East Molesey propmaker helps bring Scorsese’s Hugo to life

Would you like to add your photos?...

Originally published in Surrey Life magazine January 2011

Not only was the new Martin Scorsese 3-D fantasy film Hugo produced on our doorstep at Shepperton Studios but one of the central characters was built by a Surrey business too.

Where most film-makers today would use computer-generated imagery (CGI), the movie’s production company commissioned East Molesey’s Dick George Creatives to design and build the automaton (robotic man), which in the film acts as a link between the hero, Hugo, and his late father.

The project spanned more than eight months, during which time Dick George Creatives designed and built a total of 15 automata.

These included two that were capable of drawing a picture of George Méliès’ iconic Man in the Moon image.