From Set and Screen to Living Room

For those of you in New York City and surrounds, hope you can attend a fun lecture "From Set and Screen to Living Room: The Set Decorator and the Interior Designer" at the D&D Building, 979 Third Avenue, Astra Cafe, 14th Floor on Wednesday, October 10th at 3:00. I will be on a panel discussion with Lydia Marks of Marks & Frantz and set decorator on Sex and the City and designer Marshall Watson (his line at Lewis Mittman has graced the sets of the new Katie Couric show). Ann Maine, editor in chief of Traditional Home, will be the moderator. 

Mark's interiors on the film Sex and the City 2 

A reception and book signing of Designs on Film will follow at the Edward Ferrell + Lewis Mittman showroom, suite 903. You can RSVP at 212-888-8580. And win a chance to attend a Katie show up close and personal. Hope to see you there!

And a big congrats to Sally Sirkin Lewis as she celebrates the 40th anniversary of J. Robert Scott. Bravo!!!

Photo Credits: J Robert Scott, Traditional Home, Warner Brothers

Hollywood Sets the Scene

I try not to make it a regular practice to cut and paste from the magazines but I suppose it's okay to take the liberty when your work is mentioned. I have been busy on the lecture circuit this month (ten planes and counting) and have not been able to post as usual so I hope you enjoy the lst dibs article on Hollywood Sets the Scene in their Eye on Design article series.

And while I am on the subject of lectures, I will be speaking at New York's Art and Antique Dealers League Show at the Park Avenue Armory this Friday at 3:00 p.m. on Designs on Film and a century of design in the movies (book signing to follow). If you are in the area, hope to see you there!

Many thanks to all of you who attended my lecture in Chicago...SRO! Great show and enjoyed meeting you all. And thank you Mary Ahern for the wonderful luncheon, what a fun group of women!

Photo Credits: AMC/Mad Men

Coming Soon to a Store Near You

If the number of personal emails I received after writing a post on the designs of The Good Wife is any indication, this new venture should be a huge winner.

CBS has teamed up with home furnishings retailer Mitchell Gold and Interlude Home to create a line of home decor inspired by the hit show. Developed in collaboration with the show's set decorator Beth Kushnick, the furniture line will debut this fall in Mitchell Gold stores nationwide along with Interlude Home's accessories and lighting collection in stores and online. The venture was announced at the High Point market this past week.

The Golden Globe winning show's intriguing storyline and great ensemble cast has generated a huge following and the designs caused such a stir that Beth decided to create a blog to answer fan questions. It was inevitable that a furniture and accessory line would follow.

Congratulations to Beth and very well deserved! Now if someone can only knock off Diane Lockhart's wardrobe, I would be very happy.

And speaking of Chicago (where the show takes place), I am the keynote speaker for the International Antiques Show on Friday, April 27th at 10:00 am at the Merchandise Mart. The lecture is sponsored by Traditional Home and I will be speaking on my book Designs on Film.  For more information, see the show's website.

And if you are in Baltimore, I am speaking Monday evening at Towson University. Many thanks to all of the Women of Chapman who came out for my event in Orange County this past week.

P.S. I have finally joined the revolution  -- Cinema Style in on Pinterest.

Photo Credits: CBS

Designs on Film Events

If you are on the East Coast this week, here are two events that might be of interest:

Tuesday, May 10th
Fairfield Theatre Company
70 Sanford Street
Fairfield, CT
2:00 PM
Lecture and book signing for Designs on Film

Wednesday, May 11th
F. Schumacher and Company
979 Third Avenue
NYC
11:00 AM

I will be joining a panel with Academy, Emmy and Tony award winning production and costume designer Tony Walton, The Good Wife production designer Stephen Hendrickson and set decorator Andrew Baseman to discuss designs on film and television. The panel will be moderated by Linda Sherbert, design editor of Veranda Magazine and a book signing and light lunch will follow. (The photo above is set decorator Hobe Irwin's wallpaper designs for F. Schumacher as seen in 1939's Gone With the Wind).

Hope to see you there!!

Photo Credits: MGM

Today is the Day!

"Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain."

-- The Wizard of Oz, 1939

I am proud to announce that my book debuts today! Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction (!t Books/Harper Collins, 2010) covers the evolving story of art direction from the silents to present day. Hundreds of images and renderings of every film style and genre -- many seen here for the first time -- are featured along with dozens of interviews with some of the cinema's top production designers, art directors and set decorators and written with the cooperation of the venerable Art Directors Guild.

My personal favorite sections are the behind the scenes stories along with Manhattan on Film, Italy on Film and the films from the forties and sixties. And of course Gone With the Wind, period sagas, fantasy films and the Big White Sets of the thirties. And the films of Nancy Meyers, my favorite designing director. It's all here from Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times and Ben Hur to Sunset Boulevard, North By Northwest and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House to Citizen Kane, The Graduate, Chinatown and  The Age of Innocence to Titanic, Pride and Prejudice, Somethings Gotta Give and Avatar. You get the picture.

You can see more of the book at my website or get a sneak peak at the Art Directors Guild site. The book is available at a bookstore near you (if there are still standing!), Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc. or if you would like to personalize a copy, you can email and purchase directly through me.

It's been a long and winding journey down the yellow brick road and I hope you enjoy it!

Photo Credits: Gosford Park/USA Films, MGM/Photofest/!t Books/Harper Collins

Nine Film Sets of the 20th Century

Fox News Magazine just posted a slideshow of the top film sets of the 20th Century as seen in my upcoming book Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction (Harper Collins). I am happy to report the publication date has been moved up to November 30th -- just in time for the holidays! (The title image for you non-film buffs is Gene Kelly in the classic An American in Paris (1951).

With over 400 images to choose from, we selected films that were representative of each decade from the Art Deco sets of the twenties to contemporary interiors of modern films today. You can see the slideshow here and the book is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Jean Harlow in MGM's  Dinner at Eight (1933) was one of the many Big White Sets of the period

Production designer Doug Kraner's contemporary interiors for the Julia Roberts
beach house in Sleeping With the Enemy (1991)

Photo Credits: MGM/Photfest, 20th Century Fox/Courtesy of Doug Kraner

At Long Last -- A Labor of Love

I thought I would share with you a sneak peek at my new book Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction (Harper Collins) which will be in bookstores just in time for the holidays on December 7th. I have literally given my heart and soul  to this massive project (not to mention countless hours in the Oscar library and film studio archives as well as dozens of interviews) for the past several years and looking forward to its publication. For a film and design buff like me, the research was phenomenal and many thanks to my cohorts at the Art Directors Guild for their help.

Designs on Film will feature more than 400 photographs of films from every era and genre from the great silents of the twenties to films of the past decade. There is literally something for everyone whether you are an avid moviegoer or design aficionado (and particularly if you read Cinema Style).

For more on the book, see my new book website here. I will report on upcoming book events and lectures this fall so stay tuned!




Photo Credit: MGM, Harper Collins