Executive producer Maril Davis jumped on Twitter and live-tweeted the west coast airing of Outlander on Starz. While she can be seen in the behind the scenes video for episode 401, “America the Beautiful,” she gave more details on certain scenes in her tweets.
I got a bit irrationally agitated at one of her tweets, the one about the Lillington bedroom. While we were given no indication how the Frasers became invited to such a fancy dinner, we were also not clued into them getting ready for the dinner at the Lillington residence. While this is pointed out in the book, it is not obvious in the episode, and I just assumed they had prepared for the dinner in town and had returned there after it. Details like these bug me, as you can see. <rant over>
It doesn’t always happen, but our first day of shooting on Season 4 was the scene of the hanging in the Wilmington street. Of course, that scene took MANY days @Outlander_STARZ #OutlanderPremiere
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
A lot of people have asked about the eagle shot. It’s actually a stock shot (stock footage) We weren’t lucky enough to go out and catch that eagle on film ourselves! 🙂 @Outlander_STARZ #OutlanderPremiere
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
The cast sang this song at our table read/read thru (lead by @dundlejuice who has a wonderful voice!) and everyone got teary eyed. @Outlander_STARZ #OutlanderPremiere https://t.co/JGgOvBtFsU
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
The cast sang this song at our table read/read thru (lead by @dundlejuice who has a wonderful voice!) and everyone got teary eyed. @Outlander_STARZ #OutlanderPremiere https://t.co/JGgOvBtFsU
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
The idea for the cold open with the primitive people came from the brilliant minds of @TheMattBRoberts and #ToniGraphia @Outlander_STARZ #outlanderpremiere https://t.co/7gYp1IR1VN
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
We got the idea of casting #EdSpeleers as #StephenBonnet from his work on @DowntonAbbey Big fans of his work on that show. And he does an amazing job on #Outlander! @Outlander_STARZ #OutlanderPremiere
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
I know a fan favorite scene from the book is the steamy scene by the river where Claire is bathing herself and Jamie sees her. 1 thing we can’t recreate in Scotland is the steamy humidity of NC summer. But this scene was our nod to that scene. @Outlander_STARZ #outlanderpremiere
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
For those asking, the bedroom set where Jamie and Claire sleep after the dinner party at Lillington’s, was built on our set. @Outlander_STARZ #outlanderpremiere
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
I’ve talked about this a lot but obviously everyone loves Rollo. He’s the most adorable dog that we named MacDubh – Dui for short (pronounced Dewey) He is the LEAST ferocious dog in real life. He often sleeps through scenes 🐶😴😴 @Outlander_STARZ #outlanderpremiere
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
@TheMattBRoberts & #ToniGraphia came up with the idea to use instrumental version of the song “America the Beautiful” over the ending(which they wrote in the script) During editing Matt proposed using the Ray Charles version, which we all liked @Outlander_STARZ #OutlanderPremiere
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
The use of America the Beautiful is NOT a political statement. The purpose was to take a song that speaks to the majesty of this wonderful nation and the hopes and dreams of those washing upon its shores, juxtaposed with the harsh reality of what J&C actually encountered. https://t.co/kvT3LzT4Q5
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
As one of the people who was involved in making this decision, I can assure you the song is NOT a political statement. I would have zero issue saying so if it was, if that was the case. But, as this is a free country, you are allowed to feel and think how you like #USA #American https://t.co/j2RAu2qZ82
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) November 5, 2018
Source: Maril Davis on Twitter
