Pluribus: The Official Podcast S1E3: Grenade
Nov 14, 2025
Gordon Smith, the writer and director, shares insights on cutting scenes to enhance emotional impact. Denise Pizzini explains the incredible process of creating a realistic ice hotel in Albuquerque, including sourcing specialty foam artists. Karolina Wydra, who plays Zosia, reminisces about her chemistry read with Vince and Rhea, connecting it to her character's growth. The trio dives into the practical effects of a dramatic explosion and the delicate balance of staging complex scenes, making it an engaging conversation about creativity in storytelling.
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Building An Ice Hotel On Stage
- Denise Pizzini built an ice-hotel set in Albuquerque using plastic cubes, styrofoam carving, sculptors, coatings, and lighting to mimic real ice.
- The team treated it like an art installation and reduced scope to focus on the hallway and the round room with a skylight for northern lights.
Trim Scenes To One Emotional Moment
- When a multi-location sequence becomes impractical, strip it to a single focused emotional moment to save time and preserve impact.
- Present production problems with solutions to writers and producers to enable smart rewrites and scheduling cuts.
Practical Grenade Explosion Execution
- The grenade explosion was achieved practically with air cannons, styrofoam and balsa debris, timed charges, and rehearsed stunt falls.
- Cast and crew rehearsed for safety and executed two strong takes that produced real particles hitting actors on camera.