollywood movie machine. You’re not having the red carpet parties that you would be accustomed to and that you’ve certainly earned, so how are you giving yourself a victory lap now that the movie’s finally coming out?

(Laughs) That’s really funny. The supervisor I normally work with, her motto is, “Just remember what it’s going to look like at the ArcLight!” She always likes to say that. It’s to make sure we don’t dismiss any detail, basically. And here I am, thinking about how we’re not getting to see it at the ArcLight. But I think they’ve completely made the right decision. This movie is heartfelt and silly and fun and lighthearted. It has the best tagline: “Be excellent to each other.” and “Music Unites.” It’s everything 2020 needs at the moment. So releasing it this way is absolutely right. And if you’re in LA, I’ve already done it and I’m going to do it this weekend, there are drive-ins. You can see it on the big screen, and it does warrant seeing it on a big screen. And who knows, there’s all sorts of rumors about when it’s going to be safe to go to the theater and what’s going to happen next. I wouldn’t count on anything this year, though. But yeah, there always is that second part of completing a project, which is watching with people, reuniting with everyone you worked with. We’re missing all that, but I’m glad it’s being released and I just hope people enjoy and watch it this weekend and in the weeks to come.

And beyond!

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