"Cinderella" Star Lily James Sets Record Straight on Photoshopped Waist Rumors - East Idaho News
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“Cinderella” Star Lily James Sets Record Straight on Photoshopped Waist Rumors

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cinderellaJPG?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1425441271217Disney(NEW YORK) — When the first images from the revamped Cinderella movie were released, they set off a firestorm of speculation that Disney used special effects to make actress Lily James appear slimmer.

But James, who plays the lead character Ella, set the record straight in an interview with ABC’s Nightline, saying the rumors that her waist was Photoshopped were not true.

“I have naturally a quite small waist,” James told Nightline. “And on top of that I have a corset that was pulled me into the inch of my life.”

James said the corset part of the gown slimmed her down to a 17-inch waist.

“And then the skirt is so big that the perspective and the proportions make it look smaller than it is,” she added.

There was also speculation that Richard Madden, who plays Prince Charming in Cinderella, was wearing contact lenses to make his eyes appear bluer in the film, but director Kenneth Branagh said that also wasn’t true.

“He was not wearing blue contact lenses,” Branagh said. “He has very, very striking blue eyes and when beautifully lit by Haris Zambarloukos, these make for a very strong impact. We did not Photoshop Lily’s waist… everything you see is what was there.”

Re-imagining Cinderella’s iconic ball gown for the first-ever live-action remake of the Disney classic was the brainchild of Oscar-winning costume designer Susan Powell. It took 270 yards of fabric, over three miles of hemming, and “glass” slippers made of Swarovski crystal.

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News. The movie opens in theaters March 13.

But James said she has gotten used to wearing a corset from her role as Lady Rose MacClare on the acclaimed period drama Downton Abbey.

“I’m so used to corsets now that feel like I could sleep in them, even though it’d be horrible,” the 25-year-old actress said.

And what’s worse than wearing a corset? “A boob flattener,” James said, something she had to wear for her costume to match the 1920s setting of Downton Abbey.

“It’s much more painful and much more distressing than a corset.”


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